 Frank Jordan |
Printing B&W on the Epson 1290 Hi, and thanks for a great source of information and help. I recently purchased an Epson 1290 and I want to print strong contrasty B&W images via Photoshop 6 - what is the best way to get this result? I'm a little disappointed in my B&W output so far, especially when I read about others getting results comparable to a traditional darkroom. I print from both color and B&W negs / scans. Should I be printing with just Black ink, or use color on a image converted to Grayscale? Any other options available? Also, how can I achieve that 'silky smooth B&W' look some images appear to have. Help!!!! And BIG thanks to all concerned. Rgds Frank (Australia)
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Mary |
Frank, I have not found where you have received any feedback on your question regarding the printing of B&W on your Epson. I also use an Epson printer, Photoshop, and a Nikon print and slide scanner. I have not been satisfied with the printing results from B&W neg. Any information you have received I would appreciate the information if you have used with good results. This is my first night to log into Better photo. This seems like a great place to gain knowlege about photography. Mary, Oklahoma
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doug Nelson |
I've had to struggle with these problems, too. First, don't convert directly to Grayscale from RGB color. Convert in Image/Image Mode to Lab Color, drop the channels palette down from Window, and click on the Lightness channel.Then convert to Grayscale. Photoshop will ask you if you want to throw out the other channels. Yes, you do. This will give you a nicer grayscale. You can then get the high contrast you want, Frank, by tweaking the image in Image/Adjust/Levels or Curves. Do this on an Adjustment Layer, unless you don't mind wrecking the original scan. You can lose shadow or highlight detail for good if you're heavy-handed here. Alternatively, stay in the RGB mode, break the image out into Channels (Window/Show Channels) and select either the red or green channel, whichever seems to offer the best range of tones. Very rarely, if ever, will it be the blue channel. Throw out the other channels as above as you go to Image/Image Mode, and convert to Grayscale. Then tweak your brightness and contrast. Finally, print B&W with the color inks. You may get a cyan or magenta tinge. If you find that objectionable, it can be corrected in the Advanced screen in the Epson printer software, in the upper right corner.
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Frank Jordan |
Thanks Guys. Mary - I 'seem' to recall reading the comment on the 1290 in an newsletter on this site going back some months now. I could be worng about the location BUT I am sure the guys that wrote it (both pro photographers, from memory)were sopleased with their B&W results they were saying it was every bit as good as anything they managed from a trad darkroom. In fairness I've had a few very good results but not quite what I'd compare to a trad darkroom output. I'm currently playing around with the ideas outlined in A2 above (I've come across this instruction in the Photoshop Bible, but never used it)and I'll let you know how I go. Thanks for getting back to me. Much appreciated. Doug - thanks for the tip. I'll try it out over the coming days and get back to you. Much appreciated. Rgds Frank
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Mary |
The comment that I received at camera club when I said that I was going to print my BW through my scanner and printer was " you "will never be able to compete with the traditional dark room" I am going to work on the information that doug posted and will let you guys know my results. Doug I hope you were right with the results using the 1280 was so good. Working full time and a family I just need more time to try all of the techniques at least with input from experienced users it is a great support. Thanks, Mary
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