MM printer software

[appleman]

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I have recently acquired a Leica monochrom camera. Can anybody recommend software for b/w output?. My printer is an Epsom R800. I am getting a red tinge on the print outs, and yes I have put in all the correct parameters, ie grey scale, b/w output etc.

[jaapv]

Lightroom works just fine. Did you tick "lightroom manages colours" and check whether printer colour management was disabled?

[appleman]

I rarely use lightroom but I will give it a try thanks. I have been printing direct from "preview" on my iMac with good results except b/w.

[jaapv]

Well, that is pretty sure not to work and create things like metamerism. You must work from a proper editing program and use the appropriate settings.

[Guest malland]

Yes, I agree with Jaap. You can also use a RIP. ImagePrint is really excellent, although costly.

 

—Mitch/Paris

Paris Obvious [WIP]

Eggleston said that he was "at war with the obvious"...

[Jeff S]

Besides using LR as others suggest, I hope you're not using standard inks in that R800. The standard ink set essentially offers only one black ink at a time IIRC, either photo black or matte, and that would be a pity to use with the MM.

 

Your b/w results will dramatically improve with any of the more modern Epsons, e.g., R3000 or 3880, for instance) that use 3 blacks at a time, and still have the photo black or matte option.

 

Or, alternatively, you could load the R800 with all black inks, for instance using the Piezography system, but that's a more complex approach, and would of course preclude color use without changing inks.

 

Jeff

[appleman]

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Jeff,

I am thinking of replacing the R800 so further advice would be appreciated. I have also been investigating the Piezography system but the jury is still out on that one.

[platypus]

Jaap and Jeff are completely correct in their advice to you.

I have an MM and use Lightroom and an Epson R3000,

the combination is foolproof. I come from a background

of professional b&w darkroom printing and find I am getting

digital print results quite comparable to those I did with film.

Dee.

[Jeff S]

Jeff,

I am thinking of replacing the R800 so further advice would be appreciated. I have also been investigating the Piezography system but the jury is still out on that one.

 

I suggest you consider some of the Epsons I mentioned, perhaps the R3000 or the 3880, to use with standard inks. These can produce lovely results in b/w and color (assuming you have a camera besides the MM), provided you take the time and effort to develop a disciplined workflow from camera to print, including software and print settings, papers, profiles, etc. Printing isn't plug and play; just as in the darkroom days, good equipment doesn't automatically yield great results, but it sure helps.

 

I would hang on to the R800 in case you later want to devote it to Piezography at some point. It's a more complex approach that, with more effort, can result in subtle improvements. But until you spend enough time with the standard Epson system, you won't have a benchmark for how good your prints can be, and whether you think further tweaks are warranted. Of course you could also convert a 3880 to Piezography, but again you should stick to the basics first IMO.

 

The Epson site gives comparison specs on all their printers. I suggest you read them carefully to determine which product best suits your print needs. This includes ink cartridge size, print size, paper feed options, etc. (Note that the folks who do Piezography also sell replacement inks for Epson, in all the same colors, but that's another discussion.)

 

Jeff

[sanyasi]

To follow up on an earlier comment, I use ImagePrint and have a decidedly mixed reaction to it. The profiles are good, but not light years ahead of the icc profiles that paper manufactuers provide. More importantly, ImagePrint has a lousy and quirky interface. You need to have multiple tools open to create a print, the organization of the settings is a mess, and layout options are terrible. Three examples: It is very easy to inadvertently change the paper type just by moving your mouse over the window. In putting a photo on the layout window, you can only display it vertically, which means you must look at your landscape photos sideways. I've also had problems cleaning jobs out of the print que and I am using the latest Mac OS software and a new Epson printer.

 

Think twice before going this route, or at least take advantage of the opportunity to try before you buy.

[250swb]

Another vote for the Epson R3000. It does beautiful monochrome but like any printer does still needs the correct commands, the main as others have said is to 'let Photoshop/Lightroom control colour' and the use of the paper manufacturers custom profile. In fact really thats all you need to do with it, I have never had a printer that simply gets on and does what you want like the R3000 does.

