ULTRA TONE 7 (“UT7”) for 2200 –
INFORMATION AND SETTINGS
By
(7-12-06)
UT7
is a pigment-based, variable-tone, black and white inkset for the Epson 2200
printer. While this inkset appears to be
appropriate for all the Epson UC printers, each printer type will require
different settings and curves. The 7600
and 4000 are in beta testing now.
UT7
can be purchased from MIS Associates
See http://www.inksupply.com/bw/ut7_2200
I
recommend UT7 with MIS Eboni matte black ink.
With this matte black ink the system can print on both matte and glossy
papers. By not having to switch black
inks for different paper types, continuous flow inking systems can be used, and
the 7600 and 9600 become economical for both matte and glossy papers.
This inkset supports several
printing procedures (“workflows”) for B&W printing. First, any application, including Word,
page-layout programs, and of course Photoshop can be used to print with tones
(used here to indicate “hues” or “color casts”) from neutral to medium warm on
matte paper just by using the standard Epson print driver with mostly default
settings and a grayscale file. See
section 2 below.
Second, with image editors Photoshop,
Picture Window, and Photoshop Elements more control is possible, including
print tones that range from dark sepia to very cold on either matte or glossy
paper. With this approach the print is
controlled by readily-available and easily-modifiable image adjustment curves
or (especially for PS Elements) image layers that include the curves. See section 3, below.
Additionally, there are
two affordable “RIPs” (“Raster Image Processors”) that can act as printing
utilities for the inkset – QTR and the Bowhaus IJC/OPM. These are not covered here, but information
is available on the Digital B&W Print forum at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint/.
1. INK POSITIONS
The UT7 inkset uses predominantly
carbon pigments, which is the key to avoiding metamerism, color tints and
shifts, and the inkset’s superior light fastness. The pigments are similar to those used in the
UT2 inkset (for the 1280) and UT1 inkset (for many printers including the
7500), but the mixes and positions of the inks vary among these inksets.
In UT7, the inks are in the following
positions:
Cyan position – Dark warm gray, pure
carbon;
Light cyan position – Light warm gray,
pure carbon;
Magenta position – Dark cold gray,
carbon toned with blue pigments;
Light magenta position – Light cold
gray, carbon toned blue pigments;
Yellow position – The default ink is
sepia, which is carbon toned with yellow and red pigments.
Alternatives
to this position include Gloss Optimizer for bronze-less glossy prints, a
second light ink for cooler printing with sliders, and UT-FS-Y for a super-light
ink for the ultimate in dotless highlights even under magnification. (No dots are visible under normal viewing
with most papers with the default ink arrangement.)
The
yellow ink position is also where any custom ink tone could be placed and
fairly easily controlled in the inkset by using the sepia curves or
modifications of them. The inkset would
still be able to print neutral and carbon tones via RGB curves that essentially
cut the yellow-position toner out of the mix.
Light Black – Neutral Light Black;
toned carbon (not the standard MIS/Epson Light Black tone);
Black – Eboni
matte black.
Because
the inkset will print on glossy paper with the matte black ink installed, as
long as curves are used, I do not write separate curves for Photo Black
ink. However, for printing with the
sliders on glossy paper, Photo Black must be installed.
_____________________________________________________________
2. GRAYSCALE PRINTING
FROM ANY APPLICATION; SLIDER TONE CONTROLS
Because the inkset can be
controlled by the Epson driver, excellent archival B&W images can be
printed on matte paper from any application, such as Word or page-layout
programs.
All of the necessary
settings can be made when a person starts to print a file, typically by clicking
on "File" (in the top bar) and then "Print." In the printer driver, one first clicks on
“Properties,” then “Advanced.” That gets
to a box that contains all the settings needed.
I recommend checking the box at the lower right that says, “Show this screen
first.”
(Note that the driver
alone can also print glossy paper if Photo black ink is installed. Users can determine the best slider
settings. I prefer to leave Eboni matte
black ink in the printer and use curves to print glossy papers.)
Recommended Settings
"Media Type” is “Enhanced Matte
Paper” unless otherwise stated in the individual paper settings sections.
“Print Quality” sets the number of dots
per inch – higher is better. I find 1440
dpi is generally good enough. If the
print looks rough, uncheck "High Speed." This is often almost as good as and much
faster than 2880, which is the highest quality.
Color Management
-
Color Controls checked,
Mode – Standard.
SLIDER SETTINGS FOR SOME POPULAR PAPERS
Slider Settings vary and are listed by
paper.
