Pigment or Dye

Answer:

This depends on the type of Photographer you are. (What photography you produce, the media you use and your colour and longevity expectations. We do not recommend either inkset, we simply tell you the advantages and disadvantages of each:

Q: Which Printer would you recommend, the Epson 1290 or Epson 2100?

Answer:

The most modern printer is the Epson 2100. This is capable of producing a 6 minute A3 print, whereas the Epson 1290 takes 20 minutes to print the same size print. The quality of print is extremely similar although the 1290 does produce slightly better quality - although only apparent when viewing under a magnifying glass. Both printers are compatible with the Lyson Continuous ink system saving you £1.00 on ink costs on every A3 Print.So, the quality is very similar but the speed of the Epson 2100 makes it the most desirable printer.

Q: Can I print colour and Black & White Images on the same printer with one inkset?

Answer:

Yes you can, although the recommended set up would be to have one printer dedicated to colour printing (using a colour inkset) and one printer dedicated to monochrome (black & white) printing (using a black & white inkset).
However, for many individuals, having two printers is not an option due to lack of space or budget. In this case, the best option is to go for the Epson 2100 using PhotoChrome Inks. These produce a good colour range and excellent blacks. Please email us with your full postal address for a free sample.

Q: Which is the better monochrome Inkset, Small Gamut or Quad-Black?

Answer:

The vast majority of our black and white customers use the small gamut inkset. The reason for this is that the small gamut ink is toneable - you can tone the print warmer or colder and create your own definition of a neutral. The quad-black inkset on the other hand, is a more basic inkset and is fixed tone. This means you are unable to alter the tone as you are with the Small Gamut inkset. The Small Gamut inkset also has the advantage that it is far easier to custom profile. This means you will be able to achieve much smoother tones, smoother graduations, see much more detail in shadow areas and correct any printer biases (e.g. magenta casts).

Q: How do I tone my print using small gamut inks?

Answer:

Using Photoshop (a full version or Photoshop Elements 2), go to Image > Adjustments then Desaturate. The image then turns black and white.
To get a good neutral: Click: Image > Adjustments > Hue Saturation
Click "Colorize". Then dial in:

• 210 Hue
• 3 to 5 Saturation (try 3, 4 and 5)
• 0 Lightness

Q: Why might I need a custom profile?

Answer:

Many Lyson users happily print using the standard free downloadable ICC printer profiles available by emailing us with your printer model, Inkset and operating system - but remember, consumer quality desktop inkjet printers are manufactured to a certain production tolerance - no two printers will be identical, and tend to vary one to another to a greater or lesser degree.
The answer to this for those photographers who have high printing standards is to decide which is their favourite paper, then get a custom profile written for the printer/paper combination. The pay-off is that you will be creating superb accurate colour prints with beautifully smooth colour tone graduations, showing excellent shadow detail, also retaining highlight detail also (provided your original image file is also of excellent quality! - You will spend a lot less time in photoshop, adjusting out printer distortions, colour bias errors etc.

Q: Why can't I print what I see on my monitor?

Answer:

What makes you think that your monitor is accurate? - If you have an accurately profiled printer, then the print that you produce will agree to the digital values contained within your image file. As a completely separate issue, if you have a good quality monitor which has not deteriorated too much with age, you should be able to adjust your monitor through Adobe Gamma to give reasonably accurate colour rendering, or use a monitor "spider" to do the job automatically. Theoretically, if your monitor is adjusted for accurate colour, and your printer is profiled accurately, these two colour devices should be in reasonable agreement. Beware of the common problem where you are using an inferior quality colour monitor, or your monitor has deteriorated with age (each CRT colour gun may have reduced in output to a different degree, giving you an inaccurate colour display). - Never assume that your monitor is accurate just because images 'look good' on screen!

Q: Why won't my printer recognise my new cartridge?

Answer:

Although a rare problem, this scenario is down to the cartridge chip (the green board with electronic markings situated on the back of a cartridge). Sometimes this chip may have dust or dirt on the surface which will cause the printer problems in recognising the cartridge. In this case you need to take the cartridge out and clean the chip using a cotton bud, then put the cartridge back into place. It is also necessary to ensure the metal contacts/prongs where the chip rests are in place. If this is the case this is a printer fault.

Q: Why is my printer printing ink splashes?

Answer:

Although a rare problem in inkjet printing, this is caused by one of a few possible reasons:

• If your printer is attached to a continuous ink system the bottles may be too full. In this case either syphon out 1 - 2 centimetres of ink from the full bottle(s).
  The bottles may be too high in relation to the base of the printer. In this case make sure the bottles are at the same level as the base of the printer.
• If using cartridges, they are not seated in the print head correctly. In this case push them down so they are properly seated.
• There could be an object blocking one or more of the print head nozzles. This causes the ink to become trapped underneath the print head, which builds up causing matter to be thrown off the print head.

Q: Do I need a profile when using Quad Black Toneable inks on the Epson 2100? Also, how do I tone the print using this inkset?

Answer:

You do not need a profile for this inkset. All you do is adjust the density of the image by using levels or curves in Photoshop.
The majority of our Quad black toneable cutomers tone their print using the colour controls in the Epson printer driver itself. This is achieved using the magenta slider to progressively increase the warm tone or progressively insreasingly the cyan slider to adjust the cool tone.
The Settings we recommend for Lyson media are:
Resolution: 1440 DPI
High Speed: on
Media Setting: Water Colour Radient White / Premium semi gloss photo Paper
Colour Controls: on (Mode: Photo realistic, Gamma: 2.2 (colour sliders all 0 except magenta and cyan which can be adjusted)