Epson 4880 and Matte black

[gll]

I need to buy a new printer, I have had a 4000 and a 2200, I mostly prefer the semi gloss and rarely use matte so the ink loss on switching between blacks may not be a big deal for me, but then I was wondering if you might use matte black on semi gloss ? for the most part I shoot wildlife and some landscape, I assume matte is more for landscape ?
found a place selling new 4880s for $1495 free shipping, I'm thinking that's a buy
any thoughts ?
Gary

[jeffkohn]

Are you asking if it's possible to use matte black ink on semi-gloss papers? You definitely don't want to do that. It would look terrible, and I'm not even sure the semi-gloss paper surface could absorb the ink.

You might be able to get away with using photo black ink on matte papers, but the blacks would be weak and you'd be giving up a substantial amount of the already limited D-Max that matte papers are capable of.

If you really think you might want to use both inks, I'd suggest looking at alternatives, such as the Canon 5100. Or if you don't need roll paper, consider the Epson 3800, which doesn't waste much ink when switching blacks.

[ChuckW]

I have an epson 4800 (not the 4880) and on those few occasions when I want to print matte I use Epson's Premium Semimatte paper. With that paper the photo black ink can be used so one doesn't need to waste ink by switching cartridges. That paper, I believe, only comes in rolls and very large sheets but the large sheets can be cut down with a paper cutter if necessary.

[gll]

I think I don't want to use matte paper, It looks great for some images just not many of mine and wonder if the difference between matte and semi matte with the photo black ink would be that great or for that matter semi gloss or semi matte. on my 4000 I really liked semi gloss, I need (want) to have the rolls so the 3800 is not a option for me.
thanks

[Norma_S]

You can go with ImagePrint and use their phatte black profiles. It allows you to load the matte black ink into the light, light black slot. All you have to do is switch printing profiles and paper types in the ImagePrint software when you switch papers. You only purge the ink the first time you set it up and never have to swap again. You can also switch back to the original configuration at any time.

This is what I'm doing on my 4880 and it works just fine.

[AndrewCCM]

I am sad I missed out on that $1495 deal. I just got interested in purchasing one over the past week and heard that just a couple of weeks ago there was a great sale going on. Oh well.. I'll keep my eyes open.

[gll]

Originally Posted by Norma_S

You can go with ImagePrint and use their phatte black profiles. It allows you to load the matte black ink into the light, light black slot. All you have to do is switch printing profiles and paper types in the ImagePrint software when you switch papers. You only purge the ink the first time you set it up and never have to swap again. You can also switch back to the original configuration at any time.

This is what I'm doing on my 4880 and it works just fine.

Norma I'm not sure I understand, this is software that you use to print with ?
Like photoshop ? so there is no light light black ? is this just for matte or for everything ?

[AndrewCCM]

Originally Posted by Norma_S

You can go with ImagePrint and use their phatte black profiles. It allows you to load the matte black ink into the light, light black slot. All you have to do is switch printing profiles and paper types in the ImagePrint software when you switch papers. You only purge the ink the first time you set it up and never have to swap again. You can also switch back to the original configuration at any time.

This is what I'm doing on my 4880 and it works just fine.

That is really interesting.... I just purchased QImage SE today to start managing my batches. Thinking of a 4880 here fairly soon...

[Norma_S]

QImage uses the Epson drivers so you don't really get any real differences with how your prints come out. You do get the ability to lay out print packages to make better use of your paper.

ImagePrint is a RIP. When you install ImagePrint, you have to tell it what printer you'll be using. Then, when you print through IP (it's not a photo editing application but it can do some simple things like crop, add borders and such) you use their custom profiles and their custom-designed drivers. You can download a trial version of the IP software for playing around with the interface but it won't allow you print using the trial version.

One benefit of using ImagePrint is their phatte black profiles. These special profiles allow you to load the matte black ink into the light, light black slot and leave it there. No more swapping and purging and wasting ink! You just download and install all the phatte black paper profiles you want to use and it knows when to use the matte or photo black ink based on the paper profile and paper type chosen for that print run.

When I want to print, I just tell ImagePrint what kind of paper (matte, glossy, luster, sheet, roll, etc) I'll be using and select the paper brand (Epson Luster 260, Red River Polar White Luster, etc). It's pretty slick.

The ImagePrint folks have custom profiled probably hundreds of papers for all sorts of printers. Their profile library is outstanding. I recently added a new paper and they didn't have any profiles for it. I emailed their customer support and within 2-3 days, they had added it to their library.

However, IP can do more that keep you from wasting ink purging back and forth. It can do print packages like QImage, it can resize your prints, you can even set it use less ink than normal to print (set it to use 95% ink rather than the usual 100%).

I don't waste prints anymore. It truly prints how I see it on my calibrated monitor. Before, I was using Miller's and I would get inconsistent results and would sometimes lose details in the shadows and have to get reprints done. Now, it's spot on every time even though my workflow is the same as before. The only time I have to reprint now is if I see something in the image that got missed when I was post processing it but it's not because of the way the print looks on paper. My print quality has gone way up because I can control my printing so much better than before.

It's a robust application and takes a little bit of time to figure everything out but it wasn't that hard. Learning Photoshop was way harder. ImagePrint is expensive but I'm very happy with my results now. My purchase of the Epson 4880 and IP software was money well spent, IMHO.

[gll]

Originally Posted by AndrewCCM

That is really interesting.... I just purchased QImage SE today to start managing my batches. Thinking of a 4880 here fairly soon...

I just got mine (4880) yesterday, 8x10 prints are really great, haven't done a big one yet

[Norma_S]

From their website:
"Phatte Black Option - Phatte Black is an ImagePrint exclusive. It gives you the option to maintain matte black and photo black inks in your Epson 4800, 7800 or 9800 printer, rather than swapping them out. With the Phatte Black option, the light-light black cartridge is replaced with a specially programmed matte black cartridge. Prints made with Phatte Black show virtually no difference when compared with prints made with the standard configuration. Using Phatte Black is totally optional, and the standard configuration of K3 inks is fully supported. In fact, users can switch between Phatte and LLK cartridges at any time, using less ink than a standard matte black/photo black purge."

[AndrewCCM]

Norma,

I don't print a whole lot and really the 4880 would be a luxury for me. I just HATE HATE HATE HATE (did I say that enough) the wasteful and inefficient ink management of my current R2400. No way I can sustain anything with my light magenta cartridge having to be replaced constantly!!! LOL

Yeah.. I just liked the way QImage handled packages and unprezzing, (oh.. and the price)...

[ChuckW]

I too use ImagePrint, although I am not now using the Phatte Black option, I can testify to the quality of their profiles. Prints are spot on over any of a great variety of papers.

[gll]

so when would you need LL black ? is it just for black and white prints ?

[Norma_S]

ImagePrint's website says that the phatte black profiles (sans LLB) are configured so that prints do not look any different than prints make with the non-phatte black (including LLB) ink set.

LLB is used for both color and B&W. ImagePrint's phatte black profiles compensate for the missing LLB and do not show any noticible difference. LLB may help with the gloss diffenential on luster or glossy papers but I spray my prints anyway so it's not something that concerned me.