Digital BW, The Print

dfaprinting wrote:

>The 2400 profiles are on the loose! 
>http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1003&message=13547405
>
>Don't get too excited, they have been edited to give very large gamut 
>in a profile viewer. Looks like you will need custom profiles right 
>out of the gate again!
>
>  
>
It is far too early to judge the printers by their profiles. The drivers 
show changes that may well explain why Epson decided to extend the soft 
proof gamut. There's an AdobeRGB mode in the 2400 and 4800 drivers 
(R1800 had that as a first) next to the sRGB mode that was the default 
of the older drivers. This influences the gamut possible. The gamut of 
the new Epson will differ from the R1800 as the LM and LC inks deliver 
more gamut in the light color mixes (better subtractive mixing, less 
paper white) while the R1800 has its gamut gain at the blue and red 
regions of the gamut. The CM inks of the R1800 were more diluted 
compared to the CM inks of the CcMmYKk Ultrachrome printers according to 
Robert Krawitz. A compromise between not using LC and LM and what the 
finer droplets could produce in color mixing at the highlights. 
Depending on the inklimit possible in the R1800 that could mean there's 
some gamut loss at the full C-M  hues. There's also a hue shift in the 
new 4800 CM Ultrachrome inks compared to the old C-M UC inks according 
to Joseph Holmes.

I think you need a very good 3D profile viewer to see where the shapes 
of the three printer generations differ. Not to speak of the differences 
between the soft proof part of the profiles and the actual printing 
gamuts and what is shown in a 3D viewer.

I doubt Epson is returning to inflated profiles again after their 
excellent Atkinson etc profiles for the UC printers.

How to get the new drivers is explained in the first message of that 
link above.

Ernst