jun_ea Posted December 13, 2004 Share Posted December 13, 2004 I am considering sending out some target prints to get a customprofile for my Epson 2200, but I recently heard of the ImagePrintsoftware by Colorbyte. Could somebody offer a comparison between thetwo or atleast a sense of whether or not one is stronger than theother? Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beau 1664876222 Posted December 13, 2004 Share Posted December 13, 2004 I was aghast at ImagePrint's price, but now that I forked out, had a good cry, and moved on, I'd never want to be without it. It provides you top-quality profiles for every paper in circulation, and it's the only way short of dedicated B&W inksets to get tonable B&W without metamerism. The consensus seems to be that even with the best custom profiles, the Epson driver is going to be the limiting factor and therefore underperform ImagePrint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
._._z Posted December 13, 2004 Share Posted December 13, 2004 If you want something at least as powerful with which you can perform profiling yourself with any of the more popular spectrophotometers or colorimeters, consider Studioprint. http://www.dpandi.com/newsreviews/reviews/studioprint/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boris_zugic Posted December 13, 2004 Share Posted December 13, 2004 I will agree with Beau. I am using it for color prints and it substantially reduces bronzing on glossy and luster papers. It is much, much better than Epson print driver. For 2200 it comes in "light" version (does not have color correction and template features enabled) and it is app. $495 US. Do keep in mind that there is 30 day money back option as well. Before installing it read detailed instructions first as install for 2200 uses slightly different settings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jun_ea Posted December 13, 2004 Author Share Posted December 13, 2004 Would the bronzing effect still exist even when a custom profile is used? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boris_zugic Posted December 13, 2004 Share Posted December 13, 2004 That one I do not know. It is my understanding that bronzing is more to do with printer driver and way how it is actually "talking" and rasterizing image to the printer, rather than the profile itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhi_da_zhong Posted December 13, 2004 Share Posted December 13, 2004 There's definitely "bronzing" or whatever the proper name is with custom profiles on glossy/semiglossy media. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhi_da_zhong Posted December 13, 2004 Share Posted December 13, 2004 The "bronzing" effect is a function of the inkset and paper combination. IP may reduce it, but it's not going to eliminate it completely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_amiet2 Posted December 14, 2004 Share Posted December 14, 2004 Over the last few months I have spent a 'bomb' on calibrators, profiles, inks, paper time, etc. I suspect this a common tale of woe. Tomorrow, I am getting a demo of ImagePrint. I have been assured it will solve my problem. I wish to be convinced, but only the result I want will be acceptable. I am prepared to spend the money if, and only if, it works. I will report back soon as I am also told that it is 'simple.' Hold your breath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beau 1664876222 Posted December 14, 2004 Share Posted December 14, 2004 ImagePrint also has a bunch of less-discussed features that make life so much easier. For example, the ability to make a custom paper size and then make the image be centered EXACTLY on the page. Seems simple but the Epson software can't seem to get it right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graham_binns Posted December 14, 2004 Share Posted December 14, 2004 I was in the same position. I tried the Image Print demo and my conclusion was as follows. - For color work the results were comparable to the standard epson ICC profile for the standard Epson papers. If you are using a lot of different paper types you will benefit from the free profiles provided by Image print but most manufacturers provide there own for the 2100 anyway. The Image print workflow is simple and you get less junk prints where you messed up parameters in the driver. - For Black and white there is a big improvement in that matamirism is mutch reduced and you get neutral prints. HOWEVER $495 is a lot of money and I came across a share ware application called QTR. Do a search on the threads in this forum. Basically this shareware app can be combined with a simple windows interface and it procudes B&W prints as good as Image Print. The formatting and print control isn't as good tough For my needs I could n't justify the huge price tagg for Image print compared to QTR and Image print has a very significant costs for support and updates were as QTR is free for updates if you pay for it. Also Image print uses a nasty Dongle security USB key and is limited in terms of the printers and the number of machines it can be installed on. If you are a proffessional using a epson printer and need to optimise your workflow, optimise layout and use lots of paper types then get Image print. IF you are trying to get decent B&W prints save yourself a pile of cash and get QTR, Rgs Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beau 1664876222 Posted December 14, 2004 Share Posted December 14, 2004 I agree with Graham about the annoying security features, but I disagree that ImagePrint doesn't do better than the Epson driver on color prints. My IP prints have considerably more shadow detail and the overall effect is a smoother, more radiant look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jun_ea Posted December 15, 2004 Author Share Posted December 15, 2004 Beau, and others who have used IP, have you found a need to get a custom profile in additionally. Would that improve the output even more? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boris_zugic Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 I do not think there is need for any additional profile as Image Print comes with lots of profiles probably as good as profile can be. They vary for paper types, resolution (1440 or 2880) and light type. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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