Printing Pure B&W on R3000

[Kentf]

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Hi All.

Please excuse my very uninformed first post.

I picked up an Epson R3000 last month (just couldn't pass on the rebate) and have been experimenting with different papers.

When I print a pure B&W file (from LR4) on something like Hahnemuhle photo rag pearl, should I be using the Hahnemuhle ICC profile, or should I shut off color management and use advanced B&W mode with no toning?

When I use the ICC profile, I swear that there is a slight color caste to the photo.

 

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

Kent

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[250swb]

What colour is the colour cast?

 

It could be that Hahnemuhle are trying to replicate the authentic tones of a traditional photographic paper where the emulsion will show either warm or cool tones ranging between deep browns to dark grey blues depending on the paper and manufacturer. Only a very few papers were available that got close to pure greyscale. Warm or cool tones could be very subtle, but they were chosen to affect the viewers perception, perhaps warm for a summers day photograph, cool for a winter photograph, warm for a portrait, cool for a riot, or even just down to the photographers preference.

 

So you may have to switch off the ICC profile if you want pure greyscale, but it does seem like Hahnemuhle had a warm paper in mind

 

"Photo Rag Pearl has a smooth, uniform surface texture with the unique pearl coating. It is especially suitable for photography and art reproduction with warm grey and colour tones."

 

Steve

[Jeff S]

Photo Rag Pearl does have a warm white paper base; I use it when I want to impart a warmer tone (which can also be achieved in LR by split-toning, etc). Photo Rag Baryta offers a whiter base, with no OBAs. For an even whiter base, I've grown fond of Canson's Infinity Baryta Photographique.

 

Although many use ABW mode for Epson b/w printing, I prefer making custom profiles and turning off printer color management. Experimentation is key, including use of rendering intent and other basic settings, before determining your preferred workflow. And, even then, you may choose to alter that approach for a given print.

 

This is a very old article by Eric Chan, using the 3800, but it may offer some ideas regarding various alternatives. Chan recommends ABW for 'neutral' prints, but I generally prefer a different route. Different strokes.

 

Jeff

[Kentf]

Thanks for the responses, your help is much appreciated. I had thought that the epson would print pure greyscale when a greyscale image was selected, but apparently it mixes some toning into the print. I will have to get a little deeper into the old article you linked. The color cast I'm seeing is magenta and really only obvious when put up against a silver gelatin or pure greyscale print.

My main concern was that the use of color inks in my B&W prints on the R3000 would lead to differential fading rates generating some odd color on the print over time. I have had this experience with an older Canon printer that didn't have the 3 black and grey tanks.

 

Thanks again for the help. Figuring this beast out is half the fun.

 

Kent

[Keith (M)]

... The color cast I'm seeing is magenta and really only obvious when put up against a silver gelatin or pure greyscale print.

Kent

 

Metamerism? A few articles relating to this and inkjet printing showed up in this quick Google search.