Re: was Profiler RGB

[Bruce <smthopr@earthlink.net>]

on 8/28/2001 10:09 AM, lewis_levin@hotmail.com at lewis_levin@hotmail.com
wrote:

> In general, how do you feel about the Generations Inks?  What papers
> do you find work best?  Have you found a satisfactory glossy paper?
> What appoach to profiling do you use?


Lewis,

This is a very good question actually.

For glossy papers Red River Premium Gloss works very well, but will not
produce rich colors.  This is not a super glossy paper but kind of like f
surface photopaper that has not been ferrotyped. (hope I got that spelling
right).  Buffing the surface of this print after drying eliminates any haze
effect.

About the generations inks?  They can produce some beautiful prints, but
they do not work well for every image.  There is a very large meterism
effect with these inks.  And they can be wonderful for still lifes and
landscapes etc.  But printing a portrait will be very challenging.  Humans
are very good at picking out a flesh tone that is not correct and the
meterism effect on these tones can be awful.  A face that looks ok in
tungsten light can look two toned in daylight with the highlights turning
very yellow and the darker tones greenish.  This does not make for a
flattering image.  In general, softly lit skin tones with few shadows and a
full exposure can be printed well with practice.  Produce a low key face
with dark shadows and watch out...a good print may not be possible.  To be
fair, dark shadowed faces are a challenge with Epson OEM dye inks as well,
but good images can be printed.  Not so with Generations Pigment inks from
my experience.

A word about gammut:  From my experience, these inks are capable of
producing some bright eye catching colors.  Where they fall down is in the
darker colors where good saturation and detail are absent.  This really
stands out in flesh tones where saturation is lost on dark skin and in
gradients with out much overt details.

I think some of these problems may be due to printing using the epson driver
which has been optimized for their inks.  A RIP with custom profiles and
control over black generation and ink limits may help quite a bit.  Since I
don't have a RIP, I don't really know but I think it would help a lot.

So I guess in conclusion the Generations inks can produce many satisfying
prints on Matte papers which last a long time and don't cost too much.

It is just not a "one size fits all" ink that will work for every print,
especially some people images.

As I think a wrote in my original post, I use Wiziwyg profiles and an
adjustment layer (levels) to correct for green colorcast.  Blacks print best
at a level of 7 in the epson driver on my 1200.  I use the "plain paper"
setting, which after some testing I decided gave me the most color
saturation in the dark tones.
 
-Bruce

Visit my website at:
http://home.earthlink.net/~smthopr

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