With sliders in the ”0” or neutral position, the print will be slightly
warm. Adding "Magenta" (the cool ink) by moving the Magenta slider to
the right cools the print, removing magenta warms the print. Adding "Cyan"
(the warm gray ink) or "Yellow"
(sepia tone) warms the print.
The recommended starting
points, below, are not necessarily the only or even best settings to achieve
the indicated tone and the best print for every printer. Experiment with the slider settings to get
the desired results. Similar settings
will probably work for a number of matte papers. Large moves of the sliders may negatively
affect the print quality.
Note
that the "neutral" tone of this inkset is often referred to as
"selenium" tone because it matches the tone of a
lightly-selenium-toned silver print.
Epson Enhance Matte ("EEM")
(aka “Archival Matte”)
This non-archival (100
year dark storage) paper sets the standard for smooth matte display prints.
Neutral: Cyan -10, Magenta +5, Brightness +5;
Warm: C +5. M -5, Y +25, to
C +15, M -10, Yellow +25, Contrast +5.
PhotoRag & PermaJet Alpha &
Innova
PhotoRag, also sold by
others under different names, is a standard for cotton, archival prints. It has the deepest blacks, but should be
brushed or wiped before printing to avoid “flaking” of the surface (small
flakes of coating pop off and leave a white spots or holes in the image). Spraying with PremierArt Print Shield will
help protect the sensitive image surface.
The paper may be prone to yellowing by airborne pollutants.
PermaJet’s new Alpha has
no optical brighteners, does not flake, and has a dmax almost equal to
PhotoRag. It may set a new standard for
those who like creamy-toned cotton papers.
Other PermaJet papers Delta (neutral white) and Omega (just a bit of
brightener) print cooler.
Innova has a full line of
papers with various surfaces.
All of the papers in this
group have an excellent dmax.
Neutral:
C -20, M +10,
Warm:
C +7, M -7, Y +25, Brightness -4.
Epson UltraSmooth & PremierArt
Fine Art Hot Press
These papers are all
essentially the same, and they are among the only cotton papers that do not
have problems with “flaking.”
UltraSmooth has no optical brighteners but is still a relatively bright
paper. It is the best paper in fade
testing that I have tested. This paper
sets the standard for archival storage.
Neutral: Cyan -15, Magenta +7;
Warm: C +5, M -5, Y +25, Contrast +3.
The above samples of slider
settings should be close to what works on most matte papers.
For a very cool-tone
paper that is also very reasonably priced for a cotton, try Moab Entrada Fine
Art. Use the Enhanced Matte
settings.
Arches
(un-coated) Water Color Paper
The 2200 with UT7 ink is
capable of the best un-coated, cotton-paper print I have seen. Arches Hot Press has the smoothest surface
and best dmax that I’ve seen with such papers.
The dmax, at up to 1.56 when totally dry, is higher than some coated
inkjet papers. However, the best coated paper clearly still have an advantage in both smoothness and
depth of black.
Note that Arches HP 90
Lb. (189 gsm) and 140 Lb. (300 gsm) appear to print the same on both the front
and back. Needless-to-say, this paper
does not have the flaking problems of most cotton inkjet papers.
The ability to get a good
image on a non-coated paper with the reputation of Arches could be significant
for some markets that might not trust inkjet coated papers. At Dick Blick a
full sheet (22x30”) of HP 90 is $2.38.
When cut to letter-size, this is $0.40 per page. (See http://www.dickblick.com/zz100/11/products.asp?param=0&ig_id=758
) For 140 lb. (300 gsm) paper, see Cheap
Joe’s at http://www.cheapjoescatalog.com/catalog/products.asp?id=268&pid=31&ppid=4
These papers come in
natural or bright white, neither of which has any optical brighteners.
There is also a Cold
Press version that has a slightly lower dmax.
It has more texture than the Hot Press.
Arches and other
non-coated papers benefit from the light black ink in the 2200. This ink is used by the driver primarily when
the RGB channels are equal – that is, with gray scale images. Thus, the smoothest printing is when neither
sliders nor RGB curves are used. The
file can be left in grayscale mode. A simple grayscale curve, however, can
improve the contrast. “UT22-ArchesHP-GS” is one that works
well with media type at EEM and Color Controls checked. The “Color
Density” slider in the “Ink Config” area is set to + 20%. Resolution should be
at 2880 with High Speed not checked.
Arches prints with a warm
tone. By putting the UT7 LC ink in the
yellow position as well as in the LC position, the print looks neutral, even
though it is still somewhat warm. The
Bright White version of the paper with the LC in the Y position is relatively
neutral.
