QTR-Quadtone RIP

Dear all,

First of all, apologies in advance if this proves to be a stupid 
question !

I run an Epson 2100 and, until now have been using the Epson ink-
set.  Due to my general frustration with getting reasonable b&w 
results, I invested in the Quadtone RIP and Piezography NK7 inks.

My initial prints with this combination (printing onto Epson 
Archival Matt) were good - the tonality and shadow detail were a 
significant improvement on the Epson prints (although there was some 
slight yellow and magenta colour casts  - I guess this may be the 
remnants of the Epson inks being flushed out?).

Yesterday, however, I tried to test how prints from a digital camera 
file would look but had a spectacular failure.  The files 
(originally RAW) were  processed in Photoshop, converted to TIFF 
files, and assigned Gray 2.2 profile.  The prints were, however, 
extremely odd, with most of the mid-tones printing as a blocked up 
shade of grey.  The shadows and higlights seemed unaffected.

As a new user of this system, I was hoping someone might be able to 
shed some light on where I may have gone wrong?

Thanks in advance !

Tom

Hi Tom,

First, are you confident in your monitor calibration?  Second, you say that you "assigned" 
gg2.2.  Did you really perform an assign or a conversion?  There are very few cases when 
you would want to do an assign - especially with a RAW file should have entered PS with 
an embedded ICC profile (probably some form or RGB).  When I have had problems like 
that with Piezo products, it was usually a profile problem.  If your printing from PS, select 
"no color management" and within QTR select the correct curve.  (I assume you have 
installed the EEM curve for NK7).  Third, are you confident of your monitor calibration?  If 
you are not profiling your printers output with QTR's QTR create ICC, then you are not 
running a closed loop system, and you will be VERY dependent on your monitor.  I highly 
recommend reading through the archives about using a spectrophotometer or a 
densitometer for creating B&W ICC profiles with QTR create ICC.

Good luck!

Josh


--- In QuadtoneRIP@yahoogroups.com, "tn46quilter" <tanicholson@...> wrote:

>
> Dear all,
> 
> First of all, apologies in advance if this proves to be a stupid 
> question !
> 
> I run an Epson 2100 and, until now have been using the Epson ink-
> set.  Due to my general frustration with getting reasonable b&w 
> results, I invested in the Quadtone RIP and Piezography NK7 inks.
> 
> My initial prints with this combination (printing onto Epson 
> Archival Matt) were good - the tonality and shadow detail were a 
> significant improvement on the Epson prints (although there was some 
> slight yellow and magenta colour casts  - I guess this may be the 
> remnants of the Epson inks being flushed out?).
> 
> Yesterday, however, I tried to test how prints from a digital camera 
> file would look but had a spectacular failure.  The files 
> (originally RAW) were  processed in Photoshop, converted to TIFF 
> files, and assigned Gray 2.2 profile.  The prints were, however, 
> extremely odd, with most of the mid-tones printing as a blocked up 
> shade of grey.  The shadows and higlights seemed unaffected.
> 
> As a new user of this system, I was hoping someone might be able to 
> shed some light on where I may have gone wrong?
> 
> Thanks in advance !
> 
> Tom
>

Tom

Have you tried doing a nozzle check? With the K7's using so many
shades of gray, if one fails the image will still print but will look
 as you said - a blocked up shade of gray.
If your printer is working properly, then another thing to try is
using a different profile. I've had good success using the QTR
Gray-Lab and Gray-Matte profiles (convert to profile).

Will

>
> Dear all,
> 
> First of all, apologies in advance if this proves to be a stupid 
> question !
> 
> I run an Epson 2100 and, until now have been using the Epson ink-
> set.  Due to my general frustration with getting reasonable b&w 
> results, I invested in the Quadtone RIP and Piezography NK7 inks.
> 
> My initial prints with this combination (printing onto Epson 
> Archival Matt) were good - the tonality and shadow detail were a 
> significant improvement on the Epson prints (although there was some 
> slight yellow and magenta colour casts  - I guess this may be the 
> remnants of the Epson inks being flushed out?).
> 
> Yesterday, however, I tried to test how prints from a digital camera 
> file would look but had a spectacular failure.  The files 
> (originally RAW) were  processed in Photoshop, converted to TIFF 
> files, and assigned Gray 2.2 profile.  The prints were, however, 
> extremely odd, with most of the mid-tones printing as a blocked up 
> shade of grey.  The shadows and higlights seemed unaffected.
> 
> As a new user of this system, I was hoping someone might be able to 
> shed some light on where I may have gone wrong?
> 
> Thanks in advance !
> 
> Tom
>

Hi Will,

Thanks for the help.  You are abolsutely right - I did a nozzle 
check and some cleaning and that seemed to solve the problem.  I 
must admit that I've never had a nozzle problem before (in 2 years 
of using the printer) which was why I was non-plussed.  Anyway - 
mystery solved and I can now get back to making the most of these 
inks!

Thanks again,

Tom


--- In QuadtoneRIP@yahoogroups.com, "wjlafever" <will@...> wrote:
>
> Tom
> 
> Have you tried doing a nozzle check? With the K7's using so many
> shades of gray, if one fails the image will still print but will 
look
>  as you said - a blocked up shade of gray.
> If your printer is working properly, then another thing to try is
> using a different profile. I've had good success using the QTR
> Gray-Lab and Gray-Matte profiles (convert to profile).
> 
> Will
> >
> > Dear all,
> > 
> > First of all, apologies in advance if this proves to be a stupid 
> > question !
> > 
> > I run an Epson 2100 and, until now have been using the Epson ink-
> > set.  Due to my general frustration with getting reasonable b&w 
> > results, I invested in the Quadtone RIP and Piezography NK7 inks.
> > 
> > My initial prints with this combination (printing onto Epson 
> > Archival Matt) were good - the tonality and shadow detail were a 
> > significant improvement on the Epson prints (although there was 
some 
> > slight yellow and magenta colour casts  - I guess this may be 
the 
> > remnants of the Epson inks being flushed out?).
> > 
> > Yesterday, however, I tried to test how prints from a digital 
camera 
> > file would look but had a spectacular failure.  The files 
> > (originally RAW) were  processed in Photoshop, converted to TIFF 
> > files, and assigned Gray 2.2 profile.  The prints were, however, 
> > extremely odd, with most of the mid-tones printing as a blocked 
up 
> > shade of grey.  The shadows and higlights seemed unaffected.
> > 
> > As a new user of this system, I was hoping someone might be able 
to 

> > shed some light on where I may have gone wrong?
> > 
> > Thanks in advance !
> > 
> > Tom
> >
>