epson native resolution

[ralph257]

A gentleman, and I use that term very loosely from my photo club and  self proclaimed Instructor
has declared Epsons native resolution to be 360pp,i and no other rez working on files is correct,
and printing 2880dpi provides the ultimate in Archive for "My Clients".

Please tell me Please the ultimate source for this argument and how dots actually represent the pixel and,
why more is not always better ?

Thank You for your input

[Mark D Segal]

Depending on the model the resolution of pixels per inch that the Epson driver works with is either 360 or 720 depending on whether or not you select Finest Detail in the driver. The Output Resolution can be 2880 or 1440. The higher (lower) number means a larger (smaller) number of smaller (bigger) dots are being used to print the pixels. Ink use is about the same for both. How the dots reproduce the pixels is Epson's secret sauce; their dithering algorithms are proprietary.

[NAwlins_Contrarian]

You might want to read this section from Jeff Schewe's book The Digital Print, which is on the web at:
https://www.digitalphotopro.com/technique/photography-workflow/the-right-resolution/

Basically, among relatively recent Epson photo printers, other than the aforementioned double-resolution mode that some of them have:
* the models that print 8.5 inches wide / A4 and 13 inches wide / A3+, print 360 pixels per inch, with those pixels formed using 5760x1440 dots per inch (dots = individual ink droplets), using dots as small as 1.5 pl each (dye) or 2.0 pl each (pigment);
* the models that print 17 inches wide / A2 and 24 inches wide / A1, and AFAIK some of the models that print 44 inches wide, print 360 pixels per inch, with those pixels formed using 2880x1440 dots per inch, using dots as small as 3.5 pl each; and
* AFAIK some of the models that print 44 inches wide, and the models that print 64 inches wide, print 300 pixels per inch, with those pixels formed using 2400x1200 dots per inch, using dots as small as 3.5 pl each.

As for how dots / droplets of a limited number of ink colors are used to make pixels in millions of colors, yes, the exact details are a trade secret, but some of the most basic concepts can be gleaned by reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dither
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halftone

[EDIT]
To be clear, I'm not suggesting that modern photo printers use a halftone process--they don't. But reading the article will give you some ideas about how a range of colors and lightnesses can be built up from simpler pieces.