Hello,
I am a photographer with a retail studio. I have the Ilford Studio system ... Epson 9600 with Onyx RIP branded with the Ilford studio name, configured to not be able to load/make other profiles (without spending 2K for an upgrade).
Ilford discontinued their canvas, so I tried the Lexjet Canvas printing directly from Photoshop (which was foreign to me - I have always done all of my printing to the Onyx RIP. The lexjet canvas was so much better than Ilford's - thank you Ilford!
Then Ilford announced they were cutting the Pearl paper we used ... so I started looking for a replacement paper and ordered the Lexjet eSatin ... figured out how to build images of multiple photos for printing from Photoshop on roll paper and that is now easy and painless - and the Lexjet profile for their paper is spot on and much better than the Ilford/Onyx combination we were used to (a problem of red skin blooming magenta we had disappeared) ... the Lexjet paper is pretty ... but hey, how much better and more efficient could it get, so I ordered ImagePrint from Lexjet with the understanding that I could return it if it didn't knock my socks off.
I did some Lexjet eSatin test prints from Photoshop and then through the different profiles and settings with ImagePrint and the difference only seems to be in a little gentler highlights in ImagePrint. (The Lexjet eSatin profile is not available in a DCM (Dynamic Contrast Matching if I remember right) version, so this could also be why it is a little gentler in the highlights... ) or it could just be a difference in the profiles...
I also tried the ImagePrint gray profile for black and white. ImagePrint's gray profile prints neutral. Black and white images print closer to neutral through the Lexjet profile and Photoshop than they do through ImagePrint using ImagePrints color profile. Imageprints gray profile prints black & whites lighter than when printed though a color profile, but I imagine I could get close to replicating that with a curves adjustment if I wanted that look ...
So, before I get hasty and return ImagePrint, some questions ...
Should I be using Matte ink instead of Photo Black ink for matte papers? Does it make a big difference? With the Onyx RIP I have only printed with Ilford papers and the Photo Black Ink - because it did a good job with the Ilford Fine Art Matte paper and I didn't want the hassle and expense of swapping inks...
The Lexjet profile for their eSatin paper is very close to ImagePrints output of the same test images, should I expect that close a match in quality if I have custom profiles built printing through the print driver (Photoshop/Qimage)? Is the answer different for matte papers?
I am open to buying custom profiles, if they will really perform and give me reasonably neutral black & whites.
If ImagePrints ink limit handling and any other RIP acrobatics are really what they hype them up to be, I don't want to miss out on a boost in quality ... I have run along thinking I had everything dialed in and then printed a photo which had a color/tone in it that raised it's ugly head, so testing with test images is never the final say and I know that I don't know - I would really appreciate any feedback! (before it is to late to return Imageprint)
Thank You!