QTR-Quadtone RIP

--- In QuadtoneRIP@yahoogroups.com, Steven Burt <steven_burt@...> wrote:

> It seems that I do not know what I am doing when it comes to printing in B&W, maybe 
even color, but anyway - I have an Epson R1800 printer, that is connected to a iMac with 
version 10.5.  What I see is not what I get.  Not sure which profile I should be using and 
how to configure my printer to get the best prints that I can.  Please let me know your 
steps for the best print images, if there is such a thing.

Hello Steven, the 1800, although a great color printer both matte and glossy doesn't print 
b&w very well out of the box.  It uses only one black ink at a time and fills in all of the rest 
of the grayscale with colored inks and that makes it hard to get all of the color cast out of 
the midtones and highlights.  If you visit:

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint/

and

http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/R1800.htm

You can find info on setting up an 1800 to print very good b&w and color but on MATTE 
PAPER ONLY.  If you are so inclined it may be worth a try.   If you want to keep the glossy 
capability of the 1800 color you could pick up a cheap 8.5x11 printer from epson and set 
that one up for black and white.

You might also visit:

http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm

There is a lot of information on printing techniques called BO (Black Only) using various 
Epson printers, however I don't know how the 1800 does in that respect.

Other than BO techniques, you generally need multiple black inks such as the 3MK 
technique of Paul Roark on the 1800, or multiple shades of gray and a RIP such as QTR to 
get acceptable b&w.

Good luck!