Call me confused about Epson

[michael a]

I'm confused about how the Epson driver interacts with the printer, specifically in the case of the 7900, but I suspect this applies to many recent Epson printers.  I found this older post from Craig Murphy in which he quotes Epson:

Answer from Epson: "They both adjust the platen. Setting the paper thickness will adjust the platen accordingly to the papers thickness. Adjusting the platen directly will alter it accordingly, meaning narrow, standard, wide, or wider.  Adjusting the paper thickness will adjust the platen gap accordingly to the thickness setting that you input. The issue is that a lot of times people don't know the specs of the paper and do not know that paper thickness settings to input. Adjusting the platen gap setting directly is more of a general setting. Paper thickness setting is more detailed. Software will overwrite hardware."

OK.  Assume I set up a custom paper, either on the printer itself, or using the LFP Remote Panel.  That custom paper is set to Watercolor Radiant, a thickness of 5, with the platen set to wider.

When I go to print, the software driver will default to a thickness of 3, with the platen set to auto.  If, by chance, your previous print was using a different media that happened to use mat black ink, that will "stick" as well.

What is the point in selecting a custom paper on the printer, if the driver will override it each and every time?  What is the point in selecting a platen setting of wider on the printer for some types of canvas, if the driver will default either to "auto" on the platen or the last setting you chose?

I'm now assuming that the only setting that matters is in the printer preferences.  If you want to set up a custom paper, do it in the driver, under "custom settings."  I also assume that those custom settings, in the printer preferences, then would override what ever shows up in the LCD on the printer.  If you pick "custom one" in the driver, for example, it will override "custom 5" in the printer, even if custom 5 is significantly different.

So if the software driver ALWAYS overrides the hardware, then why did Epson include those hardware features?  A literal reading of what they told Craig Murphy says that each and every time you print, the driver will control the printer, and if the settings are different, then the software driver is the controlling feature.  And since the software driver is ALWAYS set to its defaults for issues like platen and thickness, unless you set both to match, the software defaults rule the day.

If that is true, I wonder how many Epson owners think they have changed the platen on the printer LCD itself, not realizing that the software defaults are different and they automatically override what ever is selected on the printer.  

There is a feature buried in the software driver for it to "auto acquire" and tell you what the settings are on the printer, but the "apply" button is always grayed out, so that is a completely useless feature.

Needless to say, this creates a very confusing situation with regards to the platen settings.  But it gets worse.  I downloaded a tech manual for the 7900, and while it is confusing, it says (page 37) that the platen gap is set according to THREE separate factors -- (1) what the printer detects PLUS (2) the setting on the printer PLUS (3) the setting in software.  At least that is what the chart appears to say.  And that is different, yet again, from the response above from Epson.

Can anyone clarify the interaction of the driver and the printer?  Am I correct to ignore the custom paper settings on the printer itself and using the Remote Panel, and only use the "custom settings" inside the driver in the printer preferences?

PS  The tech service and parts manual referred to above can be found here:

http://www.2manuals.com/advanced_search_re...mp;x=-1&y=1

[Schewe]

I'm confused about how the Epson driver interacts with the printer, specifically in the case of the 7900, but I suspect this applies to many recent Epson printers.

Well, you're making it a bit more complicated than required...yes, the print driver WILL override the panel settings...why would you be trying to set things in the panel? Why not save out either custom print setups in the driver or using print templates in Lightroom that allow absolute, unambiguous settings in the driver?

Can anyone clarify the interaction of the driver and the printer? Am I correct to ignore the custom paper settings on the printer itself and using the Remote Panel, and only use the "custom settings" inside the driver in the printer preferences?

Yes, ignore the panel settings and set the printer settings in the driver–and use saved settings or templates to reduce user error (or forgetfulness).

[Farmer]

So if the software driver ALWAYS overrides the hardware, then why did Epson include those hardware features?

Because not everyone prints using the driver.

There is a feature buried in the software driver for it to "auto acquire" and tell you what the settings are on the printer, but the "apply" button is always grayed out, so that is a completely useless feature.

It's a very useful feature if you're using the bar coding function on your media.  When that's read in, the printer will then happily transmit the data to the driver for it to "acquire" it.  Thus, if you have a remote printer and an operator changes the media, that can be reflected in the driver so that a user knows what is loaded on the printer.

But it gets worse.  I downloaded a tech manual for the 7900, and while it is confusing, it says (page 37) that the platen gap is set according to THREE separate factors -- (1) what the printer detects PLUS (2) the setting on the printer PLUS (3) the setting in software.  At least that is what the chart appears to say.  And that is different, yet again, from the response above from Epson.

That manual is confidential, proprietary information designed to be used by trained technicians rather than layman end users.  That you do not understand it is hardly Epson's fault since you're not the target audience.  The provision of that file is a breach of copyright (something most photographers are pretty sensitive about...)

Follow Schewe's advice and just use the software settings.  The hardware settings are not useful in your situation.

[michael a]

Thanks for the response.  I'd guess I'm not the only one who is confused though, and sets these things on the printer instead of in the driver, not realizing that the driver defaults will override the printer every time.  

The manual is not clear about that at all, with one section on the printer, which tells you how to set up custom paper on the printer and/or in the Remote Panel,  and a different section on the driver, and is never clear about how they interact. At least I never found a clear explanation in the manual that simply says that the software driver overrides the printer and the Remote Panel.

All of that begs the question of why Epson created the confusion in the first place, and included those settings for custom papers in the firmware/hardware of the printer, since the driver defaults consistently override the printer in any event.  It would have been more logical to not include them on the printer, and just said that the software driver takes care of everything.

Because not everyone prints using the driver.

I hadn't thought of that.  I guess you're referring to products like Image Print that completely ignore and override the Epson driver?

Thanks again for clarifying how all of this works.  Greatly appreciated.

[Farmer]

Not that product specifically, but yes, various RIPs can make use of those hardware settings.

There's always room for improvement in things like manunals.  I'd recommend providing some feedback to Epson about your confusion - if no one tells them, you can't expect them to make changes :-)