Epson P600...maximum density onto OHP Film?

[MurrayMinchin]

Hi there,

I've done a max black test (well, more brown than black) for Argyrotypes and have moved on to step wedges. The max white patch looks to be very lightly dusted with ultra fine pepper. Soooo close!

How do you get a P600 (UltraChrome HD inks, matte black) to print the densest negative density onto OHP film?

I access Epson's ABW (advanced black and white driver) through Print Tool, and have it set on the "Darkest" setting. Adding 75 yellow had no effect. To my uneducated eye, it looks like there's quite a bit of wiggle room before ink starts to puddle up.

Is there a way to print darker?

Thanks a bunch in advance.

 

[koraks]

If the driver's dialog is anything like it was/is on the older 3880 etc, there's some additional paper settings that allow you to increase the ink load.

The "dusted" look in the whites is most likely due to the inkjet dots simply not joining up. Inkjet printers are designed for a certain degree of bleed of the dots into the paper. OHP film tends to bleed much less.

Anyway, see if you can adjust the ink load. Of course you could also use QTR instead of the Epson driver. This also allows you to adjust ink load.

 

[MurrayMinchin]

If the driver's dialog is anything like it was/is on the older 3880 etc, there's some additional paper settings that allow you to increase the ink load.

The "dusted" look in the whites is most likely due to the inkjet dots simply not joining up. Inkjet printers are designed for a certain degree of bleed of the dots into the paper. OHP film tends to bleed much less.

Anyway, see if you can adjust the ink load. Of course you could also use QTR instead of the Epson driver. This also allows you to adjust ink load.

Thanks...just found the "Advanced Media Control" Colour Density slider, where you can add up to 50% more ink (depending on paper settings) so will give 25% extra a try.

Think I have to reinstall QTR...refuses to print due to an unspecified error.

 

[jeffreyg]

For negatives for pt/pd prints I set my 3880 for luster paper. I am using Pictorico Premium OHP. If that’s any help. It doesn’t switch over to matte black with that setting.

 

[MurrayMinchin]

For negatives for pt/pd prints I set my 3880 for luster paper. I am using Pictorico Premium OHP. If that’s any help. It doesn’t switch over to matte black with that setting.

Thanks,

I've been using Presentation Matte,..will give Lustre a whirl

 

[koraks]

For negatives for pt/pd prints I set my 3880 for luster paper. I am using Pictorico Premium OHP. If that’s any help. It doesn’t switch over to matte black with that setting.

For Pt/Pd you don't need all that much density. Other processes (salt, New Cyano, carbon and some others) work better with the Mk ink which creates a lot more density on the negative.

50% more ink (depending on paper settings) so will give 25% extra a try.

Yeah, see how that goes. I find the main difference between 'premium' film stocks and cheap & cheerful generic OHP film is how much ink they take before it starts to puddle and dry in funny ways. With Fixxons & Pictorico you can push things a little further than with cheap silkscreen inkjet film. I never found the difference to be very meaningful though, so I stick with the cheap stuff.

QTR is more versatile when it comes to ink settings. You can also use it for linearization - although it's also kind of awkward in that sense.

 

[MurrayMinchin]

For negatives for pt/pd prints I set my 3880 for luster paper. I am using Pictorico Premium OHP. If that’s any help. It doesn’t switch over to matte black with that setting.

Great tip! The P600 Premium Lustre setting is far less 'grainy' than the Presentation Matte I had been using.

For Pt/Pd you don't need all that much density. Other processes (salt, New Cyano, carbon and some others) work better with the Mk ink which creates a lot more density on the negative...

Ended up adding 25% density in Advanced Media Control and thankfully it went a little too far.

Using a 51 steps wedge, the first four steps are paper white, so that means I can probably reduce the extra density to maybe 12% or so, which is good, because experience says the further you venture from 'normal' the twitchier things can get.

So, good dark-dark brown? Check. Paper white? Check

Thanks for your help