Re: new to list - luminos inks

[Dan Culbertson <danculb@concentric.net>]

Phil Vinson wrote:

>I'm new to the list, so my apologies if this has been covered before.
>
>I'm using an Epson Photo EX and have just run some tests with Luminos
>Platinum inks.  The results are positive with one exception:  When printing
>grayscale images with black ink, the print tones are a cyan-blue and not
>black.  When I "tone" my black-and-white prints in RGB mode, I get a
>combination of cyan-blue in the darkest areas, plus whatever color I've used
>for toning --sort of a split-toned effect, which most often is not too
>attractive.
>
>Any ideas on how to correct these things.

Most high gamut inksets have a problem with balancing grayscale when
printing with color inks.  About the only way to avoid it is with a special
low gamut or a quadtone inkset (neither of which is good for conventional
color so you have to dedicate a printer) or by using the "black" ink
setting (which has problems with a grainy look).

However, if you want to use a toned look I suggest you use the  "No Color
Adjustment"  rather than Photoenhanced or Photorealisitc or any of the
other Epson color settings.  With No Color Adjustment selected the printer
will print neutral grays (RGB values equal) with equal amount of CMY inks.
This won't cure the cyan tint by itself, but when you use a curve to ad
color the printer won't be applying a second color curve (which is where
you get the split tone look).  In fact, even if you have a profile that is
supposed to correct for non-standard inks in color printing, when you are
trying to do sepia or other toned black and white looks these seem to just
get in the way.  For simple tonal looks it is often better to just sent the
ink straight and adjust with a curve based on the printed output.  Profiles
and the Epson color settings can often just confound the problem for
grayscale.

Dan Culbertson





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