Epson Pigment vs Dye Ink

[spurssy]

My dear fren, 1 month ago I have the same dilemma, i even went to SItex and test print the 2 printers.

Finally, I bought R210 at $228 at PK Computers.

Reasons:
1. Price, I can't justify the price diff of $500 for the little diff in quality. And refills for R800 is more costly.
2. R210's photos is IMO better than those neighbourhood development, when u use the premium paper.
3. At sitex, R210 prints straight from the file, nice. But After numerous prints from R800 at different settings, I still can't find a good one. Hence, R800 prob needs extra configuration and colour calibration.
4. As for prints durability, I can't say since i've only use it for 1mth. But based on past experiences, my previous Epson 810's colour print in premium paper is still as good as new after 2 years of display.

I may still have the test prints, if u're interested.

Adams

 

[espn]

I've just done a A4 print from a JPEG file on my just purchased R210 using Epson Dura-brite paper, I'm VERY impressed by the quality produced. :thumbsup: Will be toying with my 4R glossy later.

Got it at $219 @ Skylet SLS, comes with USB cable.

 

[Ink-Specialist]

I've just done a A4 print from a JPEG file on my just purchased R210 using Epson Dura-brite paper, I'm VERY impressed by the quality produced. :thumbsup: Will be toying with my 4R glossy later.

Got it at $219 @ Skylet SLS, comes with USB cable.

epson 2ten print on dura-brite gross paper isn't the best one! :angry:
epson 2ten the best is print on (xxxxx) paper! :think:

 

[spurssy]

I've just done a A4 print from a JPEG file on my just purchased R210 using Epson Dura-brite paper, I'm VERY impressed by the quality produced. :thumbsup: Will be toying with my 4R glossy later.

Got it at $219 @ Skylet SLS, comes with USB cable.

Hasn't tried the Dura-brite, but so far, the Premium Glossy is the best, but my fav has to go to the Premium Semi-Gloss, since it easier to bring around and attracts less fingerprints.

Adams

 

[espn]

Yep, just did one of my model shoot prints on the 4R Premium Glossy, love it. The borderless rocks. :thumbsup:

I've yet to try the semi-gloss, will try out the matte-heavy weight later.

 

[Stereobox]

ehh..mind sharing your workflow from calibrating monitor to final output from the printer? cos mine still sucks :-/ still have problems matching the colors

 

[espn]

Hmmm... ok this is what I did:

Calibrate Monitor/LCD (monitor.icc)
RAW -> Nikon Capture, set to monitor.icc,
Nikon Capture -> PS (16 bit), PS set to monitor.icc
PS -> JPEG (8bit), monitor.icc is embbeded.

Open Nikon View -> Select file, print, select the paper type used and size, image type, print direct.

Colors are exactly what I see on screen.

 

[Watcher]

ehh..mind sharing your workflow from calibrating monitor to final output from the printer? cos mine still sucks :-/ still have problems matching the colors

Make sure you set your printer to use ICM (under the Advance button) and not to check the box under it.

 

[Watcher]

Yep, just did one of my model shoot prints on the 4R Premium Glossy, love it. The borderless rocks. :thumbsup:

I've yet to try the semi-gloss, will try out the matte-heavy weight later.

Told you so

For lower cost, try the Ilford Gallerie Pearl paper (not the Classic one) in the lustre/semi-gloss class of paper. You got kang-tow so I don't need to tell you where to get them

PS how much did you pay for your 4R PGPP paper? I have some excess

 

[espn]

Kekeke... I'm slow la

I paid the 4R PGPP @ $7.10/-

 

[Stereobox]

Make sure you set your printer to use ICM (under the Advance button) and not to check the box under it.

you mean, i *should* activate the auto color adjustment? when it means auto color adjustment, does it mean 'automatically adjusting to how the computer think correct color is" ... or "adjusting color so that it can print correctly" ?

 

[Watcher]

I mean you should set it to this:

 

[Stereobox]

yup yup, that's what i meant.

by NOT clicking it, it means i'm activating color adjustment right?

so what does this 'color adjustment' mean? does it mean 'automatically adjusting to how the computer think correct color is" ... or "adjusting color so that it can print correctly"

if i CLICKED the "no color adjustment"..i notice the color is WAY off and WAY WAY darker. why is that so?

and under "Color Controls" ... gamma should be set to 1.5, 1.8 or 2.2 ?

followed espn's workflow, but color still don't quite match up

when i'm printing in adobe photosop, in Printer Space, under Profile, i should select my Printer profile right? (in this case, Stylus Photo R200 R210 Series")

so many questions!

 

[Watcher]

yup yup, that's what i meant.

by NOT clicking it, it means i'm activating color adjustment right?

so what does this 'color adjustment' mean? does it mean 'automatically adjusting to how the computer think correct color is" ... or "adjusting color so that it can print correctly"

if i CLICKED the "no color adjustment"..i notice the color is WAY off and WAY WAY darker. why is that so?

My understanding is that if you click on it, it will ignore the ICC profile associated to the printer. This is to enable it to provide a print to profile the printer for anyone wanting to profile the printer by themselves.

and under "Color Controls" ... gamma should be set to 1.5, 1.8 or 2.2 ?

followed espn's workflow, but color still don't quite match up

You should not bother to use the rest except with the ICM option.

when i'm printing in adobe photosop, in Printer Space, under Profile, i should select my Printer profile right? (in this case, Stylus Photo R200 R210 Series")

so many questions!

Yes, but to test, my advice is to use a file in sRGB and use printing the Microsoft Picture and Fax viewer to print. You then use the above ICM option and see if there is any major difference. If there is, it should be your display not being profiled.

 

[siaolang22]

Told you so

For lower cost, try the Ilford Gallerie Pearl paper (not the Classic one) in the lustre/semi-gloss class of paper. You got kang-tow so I don't need to tell you where to get them

PS how much did you pay for your 4R PGPP paper? I have some excess

hello bro, can let me know where to buy Ilford paper pls? i'm new to photogragphy lah but i read in many website its good paper.

 

[erwinx]

ICM is the Microsoft colour management scheme. If you are sending pictures to printer colour management, ICM should be 'off' in order to let the printer driver do the colour management work rather than Windows.

Mac users don't have the problem, they don't have an ICM checkbox on their print option since its Windows only. Why let the OS mess around with your images before they go to the printer? Mac users don't


edit - Epsons recommended workflow does not seem to involve ICM either:
http://www.downloads.epson.com.au/DownloadFile.asp?Filename=EPSON RGB Print Guide_WIN.pdf&Path=Drivers/ICMprofiles

 

[Watcher]

ICM is the Microsoft colour management scheme. If you are sending pictures to printer colour management, ICM should be 'off' in order to let the printer driver do the colour management work rather than Windows.

Mac users don't have the problem, they don't have an ICM checkbox on their print option since its Windows only. Why let the OS mess around with your images before they go to the printer? Mac users don't


edit - Epsons recommended workflow does not seem to involve ICM either:
http://www.downloads.epson.com.au/DownloadFile.asp?Filename=EPSON RGB Print Guide_WIN.pdf&Path=Drivers/ICMprofiles

"ICM is the Microsoft colour management scheme"?



From here, "ICM stands for Image Color Management. ICM standards are maintained by the International Color Consortium."

Under its Member list, Apple is rated as a founding member, Microsoft is not even list!

If you're talking about "Image Color Management Version 2.0", ie "Windows default color engine, ICM 2.0", then Mac has the ColorSync, which are color engine, not schemes...

It is better to keep quiet, and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth, and remove all doubt.

 

[erwinx]

it's interesting that as an expert in Epson printers, you are recommending checking the 'ICM' option in the Epson print dialogue. This is basically what this discussions is about. Is checking ICM the best way to go?

In many previous threads I've seen arguments go off track on arguments on tiny definitions. Heres another attempt - splitting hairs over 'Colour engine' vs 'colour management' (ICM option is listed under 'colour management' in the epson printer dialogue). I fully concede that my definition power not as good as yours.

Shouldn't this thread, in order to help new users of Epson printers, be about whether it is better to check the 'ICM' option on the printer driver. Since you are quite well versed, please share why it is better to check the 'ICM' option. (i note that the printing guide from Epson Australia suggests otherwise). In particular, i'm sure you can enlighten us on what happens to printer gamut when 'ICM' is checked.

 

[Zerstorer]

ICM is indeed the microsoft color conversion engine, however, depending on your printer model and version of drivers it can also be a general term for color management. That's where the confusion arises.

Note that in the R210, ICM must be checked before "no colour controls" can be selected. In my case, since I use custom/updated profiles, I need to select ICM before I can select "no colour controls" so that I can use the profiles properly. In this case, the printing software's own conversion enginre(ACE in my case) is used instead.

erwinx: The printing guide uses the Epson 4000 as an example, the options on the R210 are different. A more accurate(model specific?) guide is provided by Ilford on together with their paper profiles. Take a look at the R300(R210/R310) profiles for example.

 

[Zerstorer]

However, I must say that I also don't see the utility of selecting ICM and yet leaving "no colour controls" unchecked.