On 14/8/04 17:47, Neil Barstow wrote: > I hope Jack will have the time to tell you himself whether he sees any > improvement in printed output from his Epsons.
Dear Alfred, Late in the day, I know, but I finally have a chance now to offer a few thoughts - some of which may have already been voiced. When doing a side-by-side test between an output from the driver and the RIP (ProofMaster), it was interesting and reassuring to confirm what I already really knew. I printed the driver image first (through Classic in conjunction with the Grey Balancer). The print looked great but it took an age to print (20-25minutes for a full A3+ image). Then I printed the same image through the RIP and the differences were startling. The image appeared much crisper and 'cleaner' with fantastic neutrality. The ink is laid down so much more carefully through the RIP - the driver seems to rely on laying down a lot of ink to achieve good density, which isn't necessarily a good thing with, say, Ultrachrome. A 'cakey' appearance tends to come from the driver - a bit like too much make-up... The RIP print also has a greater gamut along with a massive speed increase. The same image took about 11/12 minutes and because the ink is more controlled, there are massive savings here too. Cartridges last *much* longer (hard to quantify as they are so large). Beware though. The mechanical advantages are great but the machine becomes a very different device to that powered by the driver. A good knowledge of CMYK optimisation is required and this is where the real skill lies in terms of getting a decent output. I hope this helps. Best wishes, Jack -- :: Jack Lowe Studio :: :: +44 (0)191 224 5150 :: =============================================================== GO TO http://www.prodig.org for ~ GUIDELINES ~ un/SUBSCRIBING ~ ITEMS for SALE
