Epson Advanced Black & White Options Missing in Mac Lion

[paulgiguere]

I'm using an Epson 3800 printer and just moved to a new iMac with OS7 (Lion) installed (previously I used a Mac with the latest version of Snow Leopard). Everything seems to be working just fine with the exception of printing to the 3800 from Lightroom 3.5.

Previously, I would use a paper profile (Museo Silver Rag for example) when getting ready to print from Lightroom (under the Print Job section) and then select Print. At that point I could then go through my options in the dialog box that pops up and set the Advanced Black and White options so that I could do a tint or something like that however, I now find that under the Printer Settings dialog box, I am no longer able to make many changes (other than to select from the Epson paper types). Everything else is greyed out. Likewise, under the Color Matching option, ColorSync is selected and everything is greyed out as well (I can't switch to Epson Color Controls).

I tried printing using the Color Management option in Lightroom (using the Museo Silver Rag profile) and got a decent B&W print however I can not add a tint to the image from the Advanced B&W Settings as that is no longer available to me. The workaround would be of course to add the tint to the image in Lightroom (using a calibrated monitor) until I got it looking just the way I like on the screen and then to print using the paper profile from Lightroom but I had a workflow before that allowed me to still use the paper profile and make some changes to the tint using the Epson driver options before actually printing.

As an aside if, in Lightroom, I select "Managed by Printer" for the profile under the Print Job section, I can then access all of the Advanced B&W options but of course I am now printing without the paper profile (in my case the Museo Silver Rag profile).

Am I missing something here? Thanks in advance for any help.

Paul

[digitaldog]

Been covered here (do a search for the gory details). This is by design for newer printers. You MUST use Printer Manages Color now, that’s the short answer.

[paulgiguere]

Thanks for the response. I did look this up in prior threads and that answered my questions to a point. I guess a related question has to do with which approach is better, using an ICC profile from the paper manufacturer or using the Epson ABW approach? On my tests, the Epson ABW tends to have slightly darker (blacker) blacks but the difference is minimal. The real difference comes down to toning and whether you want Epson AWB to do that or you want to do it in the software and then use the appropriate paper profile. Also, will there be less metamerism in Epson AWB prints as opposed to prints made using a paper profile? Oh well, nothing is simple.

Thanks again,

Paul

[Schewe]

Also, will there be less metamerism in Epson AWB prints as opposed to prints made using a paper profile?

Not for nothing but you are misusing the term metamerism. Metamerism is what makes it possible to reproduce colors with inks. What you are referring to is a metameric failure...the inability to match colors under different spectral illumination. And yes, there are advantages of using ABW regarding metameric failure as well as extended longevity.

[paulgiguere]

Thanks for the clarification on the term. I have seen the term metamerism used through out the Internet (not exactly the best source of information and accuracy I'll admit) to describe color shift in black and white prints (green or purple tint) when using a printer that employs color inks. The new Epson printers and the Advanced B&W mode help minimize (or even eliminate this). Indeed, metameric failure is exactly what I was trying to get across. I'll continue to use the Advanced B&W mode in the future. Thanks again for your help.

Paul