Digital BW, The Print

Folks,

I'm struggling here to get my B & W dedicated Epson 1400 (using Eboni 6 ink) to yield quality prints.

I've done the preliminary utility work, testing nozzles and alignment.
I'm getting  a near black, but can't get past the horizontal banding, nor  clean black. (I've scanned the Tiffen Gray Scale, and print that to evaluate)

Is there anyone near Berkeley (El Cerrito) who  would be available to run me through all the correct processes to arrive at a properly calibrated output? 

I'm also interested to know if printing from Photoshop is the best course.  My wife thinks she gets better images by importing the final file into a publishing program like Indesign or Pagemaker.

Any and all advice is welcome - I'm really wanting to complete this transition from the darkroom to the computer, but am finding the process very frustrating.

Michael Jhon

On 20/10/10 19:18, Michael Jhon wrote:
>
> Folks,
>
> I'm struggling here to get my B & W dedicated Epson 1400 (using Eboni 
> 6 ink) to yield quality prints.
>
> I've done the preliminary utility work, testing nozzles and alignment.
> I'm getting a near black, but can't get past the horizontal banding, 
> nor clean black. (I've scanned the Tiffen Gray Scale, and print that 
> to evaluate)
>

have you set the printer to either best or photo quailty. the horizontal 
banding is usually  caused by the lack of a byte. in the output info.

bob



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

The settings I'd start with are on page 4 of http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/Eboni-6.pdf

I recommend starting with the Epson driver,  then ICCs, and finally going to the QTR rip only if needed and for special papers like the uncoated watercolor papers.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com 

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, robert fallis <fallis.robert@...> wrote:

>
> On 20/10/10 19:18, Michael Jhon wrote:
> >
> > Folks,
> >
> > I'm struggling here to get my B & W dedicated Epson 1400 (using Eboni 
> > 6 ink) to yield quality prints.
> >
> > I've done the preliminary utility work, testing nozzles and alignment.
> > I'm getting a near black, but can't get past the horizontal banding, 
> > nor clean black. (I've scanned the Tiffen Gray Scale, and print that 
> > to evaluate)
> >
> 
> have you set the printer to either best or photo quailty. the horizontal 
> banding is usually  caused by the lack of a byte. in the output info.
> 
> bob
> 
> 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

> > On 20/10/10 19:18, Michael Jhon wrote:
> > >
> > > Folks,
> > >
> > > I'm struggling here to get my B & W dedicated Epson 1400 (using Eboni 
> > > 6 ink) to yield quality prints.
> > >
> > > I've done the preliminary utility work, testing nozzles and alignment.
> > > I'm getting a near black, but can't get past the horizontal banding, nor clean black. (I've scanned the Tiffen Gray Scale, and print that to evaluate)
> > >


It can also depend on the size of the original, what size you are attempting to print, if it is a JPG or TIF, etc, resolution settings, ie 300 PPI...  

Personally though it uses more ink, I set my printer to print at 1200 DPI, instead of 300 as I like the quality better. 

IF the original has banding in it, such as in the sky, then there will be banding in the print.  Sometimes I get originals from Relatives, who did not process them correctly, with banding in the skies. In this case, I load them into an editor, capture the sky and blur it to eliminate the banding.