Printing at 2880 and 1440 resolutions uses about the same amount of ink. The difference is 2880 only uses the finest dot (3.5 picoliter) rather than a variable dot structure. (2880 may look a little darker, particularly on matte papers, because the dots tend to bleed together. Use 1440 if you get excessive dot gain – pooling in shadows, spattering in highlights.)
Learn more at the Epson Print Academy.
Learn more in my workshops.
Ink cartridges first have to prime the printer tubes on initial installation. They have to purge shipping fluid designed to prevent clogging during storage. This doesn’t waste ink you paid for. Neither does the ink left in the cartridge when it runs out. There’s actually more ink in the cartridges than listed on the label.
Learn more at the Epson Print Academy.
Learn more in my workshops.
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The videos in the Epson Print Academy are packed with information. Epson’s Larry Kauffmann, a source with over a decade of direct real world insider experience, quickly dispels many myths and provides clear information.
Here’s one tip. Epson printers provide both USB2 and Ethernet. Both are fast enough for the highest quality printing. USB2 has length limitations, so it’s used when printing from a computer near a printer. Ethernet is used to print over longer distances.
As an aside, fast data transfer prevents banding. If you encounter banding check a few things. Check head alignment. Check the cable delivering the data – type and length. Check to see that the computer spooling the data isn’t taxed performing other functions.
Learn more at the Epson Print Academy.
Learn more in my workshops.
The Epson Print Academy will be in NYC tomorrow.
Rodney, Schewe, Gorman, Holbert, Caponigro.
Check out this recent blog post at Photoshop Insider where we each describe our sessions.
“There’s nothing more exciting for an artist than an exhibition showcasing new work, unless that show also features the work of an equally acclaimed and beloved spouse. Such is the story of photographer Jerry Uelsmann and artist Maggie Taylor at their recent “Just Suppose” exhibition at the University Gallery, University of Florida (UF), Gainesville, Fla.
Although the content of their art has a similar ethereal quality, both have very different approaches. Jerry Uelsmann rose to fame in the 60’s and 70’s as a master black-and-white printer creating composite images with multiple enlargers and long hours in the traditional darkroom. In contrast, Maggie Taylor produces her dreamlike color images by scanning objects into a computer using a flatbed scanner, manipulating the images with Adobe Photoshop, and printing them in a digital workflow using Epson Stylus Pro printers.”
Find out more about the production of their new work for this exhibit here.
Read my conversation with Jerry Uelsmann here.
Find Jerry and Maggie’s books here.
My father and I have been collaborating on reproducing his most famous image – Running White Deer. It’s a piece of photographic history. You’re hearing about it first here. And, you can get one of these special prints at a special discount for a limited time only. It’s not available anywhere else.
Find out more about the project here.
Order your print today here.
Stay tuned for more on this exciting project.
Photographer Richard Benson is the man behind the highly informative new exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC – The Printed Picture (on exhibit through June, 2009). Anyone who goes will expand their understanding photographic printmaking and it’s short but rich history. I did. In it you’ll see exceptional examples of a wide variety of printmaking methods from offset to gravure, platinum to silver gelatin, and inkjet. I highly recommend the exhibit and the accompanying book.
“The Printed Picture traces the changing technology of picture-making from the Renaissance to the present, focusing on the vital role of images in multiple copies. The book surveys printing techniques before the invention of photography; the photographic processes that began to appear in the early 19th century; the marriage of printing and photography; and the rapidly evolving digital inventions of our time. From woodblocks to chromolithographs, from engravings to bar codes, from daguerreotypes to modern color photographs, the book succinctly examines the full range of pictorial processes. Exploring how pictures look by describing how they are made, author Richard Benson reaches fascinating and original conclusions about what pictures can mean. Includes 326 illustrations.”
Also visit the exhibit of Benson’s personal work – Found Views, Chosen Colors – at the Pace Macgill Gallery in New York through November 29.
Seen it? Comment here!
Find out more about The Printed Picture here.
Get the book here.
Visit Found Views, Chosen Colors online here.
Read my conversation with Richard Benson here.
It’s often called metamerism, but the correct term is metameric failure.
Metameric failure is the tendency of an object to change appearance under different light sources. Different light sources, even of the same color temperature, are often comprised of differing amounts of spectral frequencies (i.e. red or blue frequencies). Some objects change appearance more quickly than others; they are more highly metameric. This is true when comparing dye-based inks with pigmented inks. As pigments are made of irregular particles, they tend to refract (reflect and bend) light more strongly than uniform dye globules. The most current ink technology coats pigment particles in resin to reduce this effect. Additionally, some color pigments, typically the most saturated ones, are more prone to metamerism. By separating the file differently and using more of the less metameric ink to reproduce an image, the print’s appearance stability is increased. This is particularly important when reproducing neutrals, as small shifts in hue are quickly detected in these colors.
How can you evaluate metameric failure? Make two prints of the same image (preferably containing significant neutrals) and compare them side by side in different light sources.
What can you do to reduce metameric failure? Use the latest inksets (such as Epson’s Ultrachrome K3) and drivers (with the latest separation routines). And, when practical, standardize the light your prints are viewed under. Can metamerism be completely eliminated? No. Everything is metameric. But metameric failure in prints can be reduced to the point where it is no longer significant.
Read the rest of this article in the current issue of Photoshop User.
Learn more in my workshops.
Today, the Epson Print Academy is in Washington DC at the Hilton Crystal Palace.
What’s the Epson Print Academy like? Jack Reznicki hosts Track One. Jeff Schewe is ring leader for Andrew Rodney, Greg Gorman, Mac Holbert, and me in Track Two. Both tracks feature live sessions and informative videos. In track two senior product manager Mark Radogna (below) talks about the new HDR ink technologies. Henry Wilhelm talks about key issues in print permanence – see the full length here. There’s an Expo area. Jeff Greene of Microsoft makes a short presentation on Capture One 4 and Expression Media 2. Mike Wong of On One makes a short presentation on their plug-ins like Mask Pro and Focal Point. And there’s a Gallery; all the prints are printed with Epson’s new HDR ink.
Check back later this evening for afternoon additions.
Find out more about the new Epson printers here.
Find out about the next Epson Print Academy near you here.
You softproof (constrain a monitor with an ICC profile) to see what colors are out of gamut of an ink and paper combination before you print. You proof (print) to see colors out of gamut of the monitor.
What? Yes! Today’s inksets exceed the gamut of of even the widest gamut monitors, in certain colors.
This graph shows ColorMatch (equivalent to most CRTs and LCDs), Adobe RGB 1998 (higher end LCDs), and Epson Ultrachrome HDR Ink on Epson Exhibition Fiber Paper. The new printers with the latest substrates can print more saturated yellows and oranges than even the best monitors can display. And, they can also print more saturated blues and greens than average LCDs can display. Evolution in printers is forcing an evolution in monitors.
Which monitor do I recommend? Check out my previous post here.
Check out my DVD 6 Simple Steps to Good Color Management.
Check out my DVD The Art of Proofing.
See me demonstrate this and more during the Epson Print Academy.
Learn these techniques in my workshops.