Digital BW, The Print

Does anyone understand WHY banding occurs in inkjet prints? I have 
been trying black only printing with a wide variety of papers (both 
glossy and matt) and different black inks. The luminosity and image 
tone of black only prints is just far and away more suitable for MY 
tastes. I've tried QTR and OPM rips using MIS and epson OEM inks. The 
image tone for my tastes, how can I put this .... lacks "character".  
Most will not agree but personaly, I just don't like the color of the 
image tones.  Black only printing is truly beautiful in my view and I 
am willing to accept the graininess of this techniques in exchange 
for the rich luminosity and color of image tone. However, on both 
matt and glossy papers banding always seems to occur in certain zones 
usually in the darker tones. This banding is visible to the naked eye 
when viewed up close. I have tried to linearize the inks using an 
adjustment curve in photoshop based on densitometer readings. When 
you look at the step wedge you can see certain zones that exhibit 
banding from about 50% to dmax. Not everywhere, just certain values 
of those dark tones. The places where banding occurs depends on the 
paper and ink. When I test papers I always do a complete head 
realignment first. I print in max resolution in the slowest possible 
speeds. Does anybody have any experience or suggestions that might 
help?

What printer are you using?

I have a C86 and it "bands". Too bad, because the prints look awesome 
(except, of course, for the "banding").

Scott


--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "yohnnyboy" 
<chhopk@l...> wrote:
> Does anyone understand WHY banding occurs in inkjet prints? I have 
> been trying black only printing with a wide variety of papers (both 
> glossy and matt) and different black inks. The luminosity and image 
> tone of black only prints is just far and away more suitable for MY 
> tastes. I've tried QTR and OPM rips using MIS and epson OEM inks. 
The 
> image tone for my tastes, how can I put this .... 
lacks "character".  
> Most will not agree but personaly, I just don't like the color of 
the 
> image tones.  Black only printing is truly beautiful in my view and 
I 
> am willing to accept the graininess of this techniques in exchange 
> for the rich luminosity and color of image tone. However, on both 
> matt and glossy papers banding always seems to occur in certain 
zones 
> usually in the darker tones. This banding is visible to the naked 
eye 
> when viewed up close. I have tried to linearize the inks using an 
> adjustment curve in photoshop based on densitometer readings. When 
> you look at the step wedge you can see certain zones that exhibit 
> banding from about 50% to dmax. Not everywhere, just certain values 
> of those dark tones. The places where banding occurs depends on the 
> paper and ink. When I test papers I always do a complete head 
> realignment first. I print in max resolution in the slowest 
possible 
> speeds. Does anybody have any experience or suggestions that might 
> help?

Hello Yonnyboy,

>Does anyone understand WHY banding occurs in inkjet prints? I have 
>been trying black only printing with a wide variety of papers...and 
>different black inks. The luminosity and image tone of black only 
>prints is just far and away more suitable for MY tastes. 

>Most will not agree...
>Black only printing is truly beautiful in my view and I am willing 
>to accept the graininess of this techniques in exchange for the 
>rich luminosity and color of image tone. 

There are lots of BO users out here who agree, you aren't alone.



>Does anybody have any experience or suggestions that might help?

Yes, couple of things:

1) You didn't say what printer, but if it has a paper thickness lever,
try different settings.  Sometimes it makes a big difference, and
seems to vary among printers.

2) I use a 2200, and found that a head alignment helped.  BUT, not in
the usual sense.  Instead of the best match of the test print lines
(which didn't help), I tried selecting lower line numbers and it got
better.  I kept going lower, and ended up using #2 and have very
little banding - requires a glass to see it.

Something else to consider - several people have been experimenting
with QTR and 2-black-ink curves (K+LK).  Steve Karafyllakis has been
blending inks for the LK position to try and control the color better
(UC LK is too warm and UT7 LK is too blue-green), and is getting
stunning results.  He's calling it "2K" printing, and hopefully he
will report his results soon.  The nice thing about it is its similar
to BO in that it does allow paper to show between the dots, even
though they are closer together.  It preserves much of BO's
luminosity, and gives a much smoother appearance.  Dmax is also good,
though maybe a tad shy of BO's.  So this is worth keeping an eye on.


Regards,
Clayton


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