Ever since color inkjet printers made for photographic printing were introduced a significant portion of the photo community has felt they were left out because color inkjets have not provided a good solution for black and white photography compared to color. Now, Epson has responded with their new Stylus Photo R2400 that is really three printers in one. First, it is an even better color printer of RGB photographic images than the 2200 it replaces. Second, it also prints black and white with equally fine image quality. Third, it also provides the ability to reproduce CMYK press proof prints of exceptional quality.
How this expanded capability and improved performance was achieved, and right on the heels of the new Epson Stylus Photo R1800, is an interesting story, because set side by side you have to look twice to tell the two printers apart. The key to what differentiates the two printers is the new Epson Ultra Chrome K3 ink technology and how the new R2400 uses these inks to make both superior color prints and fine black and white prints without skipping a beat. Epson’s Ultra Chrome K3 Ink
Although there have been considerable improvements and refinements included in the new design of the R2400 printer, I believe the most significant improvement in color print performance is due to Epson’s new K3 inks. I think the reason for this is best understood in the context of a consideration of some color basics, if you will permit me the diversion. The RGB color displayed on your monitor screen is additive color; red, blue, and green light added together makes white light. To make a print of that image, the image file data is converted to CMYK or negative color, which is so named because the addition of cyan, magenta, and yellow ink on paper produces black. It is called negative color also because the function of ink is to subtract light illuminating a print, only allowing the reflected light to be in a particular color, absorbing all of the other colours of light falling on the print.
In other words, the intensity of color and its purity comes from the ink’s ability to absorb light. Thus higher absorption efficiency creates more intense colours in a print, and ink colours that are purer cut off absorption more sharply between colours, which further enhances color intensity and saturation. Black ink, the “K” component in printed images, which absorbs all colours of light, is used to increase the absorption to both create a greater maximum density in a print and to reproduce darker shades of colours. The K3 addition to the name Ultra Chrome by Epson refers to the fact that three distinct black inks are used (PK/MK 100 percent black for either matte or resin-coated papers, light black, and lighter black). This makes the R2400 an eight-color printer. This of course contributes to a higher print D-max, as well as better subtle gradation and separation of the darker shades of color. It also supports the R2400’s black and white printing capability. For black and white printing, the printer uses all three levels of K black ink plus light cyan, light magenta, and yellow. This six-ink combination allows a selection of black tones from warm through neutral to cool black, as well as “toned” effects like Sepia, Selenium, Kodak Brown, or Blue.
There is more to the Epson performance improvement than a new ink color palette strategy. Since Epson introduced Ultra Chrome pigment inks with the 2000P they have enjoyed a unique patented technology that involves a resin coating around each pigment contained in the ink. Generic pigment inks have been around for some time and have worked fairly well with matte fibre papers because once the solution which holds the pigment in solution dries it has a dull finish, which matches the character of matte papers.
The drawback was, however, that it also limited the color intensity that could be reproduced.
With each generation of Epson Ultra Chrome ink the patented Microcrystal Encapsulation Technology of the new K3 ink has been refined, now with a high-gloss coating. In principle it functions a little like the effect of taking a coloured piece of cloth or paper and putting a drop of water on it, resulting in a damp spot that looks darker with more intense color. This latest version has increased effective intensity by making the ink more efficient at absorbing a very specific range of colours of light. In addition to reproducing a more vibrant and colourful image the new Ultra Chrome K3 ink is more compatible with resin-coated papers. The result is that surface shininess is the same in image areas with the most ink saturation as it is where there is no ink. The new Microcrystal Encapsulation Technology also makes the printed image more scratch-resistant and delicate fine art
matte papers more scuff proof.
Of course, all new software for the printer driver for the R2400 was needed to accommodate a different performing ink and a new color palette. It also offers improvements in screening technology, particularly for the advanced black and white capability. Epson notes that this new generation of printers is tested after manufacture and calibrated to provide superior color managed performance with new profiles, aimed at more precise color matching performance. Finally, print life expectations are truly archival with as much as 108 years for color prints and over 200 years for black and white, as tested. For print life test results visit. Testing And Using The New Epson Stylus Photo R2400
After many years of receiving countless e-mails asking me how to obtain good quality black and white inkjet prints, I was of course eager to try Epson’s first printer to offer fine black and white printing as a feature. And after testing both the Epson R800 and R1800, with their new ink palettes including both red and blue inks, I was most interested to see how the new R2400 would reproduce RGB photo image files using a more traditional CMYK ink palette. Would the R2400 be as good as the very improved print results, particularly when reproducing flesh tones and the natural greens of foliage, as the R1800? And could one printer reproduce both excellent color and good quality black and white prints?
To answer these questions I selected a wide range of both color and black and white images, which included some photographs I had recently reproduced with the R1800 and with the 2000P. I recently converted the 2000P to dedicated black and white printing with MIS Associates all-black ink, a test that appeared recently in Shutterbug.
