printing resolution have any effect on ink consumption

Somewhere I read that my Epson does well at 360 dpi, so that's what I usally print at. Recently, I've been printing a lot of 4x6s of action shots of kids on baseball teams. This is not fine art. Often, I'm shooting at ISO 400 or even 800. The file is pretty noisy anyhow. Can I save ink by printing at lower resolution (since the quality isn't there in the file anyhow)? Or does it not make any difference?

Pete D.

Yes, you'll save ink.

Actually there's two "dpi" settings - one for the image and one for the printer. The image should be 360dpi since that's Epson's native resolution (if it's not - the driver will convert it).
The printer driver canbe set to 360, 720, 1440, or 2880 (depending on the model). Here you will be using less ink by using the lower settings. 720 is usually a good setting for those snapshots - they will still have good gradation but if you inspect them very closely you may see some artifacts.

Guy

Guy - Sorry to be a little dense, but.... if I have two images, one a 180 and one at 360 and the printer driver is set to print at 360, then there would not be any difference in ink usage because the 180 would be interpolated by the driver to get to the native resolution? I'll have to see if the little 'ol R800 lets you choose printing resolution or not.

Pete D.

Pete, that's correct (with the exception that the more compressed image may have less detail so there may be some minor variance).

Guy

The driver doesn't really show me resolution per se. I have a choice of "Photo" "Best Photo" or "Photo RPM." Because the profile I got from the paper supplier indicates that it is for the "Best Photo" setting, I am going to conclude that I'm sort of stuck with that setting - whatever the resolution is. I have asked Epson if there are differences in ink consumption. Of course, they're the same firm that has a class action suit about ink cartridges pending .....

Pete D.

Pete,

The profile tells photoshop (or the printer driver, whichever is managing color) how to map a color from the working space to a color in the specific ink/paper space. It has nothing to do with resolution. I suspect the supplier specified Best Photo more as a recommendation for photorealistic results. The colors should still be accurate at other settings (and yes, these should implicitly map to different print resolutions).

My recommendation - experiment.

Guy

Pete: you dont say which Epson you have, but you may be able to print an ink check report which will identify how much ink you use for each experiment. The Epson wide format's have this feature.

I have the R800 (ultrachrome for weenies). The ink status is shown on a bar chart with the resolution of a dull crayon on manila paper. I love making references no one under the age of 40 understands. Pete D.

I'm under 40 and 'worked' with manila and crayon (Crayola, in fact) in my youth

"...'worked' with manila and crayon (Crayola, in fact) in my youth "

I understand it perfectly now. This explains everything!

-PB