Digital BW, The Print

I've added a super dilute Eboni to my 7500 "Eboni-5" test set.  So, it's now
"Eboni-6."  I have no idea how the densities compare to the Piezo K6 inkset.
The densities I used were the LK and LLK, as well as the standard carbons I
used for the MIS inksets, like UT-3D-C and LC, which are a bit darker than
LK and LLK.   In addition to adding the more dilute ink, I put the inks into
slots so that the Epson driver could print them: Y=LLLK, C channel is the
UT-C & LC, and M channel is the LK-LLK.

 

The smoothness of the highlights, at least under a loupe or in a 1600 dpi
scan, was, of course, increased by the addition of the LLLk.  On the other
hand, at normal viewing distance I'm not sure anyone but a critic from this
list would see the difference.  It's nice to know when the 7500 head fails
in one channel, it'll still be very useable as a K-5 printer.  I can see
where someone who wanted to do some toning might want to put in a toner
instead of this super-light carbon.

 

The Epson driver actually makes a reasonable B&W print with no curve or
profile at all.  Of course, with no curve the highlights do show some
visible dots with the old 7500.  With a curve that starts the lightest ink
first, then the next lightest channel, etc., the Epson driver is a bit
smoother than QTR with my current profile, until the deep shadows.  Then QTR
has a clear advantage.  QTR also gets a slightly better dmax.  The Epson
driver, on the other hand, allows the use of an ICC made with Create
ICC-RGB.  This makes for a very nice workflow with "color managed" matching
of the monitor and print, as well as linearization.  I'll probably use the
QTR rip approach most, but it's nice to have the alternatives.

 

So far, the system is working. For more on the basic approach, see
http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/Eboni-5.pdf .

 

Paul

www.PaulRoark.com <http://www.paulroark.com/>  

 



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