Re: Linearizing The Epson Printer
Re: Linearizing The Epson Printer
- Subject: Re: Linearizing The Epson Printer
- From: email@hidden
- Date: Tue, 11 Jun 2002 00:14:32 EDT
In a message dated 6/10/02 11:03:46 PM, email@hidden writes:
>
So here's the question for all you color pro's on the list - I'm
>
serious here... Bruce, Andrew, turn the radio down; CD, Neil, Chris,
>
listen up; Nick, you too - you've all been lecturing and consulting and
>
>
getting paid REAL money for setting up client's systems, so how have you
>
>
been making REALLY GOOD PROFILES for these potentially fabulous, cheap
>
>
little printers? Sometimes, despite all the profiles that I've made for
>
>
the 1270 and 1280, I think I got a better print the day I took it out of
>
>
the box and just clicked "PhotoEnhance".
>
>
TEN POUNDS OF CHOCOLATE for the one who makes it work! ...and it's good
>
>
chocolate. I know the guy who makes it.
>
Ah yes, my substance of choice... and likely the cause for my still being
awake after midnight.
I have indeed profiled dozens and dozens of 1270s and 1280s... with a wide
range of inks and papers; and I can recognize a 1280 target print at a glance
in a pile of targets by the nonliniarities at the edges of all the ramps...
if we were talking about pro printers, and serious RIPs, then of course
setting ink limits and other features in advance of profiling (CMYK
profiling...) would be in order. But to limit ourselves to the Epson driver
and RGB profiles, I suggest to clients that they choose the resolution and
settings they will be using in their final prints, that they set the media
setting to a matte paper setting even for glossy papers... and I don't bother
to mention that this will restrict the resolution to 1440, and eliminate the
flood gate that opens with an unprofiled target print at 2880. I also suggest
printing the target at assorted media settings, and checking the maximum
color of the primary colors, versus the smooth gradiants near black in the
target print, and to pick the setting that gets the best compromise between
the two, or to send me all the target prints if they can't decide for
themselves. Bad gradients near black cause posterization and other problems
in the shadowtones, due to the sharp and late black curve in the Epson dye
printer drivers, so you want no other patches as dark as the black patch, but
no radical drop off between black and the other patches. On the other hand
using a media setting that prints too little ink (rare on a 1280!) can starve
the primary colors, and leave you with a reduced gamut that can't even match
a press. If a paper will not print a target that offers reasonable gradiants
to a dark black, and vibrant primaries at the same time, then I consider that
paper unfit for printing (or at least profiling) with that printer, settings,
and inks.
Now for a 5500 or the newer pigment printers, the tricks are different.
What percent is that chocolate?
C. David Tobie
Design Cooperative
email@hidden
_______________________________________________
colorsync-users mailing list | email@hidden
Help/Unsubscribe/Archives:
http://www.lists.apple.com/mailman/listinfo/colorsync-users
Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored.