MIS Ultra-Tone R2 B&W INKS for the Epson R200 Printer
Information and Settings
By
(7-12-06)
(Note,
the formatting of this document works better when at full screen display.)
The MIS UT- R2 inksets
come in 2 tones: R2-N (neutral) and
R2-Warm (pure carbon). Both are 100% pigment (no dyes), black and white inksets for the
Epson R200 printer. They can be
purchased from MIS Associates. See the
MIS website at:
http://www.inksupply.com/bw/utr2
In my fade tests no other
inkset has matched the lightfastness of the MIS UT family of B&W inks,
which includes these R2 inks.
The R2 inksets can print
on matte or glossy papers as long as the appropriate black ink is
installed. MIS Eboni matte black is for
matte papers. For glossy paper a special
Photo Black has been formulated specifically for the R200.
The tones of the images
printed with the R200 can be varied from neutral to warm by installing
different combinations of the R2-N and R2-W cartridges. Different papers also print with different
tones. Note that the inks in the cyan
and magenta positions are the same density.
Likewise, the LC, LM, and Y position inks are all the same density. The chips, however, are specific to each ink
position. So if you want to warm up a
“neutral” set slightly, try putting an R2-Warm yellow cart in the yellow
position.
Grayscale images are
printed using the Epson driver, where the profiling needed to match the
printing characteristics to the paper is accomplished using the Epson driver
adjustments. As such, any application
that can handle images can print high quality B&W images with this system. So, while photographers will want a good
image editor, publishing programs and even Word can print excellent B&W
using these R2 inks.
Settings
Photoshop “Color Settings”
In Photoshop, the Color
Settings (click on Edit, then “Color Settings”) usually default to Gray Working
space Gray Gamma 2.2, which is
usually fine. (This is referred to in
Elements as optimized for computer monitors or the Web.) If the print is much lighter than the
monitor, however, you might try Dot Gain 20% as the gray working space. (This is referred to in Elements as optimized
for printing [the prepress industry].)
In Picture Window, the
default spaces seem to work very well.
Photoshop CS2 “Print with Preview”
If printing with
Photoshop CS2, use “Print with Preview.”
In the box that appears below the image, there is a box that shows
either “Color Management” or “Output.”
Select “Color Management” and the following settings should appear if
one is printing a grayscale file:
Print
– Profile: Gray Gamma 2.2.
Options
– Let Printer Determine Colors.
Epson Driver Properties
For all applications, be
sure the driver is loaded from an Epson disk or downloaded form the Epson
webpage. The drivers that are built into
Windows are not complete.
When one hits the “Print”
button a “Print” box appears. Go to “Properties” and “Advanced.” In that box the
settings will vary with the type of paper used.
The sliders and gamma
setting in this box allow substantial control of how the print will look. These are used to “profile” different papers
to look the way you’d like. I have
settings below that I’ve found work for me.
When you get settings that give the results you like, I recommend that
you save those.
Although many different
papers will print well with this printer and inkset I recommend starting with the papers and
settings listed below to learn what the printer is capable of and to hold down
the variables. Not all papers print well
with just the slider controls. For
example, getting appropriate shadow contrast with some glossy papers can be a
challenge. Some may require a
supplemental “linearization” curve, but I have not made those at this
point. For a tutorial on making
grayscale curves, see http://home1.gte.net/res09aij/EZ_Adjustment_Curves.htm
To test new or different
papers, I recommend the use of 21-step test files such as I have on my web
site. (See the index at http://home1.gte.net/res09aij/index.htm.) Printing these test files will show whether
the grayscale ramp is reasonably “linear” (evenly spaced 5% steps) and help in
determining the best slider settings for new papers.
Printing on Matte Papers
General Matte Paper Settings –
For Epson Enhanced Matte, Hahnemuhle Photo Rag, PermaJet Alpha
& Most Matte Papers
The driver’s Properties
> Advanced box settings as shown below will work well for a number of matte
papers.
Epson Enhanced Matte (“EEM”)
has a paper life of just over 100 years in good storage conditions according to
the Wilhelm Research accelerated aging tests.
