Digital BW, The Print

Ink reversals basically occur when ink load exceeds dmax.

However another little talked about point is that with matte paper in
particular, pushing for dmax is a multiway trade off. High ink load
also inevitably results in large dot gain. This is particularily an issue
with smaller (say 8x10 and below)

So the ink load trade off is at least three way, dmax, reversal and dot
gain.

Often I am finding that managing dot gain (selectively reducing max black I
am printing in PS) is more impactful to my prints than maximizing dmax.

Mike



2008/9/17 Clayton Jones <cj@...>

>   Hello Rick,
>
> >Am I right in thinking that if I decide to use Ultrasmooth as the
> >media setting for this paper then I should try and aim to get the
> >whole image tonal range 'under' the max Dmax step for this paper?
>
> Ideally dmax will occur on the 100% patch. Whether a particular media
> setting is best for a given paper is another matter. I know that
> reversals can occur because of an improper ink load setting. I'm not
> sure whether reversals can be caused by a media setting. If the
> bottom point of a media setting curve is at 0,0 then it shouldn't
> affect dmax. But we don't know what those curves are doing, so some
> experimenting must be done.
>
> >If so I guess I could achieve this goal in either of 2 ways:
> >i) Add an adjustment levels/curves layer so that a 0 input results in
> >an RGB output of 5. Add this layer before printing
>
> I wouldn't recommend this approach. An RGB value of 0 should produce
> dmax in the print. Otherwise you'll always be chasing smoke. Better
> to find the ideal printer settings for every paper. On principle it's
> not a good idea to be adjusting the image to make up for improper
> printer settings.
>
> >ii)Use the colour density settings in the printer driver to reduce
> >the ink load (same as color density ?) until the max Dmax has been
> > moved to Step 100
>
> Yes. In my 2400 driver it's under a button called "Ink Config", which
> pops up a window with the Color Density slider. I have found this
> makes a significant difference. Try reducing the load by a few % for
> any wedge that shows a reversal (for example, on my printer -5%
> produces best result on VFA). Try increasing the load for any wedge
> that doesn't have a reversal, to see if greater dmax can be obtained.
> That paper might be capable of more dmax if it had more ink. You
> have to find the sweet spot for each paper. I'll be interested to
> know what you find out.
>
> Regards,
> Clayton
>
> Info on black and white digital printing at
> http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm
> I-Trak 2.1 http://www.cjcom.net/itrak.htm
>
> 
>


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