Step by Step guide to printing with Color Management: Epson

[mikling]

This will follow on the thread that I started dealing with Canons.

Again the base paper we will use as an expample is Kirkland Professional Glossy Sailor Man version.

As I sample other papers it is becoming even more evident that this paper, far outperforms many others selling for multiple more money.
Excellent paper but let the ink dry off properly and the first 5 to 10 minutes it will exhibit color shifts due to its drying. The final print does not look the same as when it comes out the printer.

Well here is a list of profiles for some popular printers using inks from Precision Colors :

Epson R200, R220, R300, R320, R340 RX500 and possibly other variants

http://uploading.com/files/6a2ee9fb/EpsonR200_Kirkland.rar/

Epson R260, R280, R380, RX580, RX595, RX695 and Epson Stylus Photo 1400

http://uploading.com/files/c7577236/Epson+G1_ClariaBased.rar/

Epson Stylus Photo R800
http://uploading.com/files/815262md/R800+Kirkland+Professional+Glossy.rar/

Epson Stylus Photo R1800
http://uploading.com/files/559b1b21/R1800+Kirkland+Pro+Glossy+RPM.rar/

Epson Stylus Photo R2880
http://uploading.com/files/84498bab/Epson+R2880.rar/

Epson Artisan 50
http://uploading.com/files/c9b57837/Artisan50.rar/

Epson Artisan 700, 800, 710 810
http://uploading.com/files/b9ed5a99/Artisan700_810.rar/

You will need unarchive these and you will note that there is a G and N at the end of some profiles. The G profile produces a warmer tone and compensated for the white of brightened papers. Some will find the N preferable producing a whiter white.

 

[mikling]

Before I start putting the screens on, there are a few things I want to point out that took me years to discover.
Most if not all of the profiles are created with the highest resolution. Now this is where you need to pay attention. In the main driver screen, you can choose Best Photo but if you think this automatically selects the highest resolution then it is not necessarily so. It depends on the generation of the printer.

The newest printers appear to choose Photo RPM automatically when Best Photo is chosen. These will include all the Claria based printers and the R2880.
On the older models, like the R200 and R800 and R1800, you need click the Advanced settings tab and on the left side, under the paper selection pulldown, you can select PhotoRPM. Otherwise the lower resolution but faster Best Photo setting is used.

PhotoRPM slows the printer down but it does produce a smoother color tone and depending on the model it makes for a significant jump in the color range. The older printers with low nozzle counts benefit the most from these settings. The R200 in particular despite its age, is still a good photo printer as long as you can tolerate the aspect that it is slow when it prints in the PhotoRPM mode.

On some models the profiles will also work on the faster Photo setting. These include the R800 and R800. Not so with the others where a different profile is required.


A final note is that when photo paper is purchased, the included settings with the package usually suggests a setting that you should use. I have become skeptical of this as I am finding that sometimes this setting is not correct. On the R260 etc, I finally discovered that using the Ultra Premium Glossy setting allows the printer to generate better gray tones in the shadow areas. Media settings do make a difference and the ideal is not predictable and only testing and critical viewing tells the difference.

 

[mikling]

I forgot to include the Epson Artisan 700 800 710 810 which I now consider to produce the highest quality dye prints from Epson.
Despite using the same inks as the Artisan 50 and R260 to SP1400, the new screening patterns from Epson allows much more accurate and a much wider range of colors as compared to previous printers. Despite not having a "red" ink, it produces excellent red and dark brown tones. I thought I'd mention this as its potential is largely unrecognized. If the same screening patterns appear on the replacement for the SP1400, then that printer would be awesome for a dye printer.

I have added the profiles for the Artisan 700 + now.

 

[martin0reg]

yes "screening pattern" seems to be important for the results. I realized a R285 is better than the old R800 concerning this pattern (if you don't use the very slow rpm-setting).
But are you sure that artisan700 is better than artisan50? They seem to about the same age.

 

[mikling]

Yes, I am 100% positive of that the Artisan 50 is not as good. The Artisan 50 is superior to the SP1400 and R260
I've tested them both. The Artisan 50 looks to be a slightly rebodied R280 with a new firmware RIP. Hardware carryover.

It appears that Epson revised the RIP in going from the R280 to the Artisan 50. They do not use the same profiles.

Now coincidentally, these new RIPS probably are coming from their RADIANCE technology that they are touting on their R1900 and R2880. At the heart of this technology is a new screening strategy that is supposed to be less sensitive to ambient light. This should help with B&W on the R1900. I hope to see the results of that soon.

Check this out.

http://www.printerville.net/2008/02/21/more-on-epsons-radiance-color-matching/

If you compare the ink usage patterns of say the Artisan 710 and R260 you find that the dark inks are used more than they were used in the R260.
Of the limited tests that I did with B&W (with color inks) on the Artisan 710 and Artisan 50. they were superior to the R260. The typical green cast of say the R260 and SP1400 was reduced. Een with OEM inks. I am totally guessing here but I think R1900 technology is being used but not mentioned so that its value is not diminished on the more expensive units.

 

[martin0reg]

the 1400 and the R285 are from 2007, the artisan50 and the scanner/printer 700 are from 2009.

You say artisan50 is not as good as 700 concerning pattern or dither.
But concerning colors and b&w P50 and 700/710 are both better than older models?!

Here you can see the very good pattern/dither of model 700
http://www.druckerchannel.de/artikel.php?ID=2482&seite=14&t=fotodruck_qualitaet_teil_1
sadly there is no similar test of R285 and P50.

I have a R285, I would try a P50 if it has the better RIP and better pattern/dither, but I don't need a scanner (700)...

 

[mikling]

Yes, both are better than the previous model. However, in most images and in normal use you cannot tell the difference unless you go looking for it and only in the small details in challenging pics. Remember that test pics are challenging pics and normal pics do not always present the same challenges.

So if I had a 1400 and the replacement came out for the 1400 that had the same quality as the 700, would I change. No I don't think it would be worth it.

When I get to the drivers in profiling, you might see something that many have overlooked.

 

[Giorgos_V.]

Is there any profile for Epson R1900???

 

[qwertydude]

I did post about the print quality of the Artisan 50 that in smoother, darker shades you can see a visible striping pattern under bright lights and up close. Under magnification it's noticeable that the dithering pattern definitely is more pronounced in the direction of print head travel unlike my Canon which under magnification the dithering pattern appears completely random. But in it's defense it according to profile printer the Artisan 50 reproduces more of the colorspace than Canon and because of the constant dot size darker shades have less noticeable dithering vs Canon's 4 color photo prints. Although compared to the new and improved Epson print heads does this mean the older style print head on the Artisan 50 is less likely to clog and is more robust?

 

[mikling]

I think the printhead is the same as the R260 to the SP1400 series. It is just that the "screen pattern" technology and colors chosen to create a certain shade has changed. The nozzle count on the Artisan 50 looks to be the same as the R260. So the parts are likely to be similar.

I just picked up a used R1900. Have not had time yet to profile the printer. Very soon but I am running out of space to store all these printers.

I will need to start posting the screens for the color management instructions.