Posted by Kelly Rowe on January 15, 2007 at 1:22 PM
My monitor (iMac 20) and printer are calibrated with printfix pro. When I switch to the Epson advanced B&W print driver, my printer output is over one stop darker than what I see on the monitor. I have to increase exposure on the monitor to the point of blowing out the highlights to get a reasonable output, but the detail suffers. What stupid thing am I missing now?
I've had a similar issue with ABW. As far as I understand it is not ICC-aware so can break the otherwise color-managed workflow.
What I ended up doing is going into the "Settings" scree for ABW and changing the tone to "Normal" or "Light". For some reason the default was "Darker".
Guy
Posted by Kelly Rowe on January 15, 2007 at 4:48 PM
Thanks, Guy. That worked out well. I've been reading up on RIP software but I'm not sure what advantage it might provide me. I'll start another thread on that topic.
I am not sure about RIP either. When you find your answer, please share. I use the 2400R. I calibrate my monitor with Spyder and when I print color I find myself using VIVID. I also let Photoshop determine the colors as it seems to work better for me. I will have to try the B/W. After seeing some great conversions on this site, I am ready to try. I find it calls for a totally different way of looking at my subject.
Barbara
Posted by Harley Goldman on January 16, 2007 at 11:58 PM
Thanks Guy. I never noticed that setting on my 4800. Sure as heck, the default comes up as darker.
Posted by Mark Hudon on January 17, 2007 at 12:35 AM
The prints coming out darker was my experience also. My take on it was that you basically had no control over the conversion process. You have to work the file as best you can but pretty much let the printer take over after that and hope you hit it right.
If you can, for certain, say that "this light equals this dark" and are able to repeat it, then that's great. If not, it seems to me, the Epson ABW is nice but fairly useless.
Actually ABW does give you some room to adjust various settings. Unfortunately these settings may be very different from one image to the other and do not guarantee a linear response. You also cannot create a preset (profile/curve) for a given paper/ink so it can be measured and applied consistently.
As far as I know there is ICC-based B&W printing is still not widely supported, which is a shame. I'm sure there are technical reasons for it but hopefully these will be resolved at some point. The RIPs I have seen all have their own proprietary mechanisms of creating profiles.
Guy
Posted by Kelly Rowe on January 19, 2007 at 9:46 AM
I set the ABW driver for light as opposed to dark, and got a nice print. I have learned to experiment with 4 by 6 prints instead of 13 by 19 prints.
Discussion
7 repliesWhat I ended up doing is going into the "Settings" scree for ABW and changing the tone to "Normal" or "Light". For some reason the default was "Darker".
Guy
Barbara
Thanks Guy. I never noticed that setting on my 4800. Sure as heck, the default comes up as darker.
If you can, for certain, say that "this light equals this dark" and are able to repeat it, then that's great. If not, it seems to me, the Epson ABW is nice but fairly useless.
As far as I know there is ICC-based B&W printing is still not widely supported, which is a shame. I'm sure there are technical reasons for it but hopefully these will be resolved at some point. The RIPs I have seen all have their own proprietary mechanisms of creating profiles.
Guy