The paper media can also make a significant difference in print performance. In addition to some of the standard favourite Epson papers popular with users, I also made tests after calibrating and custom profiling the R2400 with some third-party papers, such as Premier Art Luster Rag. Epson also extended my range of test media by providing generous samples of one of their papers I had not previously used, Epson Professional Ultra Smooth Fine Art Paper, and Epson Velvet Fine Art Paper. You might think that I’d let my curiosity get the best of me and jump right into printing black and white images. But no longer impetuous, I began my work with the R2400 by printing test chart files to calibrate and profile a couple of my favourite third-party fine art papers. Then I made a series of prints with both Epson and third-party papers using my composite test image that includes a step tablet grey scale, a couple of color reference charts, and several color photographs. I could then compare the prints for consistency of color and densities to be confident the printer was performing to specification and color management was functioning to provide matching print results. Only then did I make a set of test prints, also with a composite test image, using the sample of papers at my disposal to try the advanced black and white capability of the R2400. Now, with ample evidence the new Epson Stylus Photo R2400 was performing consistently, I embarked on printing my selection of image files to see how it reproduced color with a diverse range of image characteristics. This, of course, was the beginning of the fun part. I was not disappointed. Although there was some gossip to the effect that the R2400 might not be equal to the R1800 in reproducing some subject colours, my R2400 print results did not support that idea at all. Even the most complex and subtle variations of colours in nature and people’s faces reproduced as well if not better than was evidenced in prints I made quite recently with the R1800. In all respects the color intensity and density potential in prints claimed in Epson’s description of the printer were born out in the results. In particular, print image D-max is quite high without any over-inking in the densest image areas. This artefact is sometimes referred to as bronzing, where the image surface appearance is changed in the darkest image areas.
In a similar vein, the new Ultra Chrome K3 ink does reproduce well on resin-coated papers, like Premium Lustre, preserving the same surface sheen across the entire printed image, which precisely matches the unprinted border and secular highlights.
I found the Epson Ultra Smooth Fine Art Paper was one of the best papers to bring out the capabilities of the new R2400 printer, along with Epson Velvet Fine Art Paper. After producing a hefty stack of 13x19 color prints with consistently superior results I felt I was free to enjoy the dessert and have fun trying out the R2400’s advanced black and white mode. Fortunately I had some images I recently printed for the article that involved my newly converted Epson 2000P to a dedicated black and white printer.
But I also wanted to try printing some old favourites and dug out the scan files to review and carefully tweak each for printing.
With this black and white print series of 13x19 prints I again used the selection of Epson media and third-party papers I’d test printed for the color series. This time the black and white prints made with the Epson Ultra Smooth Fine Art Paper resulted in even more impressive prints. Of all the truly matte papers, Ultra Smooth reproduced blacks with the greatest depth I’ve seen, far surpassing anything in silver-based photo papers that were available in the past. On the other hand, the Premier Art Lustre Rag printed with the R2400 in advanced black and white mode makes a print which most closely resembles the hundreds of silver-based prints I had done in my wet darkroom days on double-weight glossy fibre-based enlarging paper and then air dried.
But the exceptional quality results were not limited to the more expensive papers. Even the very modest Epson Heavyweight Matte Paper reproduces a level of print quality with excellent tonal separation and detail definition, with just a little less of a D-max black density. With the resin-type Premium Epson papers like Lustre, the maximum density is close to that of the best fine art papers, producing brilliant results with punchy, dramatic images. However, with subtler subjects containing delicate tonal details I find greater favour for even the modest-cost fibber matte papers like Epson Watercolour and Enhanced Matte. My experience with the new advanced black and white mode Epson driver was a mix of easy control and frustration. The black and white Color Toning functioned easily with either the presets of Warm, Cool, or Sepia. The Fine Adjustment allowed for accurate selection of black and white tonal color, using an interactive thumbnail image included in the control window. Again, this yielded a predictable print result.
The Tone controls, however, with their sliders for Brightness, Contrast, Shadow, and Highlight Tonality as Maximum Optical Density were difficult to adjust on the basis of either the thumbnail or a much larger on-screen representation when the Preview button was clicked at the bottom of the window. If a black and white print made initially with Tone set at Normal was not quite what I expected in a print, I found it much easier to make small image adjustments using Photoshop’s tools, comparing the print to the image displayed on screen. If the Preview screen reproduction was actually in Photoshop’s work space and the slider controls were interactive with the Preview image, the advanced black and white dialog would be more effective.
Overall, based on a big pile of 13x19 prints made with the R2400 there was not one that was inferior to images I’ve made with its predecessor, the Stylus Photo 2200. I must say, though, and it seems logical to me, the most dramatic demonstration of the R2400’s potential was realized using the highest quality fine art papers. For some I am sure that may be a too pricey way to print, but there is a saving grace. Usually when I test a printer for a report I have to call my PR contact and ask for more ink. Not with the R2400. I was surprised after printing just about as many 13x19 prints I have made testing other same size printers, like the R1800 recently, I had not used up all of the two ink sets Epson supplied with the printer. This is definitely the most ink frugal 13” wide printer I have tested. Evaluation And Recommendation
Even if a photographer is looking at the new Epson Stylus Photo R2400 as a replacement for a 2200 to print only color, the improvement in results is significant and justifies an upgrade, even at the slightly higher MSRP of $849. But if you are a photographer who also has a need or desire to make black and white prints, you get two printers in one at a bargain price for each. So how about the photographer that’s exclusively black and white? Considering what the options are, and I have a dedicated black and white printer, I’d prefer the Epson R2400. |
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