Digital BW, The Print

Thanks, David. 

Lou

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, David Whistance <david.whistance@...> wrote:
>
> Louis see my comments below:
> 
> 1.    The best source of this information is each manufacturers datasheet for their own profiles.  If you look they will always say what the appropriate media setting is.  Most are predictable but some are surprising (less so with a 3800 or 3880 where you can't use matte settings for gloss and vice versa).  You will also find that the majority of papers from a manufacturer of the same type (matte or gloss) use the same media setting.  This is because the inkjet coating they use is the same for all of their papers and the variations caused by the change of substrate are dealt with by the profile.  Do watch out for the lighter papers in a series though (eg Photorag 188 or Innova IFA 06) as there is often not a proper profile for these, the implication being that they share a profile with the heavier papers.  This is certainly not the case and is a recipe for blocked up shadows and generally muddy looking prints.
> Â 
> 2. Not that I'm aware of and I have looked for this kind of information in the past.
> Â 
> 3. I'm sorry but I don't have any information on this.
> Â 
> As an aside if you are going to regularly use non-Epson papers and want the best output I would recommend investing in a proper RIP, ie one which allows proper control of the inks, not a fancy layout tool. I use ColorBurst but there are several others which do the same job.  All will allow you to get the best out of your printer. Also most come with a number of ready made profiles which can be re-linearised for your printer or adjusted for other, similar, papers saving lots of time and effort.
> Â 
> David Whistance 
> 
> ________________________________
>  From: LouisD <lou@...>
> To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com 
> Sent: Tuesday, 11 June 2013, 14:00
> Subject: [Digital BW] Help with Epson 3880 Media Settings
>   
> Â   
>  
> I know this isn't B&W, but I need some help and figure this is a good place to get it. I also posted this on the Epson Wide Format Printer forum, with little response, so please forgive the cross-post. 
> 
> I'm getting ready to create custom COLOR printer profiles for an Epson 3880 and about 25 different non-Epson papers (matte fine art, photo papers, etc). I'm using the standard K3 inkset. I have a few questions that I need help with.
> 
> 1. Does anybody know of source to get good media settings for a wide variety of
> papers, a listing of 'tried and true' settings that provide good Dmax and color
> gamut, without over-inking problems? I can visit websites of the paper
> manufacturers, but they don't always provide the best driver media settings in
> my experience.
> 
> 2. Is there a guide anywhere which gives approximate ink limits for the standard
> Epson driver media settings? Even if it doesn't provide actual Total Ink Limits,
> it would be very helpful to know which settings use more or less ink, listing
> them in order of most to least ink.
> 
> 3. Does anybody know exactly what the Color Density Slider does (Advanced
> Settings)? Does it alter the total ink limit across the entire tonal scale, or
> just alter saturation using the color inks? Does anybody know the amount the
> slider changes ink loading? For example, the range is -50 to +50, but how much
> more ink is laid down at +50 compared to the zero point. Is that 50% more ink,
> or is that an arbitrary number?
> 
> I'm trying to avoid doing an excessive amount of testing, wasting time, ink and
> paper. Some guidance would help me get to my destination much more quickly with better results.
> 
> I'd appreciate any good links or resources. Thanks for the help.
> 
> Lou
> 
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