Digital BW, The Print

Hi  Clayton,
When the file opens it shows  embedded profile as graygamma 
2.2 and working dot gain 20%. I am on a Mac. I print from PS 7 
on 2200 using the same settings you outline in Part 3 except for 
2880. On screen it is very contrasty. Printed it is not.
Suggestions?
thanks
Antara

Hello Antara,

>When the file opens it shows  embedded profile as graygamma 
>2.2 and working dot gain 20%. I am on a Mac. I print from PS 7 
>on 2200 using the same settings you outline in Part 3 except for 
>2880. On screen it is very contrasty. Printed it is not.
>Suggestions?

I don't use a Mac, so I don't know if things are different there, but
anyway here goes:

1) In the 2200 Properties window, Color Management section, have these
settings:
  - select "Color Controls"
  - set gamma at 1.8
  - color mode = "Standard"
  - all sliders centered at zero

2) - Paper Type = "Enhanced Matte"
   - Photo 1440 dpi

3) Make sure the back end profile is "Same As Source".  This allows
changing the front end profile without altering the print.

4) If any of your settings were different from these, make a new
print, and this will be the reference print.  Otherwise use the
original print.

>On screen it is very contrasty. Printed it is not.

5) Ok, seems like the next thing would be to get better WYSIWYG.  You
said the contrast is greater on screen, so lets aim for making the
dark areas lighter until they more closely resemble the print.  In
order to go lighter on screen we must decrease the profile number.

>When the file opens it shows embedded profile as graygamma 
>2.2 and working dot gain 20%.

You didn't say which one of these you were using.  Whichever is was,
we must make the number smaller.  On a scale from light to dark, the
profile choices line up like this:

DG10    - lightest
DG15
DG20
GG1.8
DG25
GG2.2
DG30    - darkest

Whichever one you were using, select the next one up and the screen
image will get lighter.  Keep going until you find the one that most
closely resembles the print.  Once you find it, embed it (explained in
detail in Part 4 of the articles), and always use it when working with
this image.

6) At this point the screen image should more closely match the print.
   If you are unhappy with the print, then you should be unhappy with
the screen image, so adjust the image to suit and the print should
change to match.

7) That's the theory.  In actuality, the profiles make subtle changes
in contrast as well as brightness.  You may find that none of the
seven available profiles makes a satisfactory match to the print.  In
this case you can either live with it and do the best you can, or make
a custom profile that gets closer (explained in Part 4).  The better
WYSIWYG you can get, the easier and quicker it is to work up prints. 
Under the best of circumstances, it is difficult to match an
illuminated screen image with an opaque print.  Over time you get
better at interpolating the difference in your mind.

8) As for not getting good blacks in the print, the areas in the image
that you want to be really black must be RGB 0.  Anything greater than
0, such as 1 or 2, is not black (it's almost black <g>).  The printers
are sensitive enough, even with BO, to show a difference in just a
couple of RGB units (I like to use RGB values instead of % because
it's more precise.  Since there are 256 RGB values [0-255], it's about
2.5 RGB units for each %.  So an RGB value of 5 is about 98%.  RGB 2
or 3 is about 99%.  A system with a good curve will show a difference
in the 98/99/100 % steps (or every 2.56 RGB units).

9) "Black" in your print may not be really black, depending on the
ink.  It may be dark brown.  So "black" is a relative term, meaning
the densest color that a given ink is capable of.  If you really are
getting gray instead of black from RGB 0 areas, then there may be a
problem with the system (check to be sure the ink carts are in the
proper positions).

I hope this helps.  Please see Part 4 for more details on this.


Regards,
Clayton


Info on black and white digital printing at    
http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm

Thanks, Clayton
I used your settings and got a beautiful print on EAM. (6x8)
Now I'm going to print a big one! Do you find this BO has size 
limitations based on the dots? 
Have you by any chance compared this method to using  the 
OPM driver(which I am assuming uses more of the Ultrachrome 
inks)? Oh, I think that only works with OS 9 on Mac.
How about color shifting, fading or longevity?
Thanks again for your time and explainations.
Antara

Hello Antara,

>I used your settings and got a beautiful print on EAM. (6x8)
>Thanks again for your time and explainations.

You're welcome, that's good news.


>Now I'm going to print a big one! Do you find this BO has size 
>limitations based on the dots? 

No, the dot patterns make particular tones and don't change with size
of print.  There's just more of them.  Dots.  Millions of dots.  <g>



>Have you by any chance compared this method to using  the 
>OPM driver

No, I haven't.


>How about color shifting, fading or longevity?

I'm not sure what you're asking.  These are ink issues and have
nothing to do with the printing method.

I only recently got my 2200 and I'm planning to try the MIS Eboni ink
for BO prints, as it is not as warm as the Epson Matte Black and has
excellent longevity without color shifting.  I've also found that the
2880 dpi setting on the 2200 makes prints that have better fine detail
resolution and have no dither banding, compared to the 870 at 1440
dpi.
So I think I'm going to like this for BO, but I'm also keeping an eye
on the new Septone system, which looks very promising.

Regards,
Clayton


Info on black and white digital printing at    
http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm

Do you know if you can just switch inks to Eboni and then back 
again to matte black? I think I'd like to try it. I used to used MIS VM 
on my 870 with Paul Roark's curves and could get a cool black I 
liked, altho the warmer blacks are growing on me.
Antara

> 
> I only recently got my 2200 and I'm planning to try the MIS Eboni 
ink
> for BO prints, as it is not as warm as the Epson Matte Black 
and has
> excellent longevity without color shifting.  I've also found that the
> 2880 dpi setting on the 2200 makes prints that have better fine 
detail
> resolution and have no dither banding, compared to the 870 at 
1440
> dpi.
> So I think I'm going to like this for BO, but I'm also keeping an 
eye

> on the new Septone system, which looks very promising.
> 
> Regards,
> Clayton
> 
> 
> Info on black and white digital printing at    
> http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm

Hi Clayton,

I am also interested in trying out the MIS Eboni in my 2200.  I 
imagine the cartridge should go in the slot where I currently have 
my Matte black. Do I need to flush my printer or perform any kind of 
cleaning cycle before introducing the MIS ink? Is it as simple as 
swapping the Epson Photo Black and Epson Matte Black?
Thanks,
David

P.S. - How about them Marlins?


--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Antara Scales" 
<antaras@y...> wrote:
> Do you know if you can just switch inks to Eboni and then back 
> again to matte black? I think I'd like to try it. I used to used 
MIS VM 
> on my 870 with Paul Roark's curves and could get a cool black I 
> liked, altho the warmer blacks are growing on me.
> Antara
> 
> > 
> > I only recently got my 2200 and I'm planning to try the MIS 
Eboni 
> ink
> > for BO prints, as it is not as warm as the Epson Matte Black 
> and has
> > excellent longevity without color shifting.  I've also found 
that the
> > 2880 dpi setting on the 2200 makes prints that have better fine 
> detail
> > resolution and have no dither banding, compared to the 870 at 
> 1440
> > dpi.
> > So I think I'm going to like this for BO, but I'm also keeping 
an 

> eye
> > on the new Septone system, which looks very promising.
> > 
> > Regards,
> > Clayton
> > 
> > 
> > Info on black and white digital printing at    
> > http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm

> I am also interested in trying out the MIS Eboni in my 2200.  I 
> imagine the cartridge should go in the slot where I currently have 
> my Matte black. Do I need to flush my printer or perform any kind of 
> cleaning cycle before introducing the MIS ink? Is it as simple as 
> swapping the Epson Photo Black and Epson Matte Black?

It's very simple. You basically follow the same procedure as when
changing between Matte Black and Photo Black and it works. You might
want to to an extra cleaning cycle to completely clean out the old
black. No need to flush the printer.

But if you're going to change cartridges anyway, why not try the full
Ultratone inkset? MIS released their cartridges today:
http://inksupply.com/index.cfm?source=html/quadcart.html

I see they've set up the inkset with Photo Black and Eboni black in the
Black and Light Black positions respectively, and that the inkset can
only work through OPM or QTR. 

However, I've made some new and improved curves available which work
with the standard Epson driver, but then you'll need Eboni black in the
black position and MIS Archival 7600 light black in the light black
position. Those two cartridges can be bought on this page:
http://inksupply.com/index.cfm?source=html/epsoncomps_2200.html

The only thing I'm uncertain about it the quality of MIS' cartridges,
I've been using refilled Epson cartridges myself.

--
Daniel Staver
http://daniel.staver.no

David: as I remember previous discussions there were early clog
problems with Eboni as a result of mixing with the old dye ink picked
up from the sponge. I believe it was Paul Rourke that concluded you
needed to flush the traces of the dye ink from the sponge when you
changed carts to keep Eboni from clogging. 
Bob Michaels

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "David Sinai"
<dsinai@y...> wrote:

> Hi Clayton,
> 
> I am also interested in trying out the MIS Eboni in my 2200.  I 
> imagine the cartridge should go in the slot where I currently have 
> my Matte black. Do I need to flush my printer or perform any kind of 
> cleaning cycle before introducing the MIS ink? Is it as simple as 
> swapping the Epson Photo Black and Epson Matte Black?
> Thanks,
> David
> 
> P.S. - How about them Marlins?
> 
> 
> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Antara Scales" 
> <antaras@y...> wrote:
> > Do you know if you can just switch inks to Eboni and then back 
> > again to matte black? I think I'd like to try it. I used to used 
> MIS VM 
> > on my 870 with Paul Roark's curves and could get a cool black I 
> > liked, altho the warmer blacks are growing on me.
> > Antara
> > 
> > > 
> > > I only recently got my 2200 and I'm planning to try the MIS 
> Eboni 
> > ink
> > > for BO prints, as it is not as warm as the Epson Matte Black 
> > and has
> > > excellent longevity without color shifting.  I've also found 
> that the
> > > 2880 dpi setting on the 2200 makes prints that have better fine 
> > detail
> > > resolution and have no dither banding, compared to the 870 at 
> > 1440
> > > dpi.
> > > So I think I'm going to like this for BO, but I'm also keeping 
> an 
> > eye
> > > on the new Septone system, which looks very promising.
> > > 
> > > Regards,
> > > Clayton
> > > 
> > > 
> > > Info on black and white digital printing at    
> > > http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm