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Photography and digital imaging

Online resources that we have found useful, covering different aspects of digital workflows and photography.

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Latest articles on our site: >> Spyder3 Print V3.5 review The latest ICC printer profiling system from Datacolor (aka ColorVision) is reviewed. Featuring faster operation and a wide range of profile generation options, it can be used for building printer profiles for colour and (with additional measurements) Black and White printing. For more experienced users it offers multiple version profile building (from the same set of measurements) and profile editing.

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Printing

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Changing inks on a 7600/9600 without wasting huge quantities of ink

This method was suggested by Rudiger Schafer on the Epson wideformat list. I recently noticed a couple of errors in the menu selection section (6 & 7)

"About changing photo/matte black carts - I use the following procedure without draining the printer:(e.g. photo black installed - want to change to matte black)

  1. Printer is not switched on.
  2. Open the ink lever.
  3. Replace the photo black with the matte black cart
  4. But, leave the ink lever open!
  5. Go into Maintenance Mode 2 by switching power ON while pushing the 'Paper source', 'Cut/Eject', and 'Paper Feed down' buttons.
  6. Press the 'Paper Feed down' button until you see "SERVICE CONFIG" on the display - press "Enter" button (Should be 'SelecType' - KC)
  7. Press the 'Paper Feed down' button until you see "NPD" - press "Enter" (Should be 'SelecType' - KC)
  8. There are 3 possible settings for NPD:
    0 - no ink check
    1 - pigmented ink (there should be a star "*" at this setting)
    2 - dye inks
  9. change NPD setting to '0' (no ink check) and press "Enter" - a star should show now next to the '0'
  10. Switch printer off.
  11. Switch printer on.
  12. Close the ink lever.
  13. Printer and driver shows matte black.
  14. Print a solid black print-out until photo black in the tubing is all used up (I understand something like 4' on the 9600)"

For purging the old black he suggests the following:

"The 7600 uses ca. 10-12ml of ink before the tube is flushed out. I create in PS an image of the size of 23"x40" and fill it with pure black (RGB 0,0,0). Than I use cheap matt double-weight paper and print that image with 720dpi. When you look at the finished print you see that 2/3 is photo ink as it looks a little bit dull and the rest of the print shows the nice dark matte ink. The system is now charged with matte black.

The 9600 uses ca. 20-22ml of ink. I use the same procedure but the image is 43"x40". "

You can follow the discussion thread on the list at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EpsonWideFormat/message/43923

If you consider that an ink change the 'official way' wastes this much ink for all colours, you can see why there is such a huge saving. If we had one real complaint about the 9600 here at Northlight, it would be the huge amount of ink wasted if you want to change black inks - we are very grateful for the tip!

If you are curious as to what over a hundred pounds worth of waste ink looks like - see here :-)

Note -- We printed four 40"x10" solid black rectangles on cheap matt paper to purge the black line. The first 3 were a light black and the third much darker.

There have been reports that you need to reinstall the Epson driver on Macs after doing the change - if you are using a Mac and get 'COMMAND ERROR' on the display, and blinking ink cart lights, then a reinstall might be tried. As with any Epson driver installation on Mac OSX, it's best to run a permissions fix (using the disk utility in Utilities) afterwards. A lot of the drivers for older printers incorectly set file permissions. As general Mac 'housekeeping' it's good to do a permission repair before and after and new software installation anyway.

Changing black inks on the 4800/7800/9800

As suspected, Epson have changed things to reinstate their "Ink Waste™" program :-(

As yet no-one has published a similar work round for reducing ink use. As soon as we find one, we'll post it here.

The Epson Stylus Pro 3800
A cheaper A2 printer from Epson? and one that doesn't use so much ink when switching from Mk to Pk?

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Supplies

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Techniques

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Scanning

"I scan my negatives and save at 16 bit Greyscale. In Photoshop I do most work at 16 bit convert to 8 bit for printing. It may take up a load more disk space but you can get far more out of images.

I try and capture as much information at the start and lose only what won't show up on my print. I find the ability to stack several masked layers of adjustment most useful since the underlying data is only changed when you flatten the images.

I use a Grey Gamma 2.2 space for the files, even though the Mac standard screen gamma is 1.8. Note that 2.2 is the file gamma and matches that of Adobe98 which is the RGB colour space that my images get converted to if I'm printing using Small Gamut Inks"

If the above seems a little technical, have a look at some of the suggested links on Colour Management below.

With the arrival of Photoshop CS (aka Photoshop '8') you can now perform many more functions in 16 bit mode, although Keith has found extensive 16 bit use a pretty good indicator of when your computer is starting to lack in horsepower / disk space... and with CS2 you can start filling it up even quicker with 32bit HDR files :-)

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Colour Management

It's definitely worth getting to know the principles, as Keith comments:

"I've found that an understanding of colour management (even if you don't have the equipment/software to do it 'perfectly') helps no end in the creative process. I'd suggest that getting your monitor right is an essential first step. Whilst it is true that to do it properly requires either an expensive (self calibrating) monitor or some external hardware, there is much to be gained by starting with doing it by eye. If nothing else, you will realise some important things about the human visual system. For myself it then becomes important to get the printing right - having profiles for ink/paper/printer combinations will go a long way towards getting consistent results. The 'default' or 'canned' profiles that are available are often good enough for marked improvements. The less you are concerned with the technicalities, the more time you have to think about your images. You also understand when the technology is a limiting factor. For example, that really powerful bit of colour in an image that just can't be represented with your particular ink/paper combo"

