Digital BW, The Print

Hi Paul,

On Fri, Jul 24, 2009 at 03:29:46PM -0000, pr_roark wrote:

> The test strip I use most often today is at 
> http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/21-Step.jpg
> Save it as a Tiff.

Ok, I'll have a look.

> > Normal documents printed on office paper look fine. 
> > I wonder if there's a problem with the printer's photo modes 
> >- I've tried making two prints in Photo RPM mode, and both have 
> > left big blotches of wet ink on the paper.
> 
> That doesn't sound normal.

I suspected not, but I wasn't sure which papers "Photo RPM" is
appropriate for - Epson's docs just say "use it on certain papers". Not
*which* papers. Thanks Epson!

> > So I have a couple of questions:
> > 
> > 1) Is it possible that there's a problem with Photo or 
> > Photo RPM print modes, but not with Economy/Normal/Fine?
> 
> The Epson driver usually sets an ink limit that is low enough that you
> will not have blotches of wet ink.  Perhaps it could also be a driver
> problem.  You might want to download and re-install the latest one and
> see if that makes a difference.

I've been through a few rounds of removal and reinstallation with that
driver, and the process hasn't given me much confidence in their
installer for OS X. I do have a PC, so I can try the printer there with
a clean install of the driver.

On my way to work this morning it occurred to me that trying QuadTone
RIP on my Mac instead of the Epson driver might help isolate the problem
to the printer or the driver. Any thoughts on that?

And, looking back through some of my test prints, I *do* have one
reasonable print of one of Bill Atkinson's test images. So it seems
unlikely that it's the printer itself.

> > 2) Is it plausible that normal variation can account for the 
> > radical difference between Paul's profile and my printer?
> 
> I doubt it.  

Thought not.

> > 3) There have been a number of rumors of double-profiling; 

> Be sure the driver settings are as specified in the PDF, p. 7.

*nod*

> > I'm following the directions in Paul's UT-14 paper: 
> > Photoshop manages color, with the UltraPremGlossPP 
> > profile selected. Rendering intent is
> > Perceptual. Black point compensation is checked. 
> > In the Epson dialog,
> > media type is "Ultra Premium Presentation Matte", 
> > Color is, er, Color,
> 
> (Not sure what that is.)

That's the drop-down to select Color or Grayscale.

> > Color management is set to off.
> 
> In my driver I check "ICM" first, then "Off (No Color Adjustment)"

Interesting. From the screenshot in UT14.pdf, it looks like the Windows
driver itself supports ICM - so you could work on a file in PS, print it
without color management, then load a profile and select an intent in
the Epson driver itself. I can double check when I get home, but I'm
pretty sure that the OS X driver doesn't have that functionality; you
can select "Off (No Color Adjustment)" or "Color Controls" (which look
the same as what you suggest for matte papers). If you pick "Off", the
driver summary screen shows that color is managed via ColorSync (MacOS's
API).

> > I'm on a Mac Pro running Mac OS X 10.5.7, Photoshop CS3, 
> > and Lightroom 2.4.
> 
> There could be some variations from my Windows, Photoshop starting point.

Yeah. I *think* my settings are analogous to yours, but I'm not an
expert, so.

> > The Epson printer driver reports version 6.10. 
> 
> That's the same version I have.
> 
> You might try printing http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/Purge6.jpg
> (or just a 1" length of it) and see if the inks appear to be as
> described in the PDF.

Hm, I just reviewed the PDF and didn't see a description of a purge
pattern or how the inks should appear. Did I miss something?

Thanks :)

-- 
  | Mike Acar |                                | mike at waspfactory dot org |