Digital BW, The Print

I'm just coming up the CMYK learning curve but this seems a little worrying
to me - being dependent on the Epson driver canned profile for a decent B&W
profile rather than being able to generate a "custom" profile with third
party software like the Eye One.  I suspect the B&W community needs to dig a
little deeper into just how this part of the Epson driver works.


> From: Ernst Dinkla <E.Dinkla@...>

> One possibility is that they used used an (extra) edited color profile
> that has got the "unsaturated" treatment on all the renderings. Combined
> with special paper settings for B&W (but still related to the color
> paper settings for the same paper) with the most aggressive GCR black
> generation in it you will get no color ink used in the B&W print while
> the profile can be based on the color paper settings. Given the fact
> that printer can be fed with a neutral RGB file or a Greyscale file in
> B&W mode suggests that something like that is used.  I bet it actually
> makes an RGB file of the Greyscale in the driver again like the Epson
> drivers do with CMYK files already.

So they convert CMYK to RGB and then back to CMYK?

> The toner addition can overrule the
> CM so sepia etc remains possible..
> 
> Reading the information again I start to doubt whether it actually has
> linearising features in the driver. It mentions linearisation at the
> factory 

For the wide format models only.

>and combined with Atkinson like profiles that would be good
> enough for most but not for the long run and third party papers. Custom
> profiling can take care of smaller linearisation shifts in time.
> 
> Better keep QTR on your system if it isn't working nice on B&W.

As I understand it, QTR effectively takes single channel input and the
separation into multi-channels occurs according to the ink selection and
partitioning process conducted when the curve is made.  Is there any
advantage to taking a three channel approach within the document and running
the printer as a(n extended) CMYK device?  I suspect not but I as I said I
am in the early stages of learning about CMYK separations from RGB....

Another point:  wouldn't it be nice if Epson upgraded the 2100/2200/4000
inks to the new formulae, albeit without the llK....perhaps wishful
thinking.