How does the Epson 4000 with RIP compare to later printers?

[jonathan_bourla1]

Hi. I'm new to digital printing, and have had a couple of test prints made by a local printer, who is using

an Epson 4000 with the QuadtoneRIP. The prints are very detailed (they come from scanned 4x5"

negatives), but seem to me rather flat in terms of contrast, dmax.

 

Would you expect prints made on later machines like the 2400 and 4800 to be better than ones produced

on a 4000? I ask as I could consider getting an Epson 2400 myself, but would only do this if I were sure

the quality of toned b&w prints produced would be better than those my local man can produce on his

older 4000 printer.

 

Thanks for your help.

[ace_fury]

I have a 4000 with MIS B&W inks and I use QuadtoneRIP. Your dmax and/or flatness is going

to depend on the paper you use for one thing. I'm using Museo Silver Rag paper and the

prints are amazing. I have shut down my wet darkroom, except for film processing. <P>I

don't

know about the newer machines but you might want to check in to the

DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint, Epson 4000 and QuadtoneRIP groups on Yahoo, lots of info

and they do talk around the printers in all three groups.</P>

[steve_bingham]

The Dmax on a 4000 WILL be a little gray. Using glossy paper and tender care you are looking at, at most, a 2.0. I repeat, with tender care. Using a fine art paper you are hovering around the 1.5 to 1.7 point. Not very snappy. The 2400 will take you up to about 2.3 on glossy and 2.0 on SOME fine art paper. AA would have been thrilled with a 2.0. The 2400 does this by using 3 blacks.

 

On the other hand, the Epson 7600 (the DYE ink version) will give you a Dmax of 3.1.(but only 26 year archival under glass). Wonderful! Exciting prints, but . . .

 

I have both the 7600 DYE version and 2400.

[kenneth_seidman]

I used to have an Epson 4000 (w/Epson inks) and before that many years of darkroom printing on Glossy fiberbased paper. I used QTR, printed on glossy and luster papers with the 4000. I now use an Epson 7800, still printing on luster and glossy papers.

 

It was my experience that I could achieve a visually exciting degree of contrast using the Epson 4000, QTR and Epson Ultrachrome inks. I like high contrast landscape scenes and I have side by side comparison prints made in the traditional wet darkroom to the Epson/QTR combo. I found them equivalent in terms of achieving contrast and deep blacks, good highlights.

 

Here's the difference: Epson 4000/QTR/Ultrachrome/Glossy or luster has significant and bothersome (to me) bronzing and gloss differential. Print color or neutrality was never easy for me to achieve with QTR either. I mostly solved the gloss differential problem by applying Premier Art Print Shield but bronzing remained. Another problem with the Epson 4000/QTR set-up was occassional banding (solved by printing at 2880 dpi instead of 1440). Metamerism is yet another problem. Having said all this there were advantages over the best darkroom prints I was able to make.

 

The Epson 7800 (or, the 4800 or 2400) is, in my opinion the way to go. Use the Epson Advanced B/W mode (not QTR). Bronzing, color/tone control, banding, and metamerism are no longer a problem with my 7800. I still have to contend with gloss differential to some extent (no all prints), but again Premier Art Print Shield has worked well for me. Concerning contrast and d-Max, I don't have measurements for the glossy or luster papers I use, but as I said earlier, I like contrast and rich blacks and am very pleased with what I can do with the 7800. It is hard for me to imagine someone looking at my prints and thinking they lack sufficient contrast... I don't need measurments to confirm what I can plainly see and compare to my traditional darkroom and Epson 4000 prints.

[jonathan_bourla1]

Thanks very much for your answers.

 

Regards Jonathan

[kirk_thompson]

If you're printing on matte paper, the 4000 + QTR will do a very good job, not much

different from the 2400. But it won't - as stated above - do a decent job on luster or

glossy papers.

 

Why don't you wait a little while & see what the next Epson printer will do? It's going to be

announced later this month. Perhaps it will let you switch easily from luster/glossy papers

& PK ink to matte papers & MK ink.