Lyson/epson 870 black posterising

[lester_hawksby1]

Hi everyone.

 

About a year ago I started printing black & white inkjet work on an old Epson

870 converted to Lyson Small Gamut inks. It took me a fair number of tries to

get it set up, but once I was I got consistently good results out of it.

Unfortunately, I had to put it in storage for about eight months from last

summer and am only just going back to it. Needless to say, I had to do a bit of

head cleaning and trial-print wastage to get it back on its feet again - but

something's wrong. All the darkest areas posterise down to a solid black which

is quite distinct from its surroundings - the edges of these areas are quite

noticeable. All the areas which are mid- and light-grey and up to white appear

pretty much correctly.

 

I'm using the same technique (best I can remember), same Lyson default

calibration file which was fine last time, same-shape histograms in Photoshop,

same Lyson Pro Photo Satin paper and the printer set to Pro Photo Glossy. Colour

correcting only in Photoshop, not the printer driver, as instructed.

 

Both black and "colour" cartridges have sat in the printer for all this time,

and I don't have a replacement black on hand to try. The "colour" one

(responsible for lighter tones) seems fine.

 

Possibilities I can think of:

- I'm getting something wrong in software/settings that I've forgotten about

- My black ink cart has "gone off" somehow, but the colour one hasn't

- The printer is dying of old age (it was a new model when bought!)

 

Does anyone have any advice? I don't want to buy new cartridges if it's not a

cart problem, and any expensive suggestions would probably just lead me to

abandon the setup and save up for something better.

 

Many thanks!

[micheal_bell]

Hi, Sorry I dont have a direct anwser to your problem. It does seem like your ink maybe going bad or your so is your printer. But if your looking for something better check out <a href="http://www.inkisit.com">www.inkisit.com</a> - Kodak is launching a new printer where the ink is significantly cheaper - only $10 for Black and $15 for color ink.

 

Good Luck