To 16 or not to 16

[huguito]

I have a 5 years old windows computer.
My printer is even older, Epson 9600, probably 10 or 12 years, not sure, got it used.
When I send a print file to the printer, do I gain anything by choosing 16 bits?
I don't mind  if the printing takes longer as long as it creates a higher quality print.

Hugo

[bill t.]

I'm pretty sure the 9600 is 8 bit internally.  So even if it could accept 16 bit data, there would only be isolated dots where the 8 bit truncation of the data would swing minutely differently under 8 bits versus 16 bits.  If it has a "high resolution" mode that's probably your best bet for print quality improvement.  That made a noticeable difference on my 7800 and 9880 when using sharp printing papers, at the expense of being slow.  You might also benefit from making really superb profiles on an ongoing basis.

12 years, huh? Good return on investment, if you can afford the time.  Those are really solid printers and I know another guy who will not soon replace his.

[Paul2660]

Epson supports 16 bit printing on the Mac with the 9900/7900 family of printers.  I don't believe Epson has ever pro made a 16 bit windows driver for these printers, not sure why.

I am not sure if the older 9880/9800/9600 have the 16 bit support on the Mac.

Paul

[Schewe]

Epson supports 16 bit printing on the Mac with the 9900/7900 family of printers.  I don't believe Epson has ever pro made a 16 bit windows driver for these printers, not sure why.

Because Windows doesn't provide a 16 bit print pipeline as of yet (not Epson's fault BTW) It's a Windows thing...

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

Because Windows doesn't provide a 16 bit print pipeline as of yet (not Epson's fault BTW) It's a Windows thing...

Just to avoid confusion, a Windows OS dependent driver is not strictly required to still produce 16-bit printer output, but it is the common limiter in most other cases.

For example, besides dedicated RIPs, also Canon offers an Export module for their printers that allows 16-bit print data to be printed. I'm not sure if Epson offers such solutions.

Print Plug-in for Digital Photo Professional

This export module allow users to directly process and print RAW image files from DPP. This plug-in bypasses the operating system's dependent print driver, allowing processing of 16-bit RGB images directly, which dramatically increases gradations and as a result, overall image quality.

Canon also provides an Export plugin for Photoshop that utilizes the 16-bit data, but ultimately still uses the Windows OS driver path to send its print data.

Print Plug-in for Adobe Photoshop

This export module allows 16-bit image processing, preserving the expanded color spectrum and high gradation of the original file. The Print Plug-in reduces the possibility of incorrect settings, by providing an integrated interface for print settings in Photoshop and the printer driver, enabling efficient production. In addition, the plug-in supports an Adobe Color Conversion Module (CMM) and proof printing is now possible by simulating the colors produced by printing presses.

Similar solutions could be created by other printer brands. So to only blame the OS is not the full story.

How much of a difference the 16-bit pipeline makes to output is another discussion, and is also dependent on image content.

Cheers,
Bart

[huguito]

Hi Bill
I only had it for a bit over a year but looks like it has been well cared for, rarely clogs up, and when it does is really minor.
The quality of the prints, when I nail everything right, is just excellent in any kind of papers.

Thanks to all of you for sharing, I guess from now on is 8 bits printing, at least until I get a different printer.