Photo by: Derek Doar
Nottingham and Notts Photographic Society

Printing Information

Adobe RGB (1998) vs ProPhoto RGB

For some years now, since the Digital Photography revolution began, photographers have been recommended to use Adobe RGB (1998) as their working color space.

Photographic technology has moved forward at an alarming rate and given us better cameras, monitors, printers and software.

Is it now the time to change to ProPhoto RGB?

Click to read article
 

Although this page is about printing, the first step should be to make sure that your monitor is diplaying correctly. If you can see 17 steps from Black to White in shades of grey on the MONITOR CALIBRATION STRIP below, then your monitor is displaying correctly. If not then you need to get your monitor calibrated.

Monitor calibration wont guarantee a good print, but it will give you a more predictable working space, that will help you get better prints.

An uncalibrated monitor will make it harder to get a good print.
(you may be making adjustments to wrongly displayed images)

A print cannot match the monitor precisely because of the two have different display technologies. The monitor with glowing RGB colours will never look the same as a print made with reflective inks, in a different set of colours (C.M.Y.K)

monitor callibration
 

I highly recommend this book on printing. Derek Doar
Fine Art Printing for Photographers:
Exhibition Quality Prints with Inkjet Printers,

by

Uwe Steinmueller & Juergen Gulbins
 
Print Evaluation Image

Everyone who prints, should have a standard reference image to assist in evaluating printed output.
To get instructions on how to evaluate the image,
click on the link below
or
download as a .pdf file by
clicking on the PDF logo

Click on the image above to go to the page on the Outback Print website, from where this 40mb image (zipped) can be downloaded. (link at bottom of page)
 
An article from the Epson Website.

What is the High Speed setting in the Epson driver?

RELATES TO:
High Speed printer driver setting
Print speed
Print quality
EXPLANATION:

The High Speed printing setting relates to the printing method of the printer.

When High Speed mode is selected in the Epson printer driver:
The printer prints in both directions (from right to left, then left to right [bidirectional printing]). Select this mode to obtain the fastest image printing.
Please note that as a result the quality of the print may be affected.


When High Speed mode is not selected or turned off:
The printer prints in one direction only (from right to left [unidirectional printing]). Unidirectional printing is slower than bidirectional printing, and recommended for highest quality image printing.

 

If you need advice on paper selection, inks, inkflow systems or need help to improve your print quality please
 
 
Recommended Printers
NEW
Epson Stylus Photo R3000
A3+ Printer

Epson Stylus Photo R3000 Printer is a desktop A3+ printer that makes professional quality prints available to the home user. The R3000 features 9 high-capacity 25.9ml inkjet cartridges including separate photo and matt blacks to ensure the best possible image quality on a range of media. A choice of grey tones allow you customise the tone of black and white prints to suit your preference, and the front-loading tray allows the use of a range of fine-art media.

Click to view


Epson Stylus Photo R2880
A3+ Printer

Exhibition quality prints.

Produce exhibition quality prints with unprecedented control with the Epson R2880 photo printer, the choice for professional and fine art photographers. With its innovative ink set, Epson UltraChrome K3™ with Vivid Magenta, this powerful printer offers an astounding color gamut for brilliant reds, blues and purples. Designed to easily deliver large-format photos worthy of gallery display, the 13-inch R2880 includes Radiance™ technology, which ensures smooth color transitions, and improved highlight and shadow detail. Its three-level black technology offers exceptional gray balance and outstanding tonal range. Achieve professional results, with the quality, control and versatility of the Epson R2880 photo printer.

Canon PIXMA Pro9000 Mark II
A3+ Printer

Professional printing up to A3+ & 14" wide prints

The PIXMA Pro9000 Mark II allows you to produce vibrant, detailed prints in a wide range of sizes from 10x15cm up to A3+ and 14” wide media - perfect for exhibiting.

Striking monochrome prints
For beautifully classic black & white photographs a dedicated monochrome printing mode and advanced cool/warm tone adjustment, made available using the Easy-PhotoPrint Pro Plug-in, achieves fine tonal gradations. The refined print engine also ensures quality and speed when printing in grayscale.

Click on above image for video

Canon PIXMA Pro9500 Mark II
A3+ Printer

With 4800x2400 dpi in color and pigment ink droplets as small as two picoliters, the Pro9500 Mark II is focused on detail. It's 10-color LUCIA pigment ink system delivers rich color and subtle black and white printing, too. Three black inks -- gray, black and matte black -- enhance the density range black and white printing. Canon claims prints have image permanence ratings up to 100 years on display (not stored in the dark).

And all that at borderless print sizes from 4x6 to 13x19 (although heavy fine art papers require a border). The printer provides a rear photo tray for standard weight sheets and a front tray feeding mechanism for heavier art paper.


Epson Stylus Pro 3880
Large Format Printer
A2+

Designed without compromise.
With the Epson Stylus Pro 3880, uncompromising quality is within reach. Engineered for the discriminating professional, this compact, 17"-wide printer includes Epson UltraChrome K3® with Vivid Magenta Ink Technology, world-renowned for professional printing applications. This, combined with an advanced MicroPiezo® AMC™ print head, enables the Pro 3880 to produce gallery-quality color and black-and-white output up to 17" x 22". The printer's industry-acclaimed ink set delivers a phenomenal color gamut with breathtaking blues and violets. Now, you can achieve stunning wide-format prints to professionally showcase your work and bring your creative visions to life.

Auto-switching Black Inks: The Epson Stylus Pro 3880 automatically switches between Photo and Matte black inks. to produce the deepest blacks and richest color on glossy, matte or fine art media.

 

Have you a blocked print head?
Due to the thin nature of the print nozzle, ink blockages can occur. The ink can build up which will eventually lead to hardening of the ink and in turn the ink will not travel correctly. Also, if the printer has not been used for some time, you may expierience a blockage.

Blockbuster Print Head Cleaner is the answer.

Blockbuster Printer Head Cleaner comes complete with a syringe and tubing plus instructions on how to use the kit.

Click on the image to the left to buy this product
http://www.fotospeed.com/Digital-Essentials/products/23
Print Mounting
Cut your own print mounts

Logan Compact Mat/Mount Cutter
(Model 301-S)

Logan Compact Mount Cutter
Versatile and dependable, this mount cutter provides professional results with ease. Features a guided bevel-cutting head running on a grooved rail with a removable border width guide. Can be adjusted from 30mm to 130mm mount border width. Straight cuts up to 750mm can be made with the alternative head provided.
 
Need to label on the back of your mounted prints?

Any label applied to the back of your print must not peel off once stuck and the ink must not smudge otherwise the print underneath may be damaged.

This inkjet label measures
99.1mm x 38.1mm
There are 14 per Sheet
 

Waste Kits
OctoInkjet provides all your need to resolve one of the main problems suffered by Inkjet printer owners, specifically the issue of "Service Required".


Click on the above logo to visit website

Epson "Service Required" error

For anyone discovering "Service Required" error for the first time, this guide will help you towards a solution.

The Error
The most common error message that customers receive is "Parts inside the printer have reached the end of their Service Life". You are then directed to read your manual which, unfortunately, doesn't tell you anything. This lack of real information is probably the reason you are reading this in the first place.

The Cause
Your printer contains the equivalent of a nappy or diaper pad which is used to soak up any ink waste. This waste is generated during the various maintenance routines your printer requires to keep it functioning. As you'd expect, the pads can only absorb so much ink before they reach saturation point. The printer does not sense the level of ink but instead keeps track using an internal counter. This counter is sometimes known as the "protection" or "waste ink" counter and is controlled by a relatively complex equation in the printer firmware.

  If you would like to see any topic covered on this page, e-mail Derek Doar