Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, Michael Johnson 
<palladiumprinter1@y...> wrote:
>
> My intent was not to "define digital process". I am a commercial 
photographer. I am not a "pixel peeper" or a "pixel geek". I look at 
the final image and subjectively decide wether or not it works.
>  
> My question still stands, will the ImagePrint or StudioPrint RIPS 
make "better" black and white prints with the Epson 4800?
>  
> By better I am looking for luminous prints, clean tones, smooth 
gradations and excellent local contrast with no muddy areas. Sorry is 
this description is not technical enough, but I am interested in the 
emotional response I get from an image and not the technical issues 
that make up the result.
>  

With this clarification I'll add the little bit that is certain, 
since no one has a good RIP out for these printers (except the 
colorburst RIP), it's a little hard to know. What one of these RIPs 
will allow is for you to set the linearization and ink limiting for 
non Epson papers. We can see from this post
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint/message/692
21
that other papers will have linearity and limit problems. It is not 
yet known if the Epson Colorbase application can correct these types 
of errors. Will you get a better (more pleasing) dither, or any other 
workflow advantages with using a RIP? Hard to call. Some say yes, 
some say no. A good RIP will give you much more control over the way 
the inks are used, so the only real way is to try several and see for 
yourself. Just about everyone will have their new software out within 
a few weeks after Epson releases the complete details for the drivers 
and how to control the new machines.

One thing to note.... Most RIPs will want CMYK profiles, so you might 
need a much more expensive profiling option. Choose something that 
has the ability to change the amount of GCR in the profile.