Digital BW, The Print

Hello Steve,

>I have been getting great results from the advice on your web site 
>for Epson EEM with a dot gain of 20% and printer set "Same as Source"
> 
>For the papers that you listed what have you found to be the best
>dot gain for the printer.  Assuming you leave the source as 20% dot
>gain.
>
>I appreciate all your advice.  I have modeled my current setup 
>exactly like yours described on your site and the results are just 
>amazing.  You should have a workshop:)
> 
>Currently my dot gain of 20% for monitor and output works great.  I
>get WSYWIG.  With these new papers,  should I lower the printer dot
>gain to 18% or 15%.  That will make the image darker, but that may
>work well since you say the papers are brighter than EEM.
---------------------------------------

In my articles I wrote about changing the back end profile to adjust
for paper differences (assuming the image is worked up using EEM for
proofs), and also that if the available profile choices were too much
of a change, that custom curves could be created in the transfer curve
section.  I need to revise that a little bit because I have more and
more realized that the amount of perceived difference of a print on
these papers differs from one image to another, and probably 80% of
the time no change is required.  

When a change is needed, changing to a different back end profile from
the available list is almost always too much of a jump - a custom
curve is usually needed.  In doing this I've found it to be quicker
and easier to temporarily apply an adjustment curve to the image,
rather than use the transfer curve feature.  One of the reasons for
this is that often a slight change in contrast is needed as well as
over all density, and when applying the curve to the image you can see
the affect it's having.  When doing it with a transfer curve you only
see the affect in the print, so more paper is used in a
trial-and-error process.  Just be careful not to save the curve
permanently in the image, because a slightly different curve might be
needed for a different paper (keep notes).

Given the above, one of the reasons I recommended those particular
papers is because most of the time they require very little, if any,
changes.  I can work up an image using EEM and then print it on any of
those papers, most of the time without needing to adjust anything.  I
find that usually the higher key images are the ones that need an
adjustment, because there is more paper showing, so any differences in
the papers have more of an effect.

Just to further illustrate, there is another very fine and popular
paper mentioned often in this forum, the Premier Art Hot Press.  I
tried it and it's beautiful, but it was like using a lower contrast
grade darkroom paper.  The images always needed a boost in contrast. 
So I chose not to add it to my "arsenal" of papers because it required
extra work and didn't add anything that I didn't already have in the
other four papers.

I use a custom dot gain curve of 18% as my default front end profile -
seems to be better for my monitor (I use a Microtek flat panel type).
I always leave the back end at "Same As Source" and only about 1 out
of 5 prints I need to apply a slight adjustment curve for the cotton
papers.  Most of the time all that's needed is to grab the center
point of the curve and pull it down 1 or 2 RGB units (to the lower
right at 45 degrees, so it's going down and right equal amounts,
otherwise it changes the contrast).  I keep notes on all my images, so
if I go to reprint something later I may find a note saying that on PR
the image needs a curve of center point 1 RGB unit down, or something
like that.

Sounds to me like you're on a really good track there.  I think as you
experiment with these papers with different images you'll get a good
feel for how they respond and a sense for which images will need some
tweaking.  The Eboni ink is gorgeous stuff on these papers and I think
you're in for an exciting time of exploring what they will do.

Regards,
Clayton


Info on black and white digital printing at    
http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm