Sample IP RIP print on 2200

[peter nelson]

A member of the Yahoo Digital Black and White Print forum was kind

enough to send me a couple of sample images from RIPs he's using: the

IP RIP and the Epson RIP. <P>

 

The Epson RIP image had a strong, unpleasant magenta cast (but he's

still working on his workflow for that RIP) but the IP RIP

image was wonderfully neutral under fluorescent, incandescent and

direct sun light.<P>

 

I was a little surprised at the texturing ("dotting") of the IP RIP

print, especially in the mid-light areas. It was definitely worse

than the default Epson driver images. I scanned a sample area

and posted it on my website:<P>

 

http://studio-nelson.com/tmpimage/forsip1.jpg<P>

 

. . . that's about a 1.2 cm section, so it's highly enlarged. With

the naked eye it's noticable out to a foot or so away but probably

not at typical viewing distances for 8x12 or 13x19 prints. Also note

the blue fringing around some of the black areas - again not

noticable unless you look closely - although I'd love to know what

the IP algorithm did to come up with that!<P>

 

Would someone who is getting good results with the Epson RIP be

willing to send me a sample to avaluate? Send me an email and I'll

give you my address. Thanks in advance!<P>

 

BTW, many skeptics here, including me, doubted it was possible to

correct an ink problem like metamerism with software, The IP RIP

demonstrates that it is possible, albeit at the cost of dotting

that's halfway between black only and using the whole inkset.

[scott_eaton]

Hmmm, so the solution created another problem.

 

I was HOPING you were going to prove me wrong, peter. :-)

[peter nelson]

<I>I was HOPING you were going to prove me wrong, peter. :-)</I><P>

 

So was I!<P>

 

If defense of the IP RIP, dotting is only one problem with Black Only. The other is reduced tonal range and excessively contrastiness resulting from only having one ink to dither with while trying to keep a small dither pattern. But the IP RIP has beautiful tonal range with excellent shadow detail, and easily shows subtle distinctions in low-contrast images at the light end of the scale, too. So the bottom line is that it has less bothersome dotting than black-only and none of the other problems, so if it weren't for the fact that it costs around $500 I'd probably be using it.<P>

 

That's why I want to evaluate the Epson RIP, which is only $200. I agree that Epson shouldn't make us pay AT ALL for this, but c'est la guerre, or, c'est la vie, as if there's any difference these days.

[dsc]

Scott: did you buy your 2200 yet? Now I'm relying on poor Peter to figure out this Metamerism mess! <No offence Peter ;)>

 

:):):)

[ethan hansen]

A good profile tames the Epson RIP. For B&W, however, ImagePrint trumps it. I don't think the standard Epson RIP disables the yellow ink for B&W printing. This is the secret of ImagePrint's neutrality, as the yellow ink is the one exhibiting metamerism.

[brian_c._miller]

Does anybody know of a solution which doesn't cost nearly as much as the printer itself??

[peter nelson]

Ethan Hansen says: <I>A good profile tames the Epson RIP. For B&W, however, ImagePrint trumps it. I don't think the standard Epson RIP disables the yellow ink for B&W printing. This is the secret of ImagePrint's neutrality, as the yellow ink is the one exhibiting metamerism.</I><P>

 

How do you know the Epson RIP uses the yellow ink? Do you use the Epson RIP? If so could you post a hi-res color scan so we can see what ratios of inks it uses? Several people on the Yahoo Digital Black and White printing group claim to have excellent results from the Epson RIP.<P>

 

 

Brian C. Miller asks <I>Does anybody know of a solution which doesn't cost nearly as much as the printer itself??</I><P>

 

Several people on the Yahoo Digital Black and White printing group claim to have excellent results from the Epson RIP. One of them is sending me some sample output to evaluate, which I will report on as soon as I get it. If anyone else has tried the Epson RIP and is getting good results and would be willing to mail me some sample output, I'd appreciate it! I'll be happy to pay for shipping and your media costs.

[audidudi]

And I want to see a _color_ print made using the IP RIP. Like Peter, I'll be happy to cover shipping and media costs if anybody is willing to print one of my images.

[kevin_hicks]

Thanks Peter. I look forward to your evaluation of a good B&W Epson RIP image. Keep us posted.

 

I will be in B&W heaven if the Epson RIP can produce prints that are both sharp and neutral. I might even start saving for a 9600 if it can be made to do the same.

[silvergull]

My experience is with an Epson 2200 under the control of GIMP-PRINT on a G4 Mac running OS 10.2.3 and now 10.2.4

 

I select "2 level gray" under "Printer Features." The results are beautiful and neutral with no color shifts between light sources. Using "7 color" to print a B&W image does result in a print that exhibits the dreaded "greenies" under daylight.

 

Cheers, Jim

[scott_eaton]

It seems the solution for this is a driver level algorithm that uses just the right proportion of the various inks, possibly mixing in non monochrome inks to get a smoother dither pattern, but no resulting metamerism by avoiding those ink prone to it. These RIP's might also be tinkering with the dithering patterns of those individual ink channels, which likely accounts for the results peter got, and differing opinions on it's success. This kind of driver level code tweaking is a black art I tell ya'.

 

Just be carefull guys you test this with different B/W prints that have various tonal ranges. Images with a lot of midtone greys vs higher contrast strong blacks and whites might yield totally different results.