In high humidity or temperature, it might yellow much more quickly. While this paper is not archival, it makes an
excellent image and is a good value for non-archival printing.
Hahnemuhle Photo Rag
& PermaJet Portrait Classic tend to have some
flaking (blow off the surface before printing) and a sensitive surface.
PermaJet Alpha contains
no optical brighteners, which give it a creamy look and avoid the appearance of
yellowing that will happen over time with brightened papers. This is one of my favorite papers, but,
unfortunately, PermaJet currently has no distribution in the
Innova papers have a similar coatings to PermaJet Alpha and should print with
the same settings.
PremierArt Fine Art Hot Press
PremierArt Fine Art Hot
Press 205 (“PA 205”) is an excellent value in archival cotton paper. The convex side of the 205 weight version
prints slightly smoother than the concave side.
The heavier PremierArt Fine Art papers and Epson UltraSmooth typically use the same settings. These papers have no optical brighteners, yet
are still quite bright. They exhibit
little or no flaking and may be the most archival and durable papers I’ve
tested. MIS now carriers PremierArt 205
paper, as do a number of other internet outlets.
Printing on Glossy Papers with Photo Black Installed
Note that the Gamma 1.5 setting for these papers.
Costco’s Kirkland Glossy
Inkjet Photo Paper and Ilford’s Galerie Smooth Pearl
are the primary recommendations for a glossy and pearl finish, respectively.
Kirkland Glossy Photo
paper is a wild bargain. With its
buffered interior paper, similar to Epson Premium papers, it may even be
archival. This paper may convince you
that the cheapest can also be the best.
The
<http://www.costco.com/Common/Category.aspx?whse=BC&topnav=&cat=1200&hierPath=354*&Browse>
even
by non-members.
Ilford Galerie Smooth
Pearl is the best choice I’ve found for a pearl surface. It is also reasonably priced. Typical of the vast majority of gloss papers,
this paper does not appear to be acid free.
These papers have a dmax
of about 2.0, which is very adequate and better than most of the other glossy
papers I’ve tested with the R200.
Note the Cyan and Yellow
settings. This has the effect of
increasing the contrast between the 95% and 90% steps, which is needed for many
glossy papers on the R200.
I spray many of my best
glossy-paper prints with PremierArt Print Shield after they are dry. In the past this was needed to eliminate the
“bronzing” (differential color reflections) that seriously afflicted most
glossy papers with other inksets.
However, the current MIS UT inks have such low bronzing that most will
probably not see any need for this now.
Spraying also increases
the dmax makes the surface of the print waterproof. Once sprayed, the print surface is tough
enough to be cleaned with a damp paper towel if need be. I sometimes display sprayed glossy
(including semi-gloss and semi-matte) papers with no glass, so that the full
dynamic range of the image, including particularly the depth of the deep
blacks, can be seen without the compromising effects of glass reflections. Spraying for these purposes still has value.
The settings for the
following papers are recommended starting points. You may be able to get a better match to the
monitor with other adjustments.
Epson Premium Glossy, Semigloss & Luster
The Epson Premium Glossy,
Semigloss, Luster and Semimatte papers are rated by Wilhelm at “>200” years in
terms of storage life. The above
settings work for the Semigloss but not the Semimatte, which is not available
in letter size anyway. I have not tested
the Luster and Glossy papers, but they usually work with the Semigloss
settings. The Luster dmax may be less.
Fine-tuning with Photoshop Curves
There may be some papers
that do not adjust well with the sliders.
For there, a simple grayscale Photoshop curve, which can also be loaded
as Transfer Function, can profile the printer more accurately. Grayscale curves are relatively easy for
users to make or modify as needed. See
my tutorial at http://home1.gte.net/res09aij/EZ_Adjustment_Curves.htm
.
Matching the Monitor to the Print
If one uses Photoshop and
the monitor does not match the print, the alternative that I use to accomplish
this is outlined at http://home1.gte.net/res09aij/Monitor-Profiling.htm
.
Enjoy easy, cheap, &
great digital B&W printing.
Paul
__________________________
PS: For an open forum
where I hang out, join the B&W Digital Print forum at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint/