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://new.inksupply.com/utfs2000p.cfm
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
(This page
may be discontinued by Verizon. If so,
the curves are also at https://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/2000P-UT-FS.zip
)
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/