Basic Info about ABW printing - Epson 7900/9900

[DeanChriss]

I've used ABW mode a number of times and and I've also printed black and white images using a normal color managed RGB workflow. The output looks fine to my eyes in both cases, but I consume less paper and find it far easier to get exactly the output I want with soft proofing in the color managed RGB workflow. I've read more than once that the ABW output is more archival, and I presume that is due to less use of the colored pigments that are more prone to fading. Assuming that's true, I can understand how ABW could produce a more archival print. On the other hand, a black and white print made in RGB mode can't be less archival than a normal color print that uses all of the pigments, right? The only reason I could imagine for any difference here would be because it's somewhat easier to detect a color shift or imbalance in a neutral subject than in a colored one. Any thoughts are welcome.

Also, is there quantitative data anywhere detailing the difference in lifetime between a black & white prints made in RGB versus ABW modes?

Thanks!

[Alan Goldhammer]

I've used ABW mode a number of times and and I've also printed black and white images using a normal color managed RGB workflow. The output looks fine to my eyes in both cases, but I consume less paper and find it far easier to get exactly the output I want with soft proofing in the color managed RGB workflow. I've read more than once that the ABW output is more archival, and I presume that is due to less use of the colored pigments that are more prone to fading. Assuming that's true, I can understand how ABW could produce a more archival print. On the other hand, a black and white print made in RGB mode can't be less archival than a normal color print that uses all of the pigments, right? The only reason I could imagine for any difference here would be because it's somewhat easier to detect a color shift or imbalance in a neutral subject than in a colored one. Any thoughts are welcome.

Also, is there quantitative data anywhere detailing the difference in lifetime between a black & white prints made in RGB versus ABW modes?

Thanks!

There is data on the Aardenburg website for ABW produced prints but I'm not sure whether there is any for RGB.  The other thing to take into account is that you get a darker black than you do through the RGB mode so that your gray scale is wider than it otherwise would be.  This can have an effect on shadow detail since things would not be as bunched up.  I would have to go back an look at the data that I've generated but as I recall the Dmax was 5-10% greater for ABW than without.  RGB does use more color pigments than ABW, see this paper.

If you have ABW profiles (either Eric Chan's or QTR) you can softproof.

[DeanChriss]

Thanks for the info and links, Alan. That, and some similar write-ups I've seen previously indicate pretty conclusively that ABW should be able to make a better print, though I'm hard pressed to see it in the images I've tried. Perhaps that's because they're all on Ilford GFS or Epson EEF, and according to the info I've seen the biggest differences occur on mat papers. One question though - are you saying I can use Eric Chan's profiles to soft proof for the 7900/9900 printers? His website says the profiles probably won't give good results with other Epson models, but of course it can't hurt anything to try them. I never have, figuring this printer heads and screening pattern is probably quite different than the printers (3800 and 3880) the profiles are designed for. Absent a way to soft proof, iteratively making test prints, and tweaking curves and other settings can get the desired results, but at a high cost in terms of time and paper. Granted, the results are at least "decent" right away, but if you're picky and want to fine tune things, doing it without a soft proof is really tedious. I keep feeling like I'm missing some management step, but then ABW isn't a truly "managed" workflow, correct?

Sorry for the run-on questions, but I'm trying to figure out how to effectively and consistently use (or not) ABW once and for all.   

[Alan Goldhammer]

Thanks for the info and links, Alan. That, and some similar write-ups I've seen previously indicate pretty conclusively that ABW should be able to make a better print, though I'm hard pressed to see it in the images I've tried. Perhaps that's because they're all on Ilford GFS or Epson EEF, and according to the info I've seen the biggest differences occur on mat papers. One question though - are you saying I can use Eric Chan's profiles to soft proof for the 7900/9900 printers? His website says the profiles probably won't give good results with other Epson models, but of course it can't hurt anything to try them. I never have, figuring this printer heads and screening pattern is probably quite different than the printers (3800 and 3880) the profiles are designed for. Absent a way to soft proof, iteratively making test prints, and tweaking curves and other settings can get the desired results, but at a high cost in terms of time and paper. Granted, the results are at least "decent" right away, but if you're picky and want to fine tune things, doing it without a soft proof is really tedious. I keep feeling like I'm missing some management step, but then ABW isn't a truly "managed" workflow, correct?

Sorry for the run-on questions, but I'm trying to figure out how to effectively and consistently use (or not) ABW once and for all.   

You will get a higher Dmax using the ABW driver than doing it through the traditional RGB profile route.  From my perspective this makes it a little easier to deal with shadow detail since you have a longer B/W ramp to work with.  I do a lot of B/W printing on Ilford GFS and have used Eric's profile for the 3880.  I've found this to be a really nice paper for B/W prints as is Museo Silver Rag.  To soft proof you will need profiles for your printer since there may be a difference because of the head and printing algorithm.  Eric does nice profiles and if he is in town the service is pretty quick.  The other option is preparing a QTR profile.  You have already identified the big advantage to having a profile vs not having one; you can softproof and minimize paper wastage.  The only way ABW is "managed" is with a profile if by "managed" you mean the ability to softproof.

[DeanChriss]

Eric does nice profiles and if he is in town the service is pretty quick.

That sentence is the piece I was missing and all I really needed to know. In all the reading and searching I've done I found Eric Chan's profiles for the 38XX printers but did not realize he was in the business of making ABW profiles for others, and at reasonable prices too. *duh* I feel a little dumb, but at least I'm on the right track. Thanks, Alan.