______________________________________________
3. IMAGE EDITOR
ADJUSTMENT CURVES FOR GREATER TONE CONTOL
For this approach, an
image editor is needed. There are three
alternatives.
While Photoshop is the
industry standard image editor, Picture Window is a good, affordable
alternative. (See Digital Light and
Color for Picture Window, at www.dl-c.com.) It may be the only alternative that is compatible
with the Photoshop Image Adjustment Curves that are used to control the
inkset. They are loaded by clicking on
Transform, Color, Curves, and the top “Opt” button in the curves box. (The lower “Opt” button does not have the
same flexibility.) The curves type then
needs to be changed to “Photoshop Curves Files.”
Another affordable route
to controlling the inkset is through Photoshop Elements. While this program cannot directly use the
image adjustment curves, it can indirectly apply them by dragging a layer off
another image that has the desired curve as an adjustment layer. Small image files with the curves applied as
layers will be available for downloading just like the curves. They are a very easy way to control the inks.
Controlling the print
tones with image adjustment curves gives more control than the sliders and has
some other advantages for experienced printers.
Which curve is applied determines the mix of inks and thus the tone of
the print.
Basic Workflow & Settings
For this approach the
final grayscale file must first be changed to an RGB color image for
printing. (Save the final grayscale file
before doing this.) In Photoshop, set
the RGB working space to AdobeRGB(1998).
(Edit, Color settings – I set the top setting to
Photoshop 5 Defaults and then change RGB working space to Adobe RGB (1998).) The Picture Window and Photoshop Elements
default color settings work fine.
For some curves,
particularly the stronger sepia curves and some of the carbon curves, it is
best to have the RGB file in 16 bit mode before the tone curve is applied. This is true even if the grayscale file was
an 8 bit file. Once the curve is applied
the file can be converted back to 8 bit per channel with no decrease in print
quality.
In general, in the driver
the following settings are used:
Source Space -- Document: Adobe RGB (1998)
Print Space -- Profile: Same as Source
Media Type – "Enhanced Matte Paper"
unless otherwise stated.
Print Quality – 1440, High Speed unchecked,
works well for most prints; 2880 gives marginally better quality but is
slower. For glossy papers some might see
the difference.
Color Management – “ICM” is checked, and
under that, in the “ICC Profile” box, “No Color Adjustment” is used. Because this setting is used, the curves
should work equally well with both Windows and Mac computers.
Print Tones
In general, the
"Neutral" curves make prints that look similar to those printed with
the sliders set to make neutral prints.
However, control via RGB curves gives users more control over print
tones. The Red curve (which controls the
cyan [warm carbon] ink) and the Green curve (which controls the magenta [cool]
ink) have only 3 internal points on them from 75% up to 0%. This allows users to easily change the tones
of the highlights and midtones by making off-setting moves of the respective
points of these 2 curves. From 75% down
more points are often needed. With these
also, offsetting moves of the Red and Green curves can be effective in changing
the tones.
For some papers I have
made Cool and Medium Warm curves.
Comparing these curves with the neutral versions indicates the relative
tone changes that one can get from offsetting moves of the curves.
The "carbon"
tone curves print warm, about half way to a sepia tone. Some people compare its visual impact to the
classical platinum print. The curves
essentially eliminate all the color pigments and print with only carbon. This gives the most lightfast print possible,
because the carbon pigments are more stable than the color pigments.
"Carbon on
cotton" (acid-free & buffered paper) is such an appealing visual and
archival medium that it can, in my view, stand on its own as a classic B&W
medium.
Using curves to control
tones also allows one to make split-tone prints by using one curve in one
selected area and another curve in the other part of the image.
The curves that are
available are listed by paper type, below.
They can be downloaded from http://home1.gte.net/res09aij/UT7-2200-curves.html
.
MATTE PAPERS
Epson Enhanced Matte:
(These curves will probably work well with many matte
papers.)
UT7-2200-EEM-Cool-1
UT7-2200-EEM-Neutral-1
UT7-2200-EEM-MedWarm-1
UT7-2200-EEM-Carbon-1
UT7-2200-EEM-LC in Y-Carbon-6 (This is a draft curve for a carbon
print when the
sepia toner is replaced with the LC carbon
ink.)
There are 2 sepia curves for EEM. The Dark Sepia curve has slightly warmer
shadow tones.
