Digital BW, The Print

Bill,

I also find my 4800 ABW settings with Hahnemühle's German Etching 310  
roll stock, using their custom profile and VFA paper settings (as per  
Hahnemühle instructions) give me terrific results. Printed "Dark" the  
images just pop off the paper. IMHO :)

Alan

On Aug 6, 2007, at 8:57 AM, Michael King wrote:

> Bill,
>
> I do find that my 4800 ABW settings (linearity, inking etc.) for Epson
> papers are great, Epson have clearly worked hard on this.
> If you combine ABW+Epson Papers + QTR Create ICC you do have a very  
> usable,
> repeatable workflow that produces fantastic results on VFA and USFA.
>
> I would agree that you have to work harder with non Epson papers  
> that don't
> hold as much ink, to make ABW work effectively, but its doable. I  
> often find
> that Textured Fine Art is the setting that works best for a lot of  
> non-Epson
> papers. It has a lighter ink load than other paper settings.
>
> Mike
>
> On 06/08/07, BKPhoto@... <BKPhoto@...> wrote:
> >
> >
> > Steve-
> >
> > You've question leads to a core issue in printing on the OEM  
> path. You
> > have an excellent printer, inks, and you're working with  
> excellent papers.
> > And, while ABW is pretty nifty, it is part of the "black box"  
> that is the
> > print driver software. This means you are printing through a  
> embedded
> > profile locked in the box; this, combined with the fact that  
> Epson print
> > drivers habitually lay down too much ink, can easily result in  
> loss of tonal
> > definition. In your case, the inability to replicate image code  
> values into
> > print tonality accurately.
> >
> > If you want to stay on the OEM path, there are two options you can
> > explore. First, make adjustments in the Printer Color Management  
> panel; try
> > using Normal or Light in the Tone menu. You can also experiment  
> with the
> > other controls in this panel, but I'd suggest making small moves,  
> printing,
> > trying again, until you get something usable. If you do find  
> something
> > usable, be sure to save the settings through the Presets menu.  
> You'll have
> > to do this for each paper in turn. Sorry.
> >
> > Also, you can experiment with the Color Density slider found in  
> the Paper
> > Configuration panel. Again, make small changes, print, try again.
> >
> > What you'll be doing, essentially, is twiddling with the knobs and
> > switches attached to the black box. While this will allow you to  
> stay on the
> > OEM path, it will never produce the accurate print that a  
> properly ink
> > limited, linearized, and profiled system is capable of.  
> Understand, I'm not
> > advocating that you stray off the path. You may be able to tweak  
> your
> > workflow enough to solve the problem. You'll certainly learn a  
> lot about the
> > behavior of the print driver this way.
> >
> > Bill Kennedy
> > K2 Press
> > Austin, Texas
> > Author of "The Photographer's Guide to the Digital Darkroom",  
> Allworth
> > Press.
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: SteveZ <blizzie12@... <blizzie12%40yahoo.com>>
> >  
> To:DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com<DigitalBlackandWhiteTh 
> ePrint%40yahoogroups.com>
> > Sent: Mon, 6 Aug 2007 10:23 am
> > Subject: [Digital BW] Dark skies and Dmax
> >
> > I need some advise on printing images with dark skies and/or  
> skies that
> >
> > have a distinct transition gradient from dark to lighter tones
> >
> > Unlike most of you, I'm relatively new to digital b&W printing
> >
> > and, as such, technically challenged when it comes to measuring  
> dmax,
> >
> > creating profiles, etc.
> >
> > I'm using a 3800 with k3 inks with matte papers that include VFA,  
> HPR
> >
> > and MPR. For b&w I normally use the the ABW driver but even when  
> using
> >
> > the RGB driver/media profiles the results invariably are the same.
> >
> > I've also made test prints with all of the above papers with similar
> >
> > outcomes: solid black skies with no detail.
> >
> > Without getting too technical,
> >
> > can anybody shed some light?
> >
> > __________________________________________________________
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> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
> >
> >
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>