Epson's media type settings: what is going on behind the scenes?

[texshooter]

When you change the media type setting from one type to another, say from Premium Luster Photo Paper to Velvet Fine Art Paper, what exactly is the Epson printer driver doing differently? I'm looking for a quantified, as well as qualified, answer. i'm sure ink load is the primary difference, but what else? If I understood the mechanics behind this, I may not have to rely on trial and error as much.

[hugowolf]

When you change the media type setting from one type to another, say from Premium Luster Photo Paper to Velvet Fine Art Paper, what exactly is the Epson printer driver doing differently? I'm looking for a quantified, as well as qualified, answer. i'm sure ink load is the primary difference, but what else? If I understood the mechanics behind this, I may not have to rely on trial and error as much.

Ink load, paper thickness, platten gap, and that is about it. If you look at the Custom Settings of the Media Type in the printer properties dialog, you can see all that can be set.

Brian A

[texshooter]

Ink load, paper thickness, platten gap, and that is about it. If you look at the Custom Settings of the Media Type in the printer properties dialog, you can see all that can be set.

By ink load, I assume you mean "color density"? If yes, why Does the color density stay fixed at 0.0 in custom settings no matter which media type is selected? If no, then where do I manually select the "ink load"?

[Ernst Dinkla]

In OEM drivers Media Presets are a black box mainly. If there are adaptions allowed it usually happens on the image data like a gamma change to simulate more or less ink, that is what changes in the custom settings when you think you access the media preset data. That number does not represent the media preset data. There is no access to ink limits like one gets in a RIP when a Media Preset/CMYK-printerprofile is created.

The ink limits, UCR/GCR black generation, the (N-) color mixing, the level where LM and LC is crossing to M and C and the same for LLK>LK>K, are all in the individual media preset black box you can not access.

--
Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
December 2012, 500+ inkjet media white spectral plots.

[Scott Martin]

The media type setting *on the printer* determines the paper handling characteristics. The Media type settings you choose in the *driver* is the equivalent of the calibration setup or 'environment' that one might have in a RIP. So media settings in the driver are presets developed by the manufacturer that contain:

1) Matte or Photo black ink usage
2) The optimal ink maximums for each and every ink
3) Linearization curves for each ink channel
4) A combined total ink limit not to be exceeded
5) Available screening and resolution options
6) Other misc data (feed adjustment, head height, ABW mode, etc)

Ten years ago, driver media settings were primitive so those that were savvy could get better results by performing a custom calibration and profile in a RIP. These days the tables have been turned and the media settings built into todays drivers are so darn good that you'd be hard pressed to even match the quality with a RIP - at least with common aqueous inkjet media.

[hugowolf]

By ink load, I assume you mean "color density"? If yes, why Does the color density stay fixed at 0.0 in custom settings no matter which media type is selected? If no, then where do I manually select the "ink load"?

It being displayed at zero is a problem. It would be nice if it told you, at least relatively the ink amount for each of the preset media. When you create a custom setting, based on a media preset, then the color density setting can be changed and will show as percentage (plus or minus) of whatever the unknown level was for the media you based the custom setting on.

Brian A

[Ernst Dinkla]

It being displayed at zero is a problem. It would be nice if it told you, at least relatively the ink amount for each of the preset media. When you create a custom setting, based on a media preset, then the color density setting can be changed and will show as percentage (plus or minus) of whatever the unknown level was for the media you based the custom setting on.

Brian A

Though not in the the driver at least HP has documents describing the ink channels used, the total of ink limiting, the head passes on weaving, etc per media preset.

--
Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
December 2012, 500+ inkjet media white spectral plots.

[hugowolf]

Though not in the the driver at least HP has documents describing the ink channels used, the total of ink limiting, the head passes on weaving, etc per media preset.

It is interesting that I have always hated HP documentation and drivers for office and home printers, but Epson takes the cake for their documentation (or lack thereof) for so called professional machines. The inconsistencies are great.

The Epson 3880, for example, has a utility that records usage per ink to the nearest 0.01 ml for each print. It is available in CSV format so that you can open it in a spreadsheet for analysis. Not so the wider format 7900/9900/7890/9890.

On the other hand, the wider format printers actually warn you of a PK/MK switch, allowing you to abort the switch. Not so the 3880. Of course if you were running HP or Canon, you wouldn’t have to worry about the switch.

Brian A

[camerashy]

The Epson 3880, for example, has a utility that records usage per ink to the nearest 0.01 ml for each print. It is available in CSV format so that you can open it in a spreadsheet for analysis.
Brian - could you tell me how to find this info please
Thanks
Dave

[hugowolf]

The Epson 3880, for example, has a utility that records usage per ink to the nearest 0.01 ml for each print. It is available in CSV format so that you can open it in a spreadsheet for analysis.
Brian - could you tell me how to find this info please
Thanks
Dave

You need to run the Printer Watcher utility, which should have been installed with the driver. If not, you can download it from the Epson site.

If it has been installed, you would find it in the Epson LFP Remote Panel, Double click on the Printer Watcher utility icon in the Remote Panel (it can take quite a few seconds to come up), and set it to start when your computer starts.

If you are running under Windows, you will then have an icon in the system tray, and that will allow you to export the printing log to a CSV file, which you can then open in Excel, or whatever spreadsheet software you use.

Brian A

[camerashy]

Thank you appreciate your help
Dave

[tradman9]

That utility looks useful, I'll give it a go.  I'm struggling at the moment to find the right media setting for a couple of papers.
Years ago I remember seeing a list showing approximate (?) ranking of ink/colour density for each of the Epson media settings.  Wish I could find it, does anyone have such a list? 

Ken

[hugowolf]

That utility looks useful, I'll give it a go.  I'm struggling at the moment to find the right media setting for a couple of papers.
Years ago I remember seeing a list showing approximate (?) ranking of ink/colour density for each of the Epson media settings.  Wish I could find it, does anyone have such a list? 

Yep, there was something on this forum not so long ago, I wish I had bookmark it.

I also had a similar discussion on the DPReview printer forum a couple of years ago that discussed this, but can no longer find it.

Brian A