[worklog] Diy Piezography Epson 6 color

[cls]

Hi Guys!

I need some input here
I really want to dedicate a 6 Color Printer for pure Black Printing only
I have several R285 for that matter

I will use OCP K3 inks and OCP Matte Black like this
Black: 100 % Matte Black
Magenta: 100 % Light Black
Cyan: 70 % Light Black + 30 % Light Light Black
Light Magenta: 50 % Light Black / 50 % Light Light Black
Light Cyan: 40 % Light Black / 60 % Light Light Black
Yellow: 100 % Light Light Black

NOW
How should I proceed ?
Should I use QTR?
- If yes: How do I properly setup the necessary ICC Info?

Can I ICC profile it with ALL Grey now?
How should a ArgllyCMS workflow look like?

Printing from either
QTR
Adobe PS7
QImage

Tools I have:
ColorMunki Photo

Please advicse

 

[RogerB]

Hi Guys!
How should I proceed ?
Should I use QTR?
- If yes: How do I properly setup the necessary ICC Info?

Can I ICC profile it with ALL Grey now?
How should a ArgllyCMS workflow look like?

Printing from either
QTR
Adobe PS7
QImage

Tools I have:
ColorMunki Photo

Please advicse

I don't think there is any easy way to profile a pure B&W printer using normal profiling software. I'm pretty sure that the Argyll documentation specifically states that it does not support this.

QTR is by far the best way to go if you are mixing your own inks. Unless you were very lucky you could spend a lot of time using trial-and-error methods and still end up with poor linearity. QTR is a pure RIP and doesn't use ICC profiles. Since you are using an unknown ink set you will have to completely characterise the ink set by measuring a 21-step grey wedge for each of the inks. QTR has a special calibration mode for printing these images.

The whole process is too involved to describe here, but you will find some documentation on the QTR site. There is a tutorial based on the use of an i1Pro for measurements but it is possible to use the ColorMunki. Keith Cooper has an article on CM use at http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/article_pages/bw_printing/bw_print_colormunki.html

If you haven't already found his site, Paul Roark has a wealth of information about mixing B&W inksets. Try http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/

 

[The Hat]

It looks very interesting even if it’s going to take you some time to achieve satisfaction.

Your colour mix for each cartridge is as good as any other just as long as you don’t keep changing it until you can properly profile them.

I would have have started with: Black: Photo black 100%
Magenta: Light Black 100%
Cyan: Light Black 100%
Yellow: Light Black/Light Light Black 50% of each
Light Magenta: Light Light Black 100%
Light Cyan: Light Light Black 100%

Just try and keep it simple to start with, there’s less chance of a mixing errors that way, don’t forget to re-label each cartridge correctly, Good luck..

 

[3dogs]

I don't think there is any easy way to profile a pure B&W printer using normal profiling software. I'm pretty sure that the Argyll documentation specifically states that it does not support this.

QTR is by far the best way to go if you are mixing your own inks. Unless you were very lucky you could spend a lot of time using trial-and-error methods and still end up with poor linearity. QTR is a pure RIP and doesn't use ICC profiles. Since you are using an unknown ink set you will have to completely characterise the ink set by measuring a 21-step grey wedge for each of the inks. QTR has a special calibration mode for printing these images.

The whole process is too involved to describe here, but you will find some documentation on the QTR site. There is a tutorial based on the use of an i1Pro for measurements but it is possible to use the ColorMunki. Keith Cooper has an article on CM use at http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/article_pages/bw_printing/bw_print_colormunki.html

If you haven't already found his site, Paul Roark has a wealth of information about mixing B&W inksets. Try http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/

Followed the links (thanks) as I have had a couple of unsuccessful attempts to get good B&W prints.
Comments such as QTRgui lightly maintained these days ( referring to Windows ) put me off a bit. Other comments related to Black only printing using Epson 3880 suggest its just as good, if not better. At the end of the day I am simply confused
Because I already have Black and Grays, that is probably where I should start, so is downloading the QTR adding to my ability to get 'better'
B&W prints, or am I on the wrong track altogether?

Cheers

 

[The Hat]

You have to be careful when attempting B&W Prints because it’s a very grey area..

 

[3dogs]

To be sure! not all black and white den?....... Rip per!

 

[RogerB]

Because I already have Black and Grays, that is probably where I should start, so is downloading the QTR adding to my ability to get 'better'
B&W prints, or am I on the wrong track altogether?
Cheers

If you're talking about your 3880 then you should be able to get great B&W without any trouble. For best results use the Advanced B&W mode. In my experience this is as good as QTR, although it does still use a bit of yellow ink which QTR doesn't use at all. For the icing on the cake you can make a custom profile (using QTR) that can improve the linearity, but to be perfectly honest the difference is academic.

If you haven't tried the ABW mode I suggest you start with the "Darker" setting and see how it turns out.

 

[cls]

My approach is really just Epson 6 color based printers just like the Artisan 50, 1400, 1500W and so on

 

[RogerB]

My approach is really just Epson 6 color based printers just like the Artisan 50, 1400, 1500W and so on

I was replying to 3dogs. He doesn't need QTR; you probably do.

 

[3dogs]

If you're talking about your 3880 then you should be able to get great B&W without any trouble. For best results use the Advanced B&W mode. In my experience this is as good as QTR, although it does still use a bit of yellow ink which QTR doesn't use at all. For the icing on the cake you can make a custom profile (using QTR) that can improve the linearity, but to be perfectly honest the difference is academic.

If you haven't tried the ABW mode I suggest you start with the "Darker" setting and see how it turns out.

Thanks for that it clarifies so much. A person has spent so much time chasing up alleyways that lead right back to the starting point, often further back than they started!
Like so many others in this forum, the well worn safe way is not our way, always looking for that elusive 'something' and so it is here it seems.

I have PS, Lightroom and use the Nik suite amongst others. I guess I have not yet sorted out whether the plugin off the shelf is the same as /better or worse than things like QTR hence my 'confusion.'

I did stumble into ABW, and upon investigation, based on your advice, find that its starting point is "Darker" which I guess is the default. So thanks for that too, as it says I am looking in the right paces. With respect to using a bit of yellow, for what I am doing thats ok, in silver effex Pro 2 I really like and use the aged presets, sepias etc.

There are still a lot of really old frames to be found in the "Charity Shops" that date back to the First World War and earlier. They just have something about them that resonates beautifully with old B&W tones. The new black, is just too black for them.
Added, see pic below

This was also a learning process for me. Used a BLUR LAYER and mask to get the old lens effect. I need to graduate the blur a bit better as I have the same amount of blur at the fence as in the background. But Using the setting you suggested, did a second printing using darkest

"Good" B&W (modern) eludes me, I visit with a studio that does that stuff and I just can't get those results yet. I guess I'm just an HDR quirk at the creative core

See new thread and MORE questions





Cheers