ULTRA TONE FS (“UT-FS”) INKSETS FOR
THE 2000P
INFORMATION AND SETTINGS
By
(11-20-04)
(Note,
the formatting of this document works better when at full screen display.)
The Ultra Tone FS inksets
are pure pigment (predominantly carbon), black and white inksets for Epson
printers. They can be purchased from
MIS Associates. See the MIS website at:
http://www.inksupply.com/bw/utfs2000p
The Ultra Tone “FS”
inksets are monotone and come in two hues or tones – medium warm (UT-FS) and
neutral (UT-FSN).
These inksets were
originally designed for 4-ink printers and have one of the original “quadtone”
B&W density characteristics. For
6-ink (“hextone”) printers, the ink arrangement I support I call “CMCMY.” This puts the dark gray FS-C ink in both the
cyan and magenta positions. The medium
gray FS-M ink goes in both the light cyan and light magenta positions, and the
light gray FS-Y goes in the yellow position.
Be aware that some hextone ink arrangements use different ink positions
and more light ink. For modern printers,
however, the use of more light ink is not only unnecessary and more expensive,
but it can reduce the quality of the prints.
The UT-FS inksets can
print on matte or glossy papers with several alternative procedures or
workflows. In general, if one likes to
print on matte paper, which most fine art photographers like, then MIS Eboni
matte black should be used. If one likes
primarily glossy papers, MIS Photo black should be used. If both types of paper are desired, then the
black cartridges can be changed when necessary, or there is a procedure to
print on glossy paper with the Eboni ink still installed.
The 2000P driver version
used for the curves and settings discussed below is 5.21, which is the later
one designed to limit metamerism with the original color inks.
Settings
Color Settings (Edit, Color Settings in
Photoshop; leave at defaults in Picture Window) – I first set the top space to
Photoshop 5 Default spaces. Then I set
the RGB working space to Adobe RGB (1998).
Be sure no other profiles are embedded in the file.
Epson driver
Space – Gray Gamma 2.2 or Adobe RGB (1998)
Print Space -- Same as Source
Print Quality –
Photo; High Speed can be checked for matte papers, but not checked for glossy
papers. Many find that “Fine” quality is
OK also, and it’s faster. There is also
a “Super X” MicroWeave setting for the Photo quality
that often increases dmax, but it is considerably slower.
Color Management – No Color Adjustment.
Media Type – Will vary with the paper being
printed. See below.
Printing on Matte Papers
Matte papers tend to
print with low mid-tone contrast or other less than perfect grayscale ramps if
no curves or other adjustments are used.
So, I recommend and have made some simple Photoshop curves that adjust
the file to print better. Unless the
name of the curve includes ‘RGB,” these are designed to be applied to grayscale
files. The curves can be loaded in the
usual manner in Photoshop (Image, Adjust, Curves) or Picture Window (Transform,
Gray or Color depending on file, curves), or the grayscale curves can be loaded
as a Transfer Function in the Epson driver Setup box when printing from
Photoshop. When they are loaded as
Transfer Functions, the shadow tones from 75% to 95% may print slightly
darker. (Beware that after a Transfer
Function has been loaded, it may still be there the next time you print. So, check the Transfer Function to be sure
you know what is there.)
Curves have been made for
the following papers. The curves can be
downloaded from my “Download” web page as well as from MIS. My download page is at http://home1.gte.net/res09aij/2000P-FS-curves.htm
Other papers will
probably be able to use these curves or slight modifications of them. See below for how to modify curves.
Epson Enhanced Matte (“EEM”) – Media Type is
“Archival Matte.” This paper is
excellent for non-archival uses.
PremierArt Fine Art Hot Press – Media Type is
“Watercolor.” The convex side of the
205 weight version prints smoother than the concave side. An RGB version of the curve prints slightly
smoother than the grayscale version, but the difference might not be visible in
most pictures. The heavier PremierArt
Fine Art papers and Epson UltraSmooth
typically use the same curve. These
papers have no optical brighteners and exhibit little of no flaking.
PermaJet Alpha – Media Type is
“Watercolor.” This paper contains no
optical brighteners and has a very good dmax.
Related papers Omega and Delta can use the same curves and have some
brighteners, with Delta being the brightest, but still neutral. These papers exhibit little
if any flaking.
Hahnemuhle PhotoRag – Media Type is
“Watercolor.” Other Hahnemuhle fine art
papers typically use the same curve.
This paper has the best dmax, but tends to have some flaking.
Printing on Gloss Papers with MIS Photo Black Installed
If one is only printing
glossy paper, the best image with the 2000P is usually achieved using Photo
Black ink. While the UT-FS inkset can
also print on glossy papers when the Eboni matte black ink is installed (with
special RGB curves – see below), many papers will print smoother with Photo
black.
The curves have been
written for the “Photo” Quality level with Super x not checked. When that is checked, the prints may be
slightly smoother, the dmax may be slightly better, and the print time will be
considerably longer.
I recommend spraying most
glossy papers with PremierArt Print Shield after they are dry. This largely eliminates the “bronzing”
(differential color reflections) that afflicts most glossy papers. It also increases the dmax and makes the surface
of the print waterproof. It can actually
be cleaned with a damp paper towel.
For glossy paper, the
Epson printer "pizza wheels"
(or rollers) may leave marks on the finished print. I recommend the wheels be removed. See the instructions at
http://www.inkjetart.com/pizza/
Curves have been made for
the following papers:
Epson Glossy Photo Paper – Media Type is “Glossy
Paper Photo Weight.” This
reasonably-priced paper has the fewest digital artifacts like bronzing,
although its thinner weight causes some waviness in areas with lots of dark
tones. The print may be slightly
smoother when the grayscale file is 16 bit at the time the curve is applied
(even if the file was 8 bit previously).
Epson Premium Semigloss – Media Type is “Premium
Semigloss.” The Epson Premium Glossy,
Semigloss, Luster and Semimatte papers are rated by Wilhelm at “>200” years
in terms of storage life. They may be
the most (or only) archival glossy papers.
Usually the Semigloss, Gloss and Luster papers use the same curves. The
print may` be smoother (1) if the file is in 16 bit mode before the printing
adjustment curve is applied or (2) the image is converted to RGB and printed
with the RGB version of the control curve.
Spraying the finished print with PremierArt Print Shield increases the
dmax, nearly eliminates the “bronzing,” and makes the paper water proof so that
it can be cleaned with a damp paper towel.
Ilford Galerie Smooth
Printing on Gloss Papers with Eboni Matte Black Installed
Glossy papers can be
printed with Eboni matte black installed if special RGB curves are used. With this procedure, the dmax (deepest
black) is usually only slightly less than with Photo Black ink installed (about
10% maximum to almost no difference).
Using this method of
printing is the most convenient if you also use matte papers because the black
ink does not have to be changed. The
curves simply print the black values with the 2 dark gray inks, not using the
Eboni at all. (Eboni matte black is not
compatible with glossy papers.)
Note on “Print Quality”
setting – These curves are made for “Photo” quality. “Fine” quality prints with a lower dmax,
slightly darker midtones, and less smoothness, but it is faster. With “Super X” checked the dmax is increased
a few percent, the print is slightly smoother, but it is much slower (about 25
minutes for an 8x10).
Curves have been made for
the following papers:
Epson Glossy Photo Paper – Media Type is “Glossy
Paper Photo Weight.” This
reasonably-priced paper has the fewest digital artifacts like bronzing and is
the smoothest glossy paper I’ve printed with Eboni installed in the 2000P. Its dmax is slightly less than the
others.
Swiss-made paper: Media Type is “Glossy Paper Photo
Weight.” This is a Costco private label
version of Epson Glossy Photo Paper. It
has a good dmax and just a hint of bronzing.
It is almost as smooth at the above paper, and may produce the best
overall image among the glossy papers I’ve tried with Eboni installed in the
2000P. This and the above paper show a
bit of waviness where there is a heavy ink load. At 15 cents per letter-size sheet, this is a
great value.
Japanese-made paper: Use Epson Premium Semigloss settings,
below. This paper appears to be Epson
Premium Glossy paper, but without the logo on the back.
Epson Premium Semigloss – Media Type is “Premium
Semigloss.” See above for a paper
description.
Ilford Galerie Smooth
Paul
__________________________
PS: For an open forum
where I hang out, join the B&W Digital Print forum at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint/