I finally treated myself to the Eye-1 photo before Christmas in order to be able to profile multiple printer/ink/paper combinations.
After making some mistakes I think I am getting pretty good results from it, but still it doesnt quite deliver what I (probably unreasonably) hoped I would get out of it. Observation 1 =============== At first I reasoned that even in the case that I used the tools properly, then gamut differences in ink sets would mean that there are always differences between different output combinations, and between the screen image and the outputs. However... I am slightly nonplussed with some of the results. In one case I am profiling a number of different papers with the Lyson Fotonic inkset on an Epson 7000. Profiled output looks great, but all of the outputs, on a variety of papers appears to have a slight (1-2CC) magenta shift when compared with the outputs from my Epson 2100. Ok... at first I assumed that this was just a gamut difference. However, if I apply a small green curve adjustment to the image before outputting to the 7000 I end up with a much more neutral result and one which is similar to the 2100. Is this just due to the limitations of the Eye-One? Or is it just a pretty normal approach to need to fine tune the profiled output with something like a curve adjustment? Of course I understand that its possible to spend loads more money on more and more powerful tools... but where does this end? For me, 1000 quid for the Eye-One represents a fairly substantial investment. Am I wrong to be a bit under impressed by the results? I am of course, pretty picky and have to admit that the printed results are way better than I have achieved with Lyson ink sets in the past. Observation 2 ============ The variance in results which I have observed seems far more related to the inkset than to the substrate. I have profiled Hahnemule Photo Rag, Epson Photo Paper, Epson Premium Semi Gloss, Epson Archival Matte and Iford Galerie Smooth Fine Art paper, Permajet Oyster test charts could not be read by the Eye-One, I expect due to UV brighteners in the paper. However I found that printing onto the Permajet Oyster using a profile generated for Epson Premium Semigloss gave results which are acceptable. In fact the variance between these results seems much less than the "magenta error" I observed earlier. Bronzing is almost non existant on this paper ink combo. Any thoughts and comments are welcomed. =============================================================== GO TO http://www.prodig.org for ~ GUIDELINES ~ un/SUBSCRIBING ~ ITEMS for SALE