 

Steve

[Jeff S]

I still use the 3800, but if buying again, would choose either the 3880 or 4900.

 

Regarding the R3000 vs 3880, the former prints 13", has 25.9ml ink cartridges and has a roll paper feed. The 3880 prints 17", has 80ml cartridges and no roll feeder.

 

Be sure to consider ink costs as part of any purchase decision, as the 3880 comes with 3x more ink, worth over $400. And the cost per ml is about half as much for the 3880. But of course one needs to consider how much they plan to print.

 

It also pays to shop around and look for both Epson rebates as well as store discounts; the two combined often result in some amazing deals. Epson makes money on the inks, not on the machines, much like companies that sell razors and razor blades.

 

Jeff

[appleman]

Well, after sorting out my new "lightroom", I went for the Epson R3000 using Ilford paper Prestige Gold Fibre Silk for colour work and Gold Mono Silk for black/white work. After entering the ICC profiles the Epsom spewed out incredible looking images. I use A4 for a test using Photoshop, tweak image if neccessary, then print out to A3+ and the images are stunning, especially the Mono prints which looks exactly like they have been darkroom processed.

[Jeff S]

Congrats. For b/w, you might want to try Canson Infinity Baryta Photographique and/or Canson Platine. Both wonderful papers.

 

Jeff

[erudolph]

I've enjoyed using Ilford Gold Fiber Silk as well as the two Canson papers Jeff mentioned above. And recently I've added Innova Fibaprint Warm Cotton Gloss to the papers I use - I think it's excellent.

[Guest WPalank]

To follow up on an earlier comment, I use ImagePrint and have a decidedly mixed reaction to it. The profiles are good, but not light years ahead of the icc profiles that paper manufactuers provide. More importantly, ImagePrint has a lousy and quirky interface. You need to have multiple tools open to create a print, the organization of the settings is a mess, and layout options are terrible. Three examples: It is very easy to inadvertently change the paper type just by moving your mouse over the window. In putting a photo on the layout window, you can only display it vertically, which means you must look at your landscape photos sideways. I've also had problems cleaning jobs out of the print que and I am using the latest Mac OS software and a new Epson printer.

 

Think twice before going this route, or at least take advantage of the opportunity to try before you buy.

 

Sorry, absolutely wrong.

 

I will soon be teaching comparison classes of LR to IP printing in my new Workshop Studio. LR IS Light Years Ahead especially in the B&W Print area.

 

Sorry, if you haven't figured out that there is a little clockwise and counter-clock wise arrow to the Left in the module to flip the image, then you don't know the basics of the program.

BTW, there is a centering tool (one click, that centers the image on the canvas dead-on every time. Try doing that on a Mac.

 

If you are having problems deleting jobs from the spooler, there is a section in the Manual. But why would you have to. if you put in "I want 1 print of this at this size" it prints it perfectly 99.9% of the time and the job is gone. You need to sit down one evening with the manual.

[erudolph]

I love IP. But that is a long manual. It might take more than one sitting. :-)

[Guest WPalank]

 

LR IS Light Years Ahead especially in the B&W Print area.

 

Pardon, me. I meant IP is Light Years ahead in printing B&W. Also, I forgot to add IMHO.

[wattsie]

I use the K7 selenium piezography inks in an epson 3880. Beautiful results, but you have to be prepared to learn a bit more about your printer and how to keep it well maintained. I second the recommendations on the Canson papers. Watch out for papers with OBAs, unless the content is low. The Ilford Gold Fibre Silk Mono seems to have a decent dose of OBAs. If conservation is an issue I'd be inclined to steer clear of it.

 

As for imageprint, I'm waiting for them to support the epson R3000, which is my colour printer, so I can give it a go. Prints with the epson inks on the right paper with imageprint are faring very well in fade tests over at Aardenburg. Colorbyte been saying support is coming for over 6 months now!

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[Arif]

Colorbyte been saying support is coming for over 6 months now!

 

John P. of Colorbyte told me back in December 2011 that they were working on it so don't hold your breath.