Datacolor User to User Support Group.

>OK, I noticed something on my test print with the babys.  Although I
>have a perfect nozzle check and no banding, (checked with a lupe) the
>right paper selected (epson luster) and the driver set to no color
>adjustment, The gradients do not drop off evenly I can see problems in
>the browns all over that place.

That's right, that's what building the printer profle is going to adjust
for.

The more unevenly things drop off; the harder the paper is to profile;
and the more likely it is that your results will be improved by going to
the 729 patch target.

>It was my understanding that all targets be printed with no color
>adjustment at the printer settings that you will be printing at with the
>created profile.

Yes, that's correct (and then later on, when you print through the profile,
you need to have the printer driver set up -exactly- the same way, otherwise
all bets are off...:-)

>SO....Why would I want to set this printer at anything else other than
>what epson wanted it set at?
>

You may find that other media settings in the driver may behave better
than others, with color adjustment turned off in the printer drive. David
Tobie has incorporated a number of excellent, detailed notes about what
to look for; in the Help file for the Media Setting Check page; if you haven't
read those yet, it's well worth the time to do so. It's often worth testing
several different media settings before you profile, to see what it is that
the driver will be doing before any profiling takes place.

You may discover that some non-standard media settings may give you less
blocking in the shadows; better uncalibrated transitions in gradients;
more saturated extremes; richer blacks; etc. The Media Setting check is
is PFP's useful new feature that can help you figure this out.

>What else is there to change and still leave it on no color adjustment?
>Paper is all there is.

That's right, but that's important. You will get different results when you
print through different media settings. You can print on Premium Luster, for
example, through the Premium Glossy media setting to see what the differences
are. Also try the "film" setting (I had built a profile for the 1280, for
Premium Luster, through the "film" setting that was amazing).

(Note that the Epson driver won't let you print with all media settings on
all papers; there are limits to how "bad" it will let you be; some of the
limits may seem arbitrary, but Epson probably knew what they were doing when
they put them in; if a media setting is dimmed, there's most likely a reason
why Epson doesn't want you to go there).

Once you've printed the Media Setting Check image through several different
settings, you can measure the black patch on each, compare the L values, and
see which media setting gives you the deepest black. Some media settings in
the driver will give you more black than others. (Yes, the media setting check
image is small, and the patches are small; but everyone who has access to the
new 1.1b5 version will discover that you can now print all of those 1/4 size
test and print preview images at -full- size on the page; and if you print
any of the Target images, you can always measure their black patch, of course).

Once again: the best documentation on how to use and interpret the Media
Setting Check image, in combination with different driver settings, is the
Help file.


Best regards,


-- 
David Miller
Senior Software Developer, Digital Color Solutions
ColorVision