Digital BW, The Print

Tony,

You wrote:


>...[Cone] replied that the piezobw RIP for the 7000
>will work perfectly for the 9000, ...

Interesting.  Maybe the variable-tone 7000 curves will work without
modification on the 9000 also.

>My 1160 is running piezobw with CIS.  The
>microbanding does not show up on exactly one paper (wells river), and
>even then, it is on an image by image basis.

I originally got into writing Photoshop adjustment curves so that I could
print Piezo ink through the Epson driver.  That allowed the Error Diffusion
algorithm to do its job of hiding the artifacts on my 1160, which also
banded on some, but not all, images.  Piezo software disables this
algorithm, which often leads to these problems.  Epson has it there for a
reason.

>When I used color ink
>and the epson driver - no banding at all.

So, it could well be the Piezo software.

>Would my cure be to switch
>to MIS FS and print to the epson driver?

You can even use the Epson driver with the Piezo inks.  I think MIS has
workflows posted that you can try, and I can e-mail you a Photoshop
adjustment curve that you can try.  If the cure works with the Piezo inks,
then you can decide which inkset you want to use based on price, color/tone,
and other factors.

>... with the quality and
>"dotlessness" of the Cone system.

I find the Epson driver does a better job on my 1160 than the Epson driver.
I can't see the dots, but you have to judge that yourself.  Under a loupe
the Epson driver does make larger dots (Piezo also has dots under a loupe).
Either the MIS workflow for FS or my Piezo curve will let you see the
quality of the Epson driver -- for free.

Paul
http://www.PaulRoark.com