PhotoRag
UT7-2200-PhotoRag-Cool-1
UT7-2200-PhotoRag-Neutral-1
UT7-2200-PhotoRag-MedWarm-1
UT7-2200-PhotoRag-Carbon-1
UT7-2200-PhotoRag-Sepia-1
Epson UltraSmooth &
PremierArt Hot Press:
UT7-2200-UltraSmooth-Cool-1
UT7-2200-UltraSmooth-Neutral-1
UT7-2200-UltraSmooth-MedWarm-1
UT7-2200-UltraSmooth-Carbon-1
UT7-2200-UltraSmooth-Sepia-1
The PremierArt may print a little light. To darken, pull the center of the combined
RGB curve down a 3 to 8 (of 255) units
at 50% (127 of 255).
Moab-Natural prints similarly.
UT7-2200-PremierArt-HP-N-1
Innova (The hue will
depend on the paper being printed):
UT7-2200-Innova-Cool-1
UT7-2200-Innova-Neutral-1
UT7-2200-Innova-MedWarm-1
UT7-2200-Innova-Warm-1
UT7-2200-Innova-Carbon-1
UT7-2200-Innova-Sepia-1
GLOSSY PAPERS – With Eboni Ink Installed in the printer
The UT7 inkset allows
printing on glossy papers even when Eboni black ink is installed in the
printer. All of the curves below are
written with the assumption that this matte black ink is in the printer.
Epson Premium Semigloss, Glossy and Luster Photo Papers:
Media Type:
"Enhanced Matte Paper."
UT7-2200-PremSemiGloss-Cool-1
UT7-2200-PremSemiGloss-Neutral-1
UT7-2200-PremSemiGloss-Carbon-1
UT7-2200-PremSemiGloss-Sepia-1
(These curves do not work on Premium Semimatte.)
Epson Premium Semigloss,
as well as the other Epson Premium papers, are the
only glossy papers that Wilhelm Research has rated as having dark storage lives
of over 200 years. This, combined with excellent
fade resistance ratings make these papers the top choice for archival glossy
("RC" or "barrier" paper) prints. Among these papers, the Premium Semigloss, in
my opinion, gives the best image, especially when sprayed with an appropriate
protective lacquer or fixative.
As with most glossy
papers when printed with pigments, these papers exhibit “bronzing” that
distracts from the image. The print
surface is also very sensitive to abrasion and fingerprints. I recommend three light sprays with PremierArt
Print Shield (http://www.premierimagingproducts.com/)
to reduce the bronzing and protect the surface.
Lyson Print Guard appears to be the same product.
Encapsulating carbon
pigments with PremierArt on the front and a “barrier” paper like the Epson
Premier Semigloss behind the pigments may be an excellent way to make a more
durable, archival print. Air pollution,
humidity, and oxidation are primary factors in fading and damaging photos. These air-borne problems can enter the paper
through either the front or back. A
sprayed barrier paper may be an efficient way to protect the image. While framing under glass gives even more
protection, the sprayed glossy print is tough enough to even be cleaned with a
damp paper towel.
Ilford Galerie Smooth
Media Type:
"Enhanced Matte Paper."
UT7-2200-IlfordSmooth-Neutral-1
UT7-2200-IlfordSmooth-Cool-1
UT7-2200-IlfordSmooth-Carbon-1
UT7-2200-IlfordSmooth-Sepia-1
Many like the
PremierArt Print Shield
or Lyson print guard/shield spray largely eliminates the “bronzing."
Use
the Ilford curves, above.
With Ilford curves it prints very slightly cooler and
lighter than the Ilford paper.
Increasing the Color Density, in the Ink Configuration
part of the driver, gives a better
dmax and also darkens the image
up to about +12.
This paper has a buffered, acid-free interior paper like
the Epson Premium papers.
It also has a very low bronzing. Overall, it may be the best letter size
glossy paper.
Too bad it’s not available in larger sizes.
Epson Glossy Photo Paper (also known as “Photo Paper”):
This paper prints with a
deeper black when the “Ink
Configuration” “Color Density” is set to
+20. This setting is in the Epson driver
Properties box. Push the “Ink Config” button at the bottom left of the Properties box,
Main tab. The curves below require this
setting.
Media Type:
“Enhanced Matte Paper."
UT7-2200-GlossyPP-Neutral-1
UT7-2200-GlossyPP-Cool-1
UT7-2200-GlossyPP-Carbon-1
UT7-2200-GlossyPP-Sepia-1
Note, this widely-available and affordably-priced paper produces
a very good image, with none of the artifacts such as “bronzing” that affect
most other glossy papers. This is one of
the few glossy papers that does not need to be sprayed
to look its best. However, the paper is
acidic, and not archival. It is also
thin and gets wavy in areas with heavy ink loads. The
Enjoy the journey.
Paul
__________________________
PS: For an open forum
where I hang out, join the B&W Digital Print form at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint/