Digital BW, The Print

I finally got my hands on a little Epson C86 with the intent of making it a dedicated B&W 
printer. Before buying the MIS cartridges, I thought I'd give it a thorough workout with the 
Epson DuraBrite cartridges to make sure all is well. While I find it to be very competent as 
a little office printer, I'm seeing too much softness in the image for a photo printer. It is 
not the photoshop image that is actually soft because I printed the same images using an 
HP 8450 (color and black and white) and those were tack sharp with fine hair thin details 
and gradations. The images with the C86 even under the Photo RPM and Super Microweave 
turned on are just plain soft by comparison. I have been trying the Epson DuraBrite Ink 
Glossy Paper and the Epson Matte Paper Heavyweight so far.  Should I expect sharper 
prints and better gradation using the MIS inks? I've tried the C86 in color and black mode 
so far. 

Your views would be appreciated. 

Best, 
-Lynn

Soft prints.

Really.

Super microweaving.

Really.

Funny, my C86 prints just fine, sharp as a tack.

My driver doesn't even have Super Microweaving.

Where in the driver are you finding SMW?

Scott


--- In 
DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "pfictionpfledgling" 
<contax@s...> wrote:
> 
> I finally got my hands on a little Epson C86 with the intent of 
making it a dedicated B&W 
> printer. Before buying the MIS cartridges, I thought I'd give it a 
thorough workout with the 
> Epson DuraBrite cartridges to make sure all is well. While I find 
it to be very competent as 
> a little office printer, I'm seeing too much softness in the image 
for a photo printer. It is 
> not the photoshop image that is actually soft because I printed the 
same images using an 
> HP 8450 (color and black and white) and those were tack sharp with 
fine hair thin details 
> and gradations. The images with the C86 even under the Photo RPM 
and Super Microweave 
> turned on are just plain soft by comparison. I have been trying the 
Epson DuraBrite Ink 
> Glossy Paper and the Epson Matte Paper Heavyweight so far.  Should 
I expect sharper 
> prints and better gradation using the MIS inks? I've tried the C86 
in color and black mode 

> so far. 
> 
> Your views would be appreciated. 
> 
> Best, 
> -Lynn

I use a C86 for color, and it is pretty good, but the durabrite paper 
is not as good an image as cheap epson glossy paper, or enhanced matte. 
With those two papers, the color is exactly matching my crudely 
adjusted powerbook monitor. The prints form the color C86 have a nice 
vibe that I like, but it might not be tack sharp, like some inkjets on 
glossy paper. The inks are pigment, so they have that look to them. The 
dot size is small, so with the MIS inks, it very well may be sharper. I 
was going to convert mine but for right now I am leaving it in color 
for snapshots. The colorsync on the mac is bulletproof with it.
Doug M
On Feb 8, 2005, at 1:30 PM, scott_now_coming wrote:

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

Doug, 
Thank you for your reply. Maybe then the paper is the culprit. I'll make sure to get some of 
the papers you noted. In another message, the Costco paper is noted as being superb stuff 
- but which exact name of paper is it at Costco? I'll keep playing around with it and see if I 
can resolve this softness issue. It's discouraging seeing a soft print and not knowing what 
part of the formula might be the culprit - but I appreciate your help!

Scott, 
Granted email isn't a perfect medium to tell what your tone might really be in your post,  
but it sounds like you doubt I am getting soft prints. My question was asked out of true 
interest in solving a problem. And yes, really, I am getting soft prints.

I can't help wondering if the Epson Ink is somehow different than the MIS inks. Maybe the 
Durabrite Epson ink "spreads" more? Judging by Doug's response, I think part of the issue 
is the paper itself. 

I am using the latest Mac OS 10.3.7 from Photoshop CS. When you click "print with 
preview" the dialog boxes come up. I then choose Print --> Print Settings --> Advanced 
--> (Print Quality) Best RPM --> (Checkbox) Super MIcroweave.

Regards,
-Lynn


On Feb 8, 2005, at 3:30 PM, scott_now_coming wrote:

 Soft prints.

 Really.

 Super microweaving.

 Really.

 Funny, my C86 prints just fine, sharp as a tack.

 My driver doesn't even have Super Microweaving.

 Where in the driver are you finding SMW?

 Scott



--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, Douglas Meeuwsen 
<lipshurt@m...> wrote:

> I use a C86 for color, and it is pretty good, but the durabrite paper 
> is not as good an image as cheap epson glossy paper, or enhanced matte. 
> With those two papers, the color is exactly matching my crudely 
> adjusted powerbook monitor. The prints form the color C86 have a nice 
> vibe that I like, but it might not be tack sharp, like some inkjets on 
> glossy paper. The inks are pigment, so they have that look to them. The 
> dot size is small, so with the MIS inks, it very well may be sharper. I 
> was going to convert mine but for right now I am leaving it in color 
> for snapshots. The colorsync on the mac is bulletproof with it.
> Doug M