U of S | Mailing List Archive | alt-photo-process-l | Re: Epson 3800 vs 4800 - any advice?

Re: Epson 3800 vs 4800 - any advice?



I'm calibrating an Epson 7800 right now, and boy, does it behave differently than a 2200! Using the color ratio approach and the ternary diagram as outlined in the www.alternativephotography.com website, the K3 inkset on the 7800 shows the maximum UV color-only density to be a pure green. That still gives a UV density of only 2.3 logD or so on pictorico using the epson driver. It was quite easy to drop the color from G255 to G225 (which in effect increases the saturation of the color) and get enough additional boost from the black ink to make a very nice palladium curve. No sign of grittiness yet.

Clay
On Feb 27, 2007, at 5:02 PM, Sandy King wrote:

Camden,

One solution to the lack of printing density with the 4800 would be to blend in some black with the PDN colors. If you do that you can easily get as high a printing density as you would need for any alternative process.

I know that Mark prefers increasing the ink density to bump the contrast, but blending in the black works better for me for various reasons.

And Mark, I have really forgotten why you don't like black inks. I recall you explained that to me once, but I just can't retain as much as I used to in the brain. Using black might be a solution to the gritty look with the 3800. In testing the 3800 with Don Hutton we were getting very smooth tones with the black inks, and with a R +G combination.

Sandy



At 2:33 PM -0700 2/27/07, Camden Hardy wrote:
Jon,

I've got access to a 4800, and I'm not too impressed with its digital
negative performance (although I've heard others say it's great).

In my experience, the 4800's ink density isn't quite as high as I'd like it
to be...I had to increase the ink density by 10-15% for a pt/pd neg using
PDN just to get paper white. I promptly went back to the 4000. :)


Camden Hardy

camden[at]hardyphotography[dot]net
http://www.hardyphotography.net





On 2/27/07 12:35 PM, "Jon Lybrook" <jon@terabear.com> wrote:

I'm considering buying a larger printer. Does anyone have any opinions
or recommendations about the quality of the Epson Stylus Pro 4800 vs.
the 3800?

I understand the 4800 is bigger, heavier, and allows cartridges that
have a higher capacity, thus saving money on ink (which to me
compensates for the higher price).

Are there other qualities - particularly with regards to creating
Digital Negs/Transparencies I should be aware of before purchasing a
4800 over the 3800?

Thanks!
Jon