Digital BW, The Print

If you are using the test strips I sent they were definitely done in Adv B&W
mode. Quite interesting.  As for the "3 shades of black" being carbon, where
did this come from?  I am not aware that Epson targeted a pure carbon 3K.  I
am waiting for Roy to get QTR mapped to the 4800 firmware so that I can
print his ink separation chart to see the hue of the individual inks.

The fade tests will be key.  If they are good (actually I guess we can only
say "as good as") then I don't care about whether Epson uses colour inks or
not.  The ease of use of Adv B&W is really quite good - arguably easier than
"black only" because it actually produces what one expects/desires.  I must
say that I have not noticed any metamerism on any of the prints I have made
thus far (and I have done everything from neutral to sepia).  I have largely
been doing photo paper output because it is just so damn good.  I don't care
what anybody says, those extra 2.5 f-stops of dynamic range make a big
difference in B&W.  I fully expect the matte black ink cartridge to rot in
the drawer.

If the fade tests are bad and can be improved by better RIP control over the
use of colour inks then that's fine.  We lose the ease of use factor (which
is really very significant) but have gained a substantially better set of
raw ink (with the exception of matte black).  Once Roy has QTR up for the
4800 I will gladly print test strips for you - I should have held onto the
unused paper!

I would continue to stress the key advance made by Epson this round is the
output to photo paper - the massive reduction in "bronzing" and "gloss
differential" issues.  If you only print to matte paper, upgrading this
round is likely not for you unless you are the type of person who wants ease
of use and feel constricted by the only-one-flavour "black only" printing.

Steve



> From: Paul Roark <paul.roark@...>
> Reply-To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
> Date: Sun, 26 Jun 2005 22:08:44 -0700
> To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
> Subject: RE: [Digital BW] Re: 4800 v. UT7 1600 dpi scans
> 
>> 
>>> ... Wonder why, and how much color is really there.
>> 
>> The 3 shades of black allow a much finer gradation of tones, but being
>> all carbon, by themselves they will be warm and need to be toned to be
>> cooler (or any other setting).  So, like the other RIPs, the colors
>> are added in in small amounts.  The yellow is surprising because in
>> the past Y was the least fade resistant and caused metamerism, and the
>> other RIPS avoided using it.
>> 
> 
> I've now put the top 10% of the 4800 ramp on the web, again, accessed from
> the bottom of my index at http://home1.gte.net/res09aij/index.htm
> 
> The top part of the ramp appears to be entirely color inks.  As they say,
> "The more things change, the more they stay the same."
> 
> While we assumed that Epson was doing what the rips did and using just the
> color inks that would be needed to neutralize the warm carbon, that appears
> not to be the case.  The 4800 and presumably 2400 are not really that much
> different from the 2200 and 4000 in that Epson is still using color pigments
> -- C, M, and Y -- to generate much of its grayscale.
> 
> Assuming the samples I was given were properly printed in "B&W" mode, I'd
> say the new printers are not as truly B&W "carbon" printers as we and some
> reviewers had assumed.  It looks like the third party rips will continue to
> be needed to print top notch B&W from the OEM inkset.
> 
> Paul
> www.PaulRoark.com