QTR-Quadtone RIP

Hello,

I am new to B&W printing using a B&W ink set. I am also new to QTR. So I have a number of questions concerning profiling and curve creation. I think I have gotten my head around basic colour profiling and I have color profiled my colour printers and papers using a SpyderPRINT spectrometer with success.

This is my setup ( just to get technicalities out of the way)

A Mac running 10.8. I work and normally print from Apple Aperture, but I have Photoshop CS6 at my disposal
My B&W printer is a Epson Photo R265 (known as a R260 in the US). This is a Claria 6 ink printer
I use UT-3D as the B&W inkset in this printer, based on sample printouts I had seen. I generally like the look and feel of this ink set. I also like neutral toned prints.
My favourite paper is Ilford Gold Fibre Silk (for glossy) and Hahnemühle PhotoRag for matte paper.
I know howto, print raw profile images, like the 21-step wedge, bypassing colour management.
So far I used this printer using the standard Epson printer driver to print by B&W photos, essentially letting the printer driver do the colour management. The results are mixed, although sometimes this results in stunning printouts.

So I have tried to create ICC curves using the QTR create ICC profile script, but fail miserably, because my blacks seem to saturate off at about the 85% mark, and I have the impression, the printer driver puts down too much ink, which the paper cannot absorb.

Is there a way to reduce the amount of ink output from inside the Epson printer?

If reducing the ink in the Epson driver is not possible,I assume I have to go via the route of creating a curve and use the QTR printer driver, where reducing the ink is possible. Unfortunately, nobody seems to have created curves for this type of printer (or a similar one like the R380) and the UT 3D ink set, and the process of creating a curve seems overly complicated. In addition, most description of curve creation either assumes a colour ink set or a BO approach. 

What would be the approach to create a curve using this ink set. Has anyone a step by step outline or tutorial specifically for UT 3D (or similar ink sets?)

What should I try next?

Finally when I set up the QTR driver I had the choice between a QuadR260 and a QuadR260-MIS. What is the difference?

Thanks in advance and sorry for the verbose and lengthy mail

Andrew



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