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   Copyright © 2005, Donald Lee

ImagePrint 5.6 RIP with the Epson 2200

ImagePrint (IP) is a $500 program that replaces the Epson printer driver with a custom written printer driver that solves 3 main problems with the Epson 2200 (and other Epson Ultrachrome ink printers)

  1. Printing absolutely neutral black and white prints. IP does this by not using the yellow ink when using their grey profiles. Using the Epson driver, even with high quality icc profiles, invariably produces prints with a green or magenta cast. If you check "Black Ink Only" in the Epson driver, the light-black cartridge will not be used, you can see dots in the print, and the Epson black is actually a little brown so your print still won't be neutral. A little color is necessary to achieve a truely neutral print.
  2. Reducing metamerism. Metamerism is when the color of the print changes slightly when viewing under daylight, tungsten, or flourscent lights.
  3. Reducing Bronzing on glossy papers - If you look at a glossy ultrachome print at certain angles, it has a bronzed appearence to it, especially in dark to highlight transitions.

An additional benifit is the huge library of icc color profiles for Epson and other 3rd party papers. These icc profiles are not the run of the mill profiles that normally cost $50, but some of the best profiles I have ever run across. Photoshop's Soft Proof feature will use these icc profiles to simulate how the print will appear.

After purchasing a second-hand copy of ImagePrint and going thru the process of installing, configuring, and using it with my Epson 2200 printer, I decided to share what I learned to help others get up to speed as fast as possible.

Installation

First, if you're like me and never read manuals, you'll definately have to make an exception in this case. IP software engineers are great at writing low-level driver software controlling how ink is laid down onto paper, but there is little effort in creating a user-friendly software product, hence the very high built-in cost for inevitable support calls.

Three changes I had to make for my Epson 2200 installation that is very common are:

  1. Change the Connection from USB001 to the name of my printer (EPSON Stylus Photo 2200) when installing the printer. This is a documented problem on the ColorByte web site.


  2. Uncheck Enable bidirectional support - another documented problem that causes the last 1/4 inch of your print to fade.



    This will also disable the Epson status monitor. You can monitor ink levels either with the lights on the printer or read about the other solution in the Yahoo ImagePrint Group, which basically involves having a second instance of the printer installed and with the setting checked.
  3. Turn off the Windows print spooler - prevents having the Windows spooler and ImagePrint spooler both active.

Printing Tips

  • Inside ImagePrint printer setup, make sure that Sheet is checked if using cut sheets, unchecked if using roll paper. If it's set incorrectly, nothing prints, and is a common problem on the 2200. Default is unchecked
  • Making the most use of the printable area - when Sheet is checked, ImagePrint won't print as as close to the edge as compared with the Epson driver (IP top and bottom margins are just over an inch when in portrait mode). If you check the Borderless option and center your print (right-click on image and choose Center Region), you can safely size your photo to 8.4 x 10.9 inches on letter-sized paper, leaving only the thinnest margin and getting nearly 100% use of your paper.
  • Use the Photo Black cartridge with Glossy and Luster papers only, matt black cartridge with matt papers only. Mixing them will produce unsatisfactory output. IP provides profiles for Photo Black ink on matt paper, but only because a few customers requested them for special purposes. Do not use those profiles for normal output.
  • Use 1440 dpi instead of 2880 - There is a posting in the Yahoo ImagePrint group claiming that smoother transitions are possible when printing at the 1440 setting because IP can vary the ink droplet size, whereas at 2880, the droplet size is fixed at the smallest setting. ColorByte provides 2880 dpi profiles only because customers asked for them, not because they provide enhanced quality.

Recommended Papers

  • Luster - InkJetArt MicroCeramic Luster. Same as the Epson Luster (250) and even comes out of the same factory. About 65 cents per square foot. This is the best value and my "everyday" paper.
  • Glossy - Pictorico High Gloss White Film - similar to a Cibachome print. Highly saturated landscape prints work well on this paper. IP also helps reduce bronzing substantially. $2.62 per square foot.
  • Matt - The Epson 2200 Ultrachrome inks work really well on matt papers. Epson Velvet Fine Art is the best, for images with more muted colors. Surface is delicate and must be behind glass or sprayed with PremierArt Print Sheild. Some people dislike matt papers, others love fine art matt papers. $1.93 per square foot.

Other Resources



 this page last updated March 27, 2005