Re: Help with Profiling EPSON 1290 needed
Re: Help with Profiling EPSON 1290 needed
- Subject: Re: Help with Profiling EPSON 1290 needed
- From: email@hidden
- Date: Sun, 25 Mar 2001 07:30:38 EST
In a message dated 3/25/01 5:01:21 AM, email@hidden writes:
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I just tried to profile the new EPSON 1290 printer, with no success: I
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got
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something pretty strange with quite tiny gamut...
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The printer is going to print color & BW photos from PhotoShop 6.0 on EPSON
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Archival Matte paper, WIN 2K, currently no rip purchasing is planned.
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Profiling with Monaco Profiler & SpectroScan.
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I'm totally new in ink-jet printers profiling, so I have some basic
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questions:
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1. Since the printer's driver makes the color conversion to 6 colors, I'm
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not quite sure whether should I profile it as RGB or CMYK device?
As an RGB device, unless you have a CMYK RIP for it.
If it's
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CMYK, how the additional light colors issue comes into account?
They are seperated at fixed values later in the process, unless you use a
true six color RIP and six color profiling; very much the exception, not at
all common.
What are
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the
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suggested driver settings for targets printing?
Find a paper type name that lays down the proper amount of ink, even if its
name does not sound like the media you are printing on. Avoid excessive ink
to the point of bleeding, or making the dark patches darker than the black
patch. Avoid settings that are too light to offer full ink potential. This is
all rather limited in RGB profiling anyhow, as Epson's fixed black generation
will be used.
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2. I had a look at the EPSON's profile that came with the driver - it's
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gamut looks enormous for CMYK printer, something like Adobe RGB.
The actual gamut of such a device has a couple spots (in yellow and cyan)
where it exceeds the gamut of ColorMatch or sRGB, otherwise its pretty tame,
though larger than a CMYK press gamut.
Somebody
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can explain this phenomena?
The profiles are not standard profiles, but heavily manipulated, don't
believe their gamuts in a gamut display, or their previews on Photoshop 6.
How I suppose to configure the soft proofing
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settings in PS for different papers if I have only one "generic" profile?
You aren't; you are supposed to use it for printing within the Epson driver,
not warranteed for any other use.
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3. I found in the list archives some discussion on BW printing on ink-jet
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printers, and the summary was that it's quite problematic because of 1)
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way
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the driver separates colors (skeleton black), 2) metamerism (which is
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actually connected to the first one).
I would add difficultly getting an even neutral tone thorughout the image,
even with an excellent ICC profile. For serious black and white prints, use
grayscale or low gamut inks. For proofing page layouts including some B&W,
live with the color ink and profile limitations.
Did any progress happen since there?
Well, Jon Cone came out with a Photoshop direct driver that does amazingly
smooth B&W inkjet prints, but it does not support the 1280/1290...
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Any new solutions? Is there is any way to "bypass" or change the driver
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settings?
Yes, Cone's driver for B&W from Photoshop, or a PostScript RIP...
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4. Just in case: can somebody recommend an inexpensive CMS RIP for such
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a
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printer?
If you have a copy of Adobe's PressReady it fits that description, and had a
driver for the 1270; it shouldn't be too much of a hack to run a 1280/90 from
it. <G> Otherwise you're talking spending much more on a RIP than you did on
the printer, or else using a RIP with very inferior dithering.
C. David Tobie
Design Cooperative
email@hidden