Colour management info on this site

General colour Management

Equipment and software reviews

X-rite (ex GretagMacbeth)
  • ColorMunki - an initial review of this printer/projector/monitor calibration/profiling device.
  • i1 Beamer - A software upgrade and hardware attachment device for using the X-rite i1 Pro spectrophotometer for digital projector profiling
  • i1 Display 2 - Monitor calibration and profiling device from GretagMacbeth - also allows ambient light measurement. (see also updated Pantone version)
  • i1 LT - review
    Basic X-rite i1 spectrophotometer package for monitor calibration, light measurement and basic printer profiling.
  • i1 Design
    A Spectrophotometer and software for monitor calibration, light measurement and basic printer profiling.
  • i1 scanner profiling
    Using the Eye One with a scan target to get better results form your film or flatbed scanner.
  • i1 Camera profiling with the SG colorchecker
  • i1 printer profiling
    More advanced printer profiling with the Eye One.
  • i1 profile editing - The Eye One Match software from GretagMacbeth (now X-rite) now allows you to edit icc printer profiles. How easy is it to use, and what things should you consider before editing profiles.
  • The Eye-One iO automated scanning table - review - An automated solution to improving the quality and accuracy of target measurement for printer profiles when using the i1 (ex Eye One) spectrophotometer.
  • i1 iSis - advanced measuring device for printer profiling.
    An automated whole chart reader for printer profiling test charts. A3 and A4 versions provide spectrophotometer readings for both UV and UV-Cut (filtered) measurements.

Datacolor (aka ColorVision)

  • Spyder3Pro - monitor profiling with multiple monitor support and ambient light measurement.
  • Spyder3elite - review of monitor and projector profiling system with multiple monitor support and ambient light measurement.
  • Spyder2express
    The latest entry level monitor profiling system from ColorVision for Macs and PCs.
  • A review of the Spyder 2 pro monitor calibration system.
  • Projector profiling with the Spyder 2 Pro.
  • Spyder2PRO Ambient light measurement
    The Spyder2PRO now allows you to measure your ambient room lighting conditions before deciding on monitor calibration settings (it also now supports vista).
  • PrintFIX PRO
    A considerable upgrade to the PrintFIX. The new version uses a Spectrocolorimeter to let you create printer icc profiles.
  • Updated PrintFIX PRO - better colour printing and B/W too...
  • PrintFIX PLUS
    The software only version of PrintFIX PRO that allows you to create icc profiles without your own patch reader.
  • The original PrintFIX review
    Printer profiling system (not sold directly any more)

Pantone

  • Pantone Eye One Display LT - monitor profiling. The mid range monitor profiling solution in the trio from Pantone. The measuring device is an Eye One Display LT from GretagMacbeth, and uses the Eye One Match software.
  • Pantone Eye One Display 2 - monitor profiling. The measuring device is an Eye One Display 2 from GretagMacbeth, and uses the Eye One Match software. This review has additional information to that in our original GretagMacbeth Eye One Display 2 review, and compares features between the Display 2, Display LT and Huey.
  • Pantone Huey Pro - review
    Dual monitor support and and improved set of options compared to the basic huey.
  • Pantone Huey - review
    The Huey is a new and relatively inexpensive addition to the monitor profiling market. Keith looks at how it performs, including its novel capacity to modify your monitor setup in response to changing room lighting.

Others

Other colour management resources

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Digital Imaging

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Dust - Digital sensor cleaning (at your own risk)

  • http://www.cleaningdigitalcameras.com/index.html
    Very comprehensive collection of cleaning info and advice on sensor cleaning. Covers tools and materials. Also includes links to camera manuals for many cameras - well worth noting just for that
  • http://www.pbase.com/copperhill/ccd_cleaning
    Good step by step info on the process os sensor cleaning.
  • http://www.bythom.com/cleaning.htm
    A view of the cleaning process, and what to watch for.
  • http://www.luminous-landscape.com/essays/sensor-cleaning.shtml
    The CO2 cleaner shown is similar to the Tetanal ('tetanal anti dust mini') that Keith uses to get big bits of dust off his 1Ds sensor. Note that by big here we mean 'visible to the naked eye'. Be very careful with any compressed gas solutions, since many of them contain solvents or impurities that could make things worse. If you are still not sure, try them on an old filter and look for any residue. Watch out also for cooling effects, ie don't put a nozzle too close to what you are cleaning
  • http://www.prime-junta.net/pont/How_to/a_Brush_Your_Sensor/a_Brush_Your_Sensor.html
    The cheap way to find the right sort of brush to clean your sensor - the sort that you could pay $100 for if you were not careful
  • http://www.photo.net/equipment/digital/sensorcleaning/
    Clear concise article on cleaning sensors.
  • http://nikondigital.org/articles/ccd_cleaning.htm
    Bad dust - an account of what snowflakes on the sensor is like.
  • http://www.pictureline.com/newsletter/2004/june/dslrclean.html
    More cleaning advice.
  • Blu-Tack or similar (aka in the US, Tac n' Stik made by Ross, or Duco's Stik-Tack)
    This was suggested by William Curwen on the ProDIG list.
    "Open a fresh packet, and peel back the grease-proof paper without touching the BluTak. Cut a thin needle shaped sliver using a scrupulously clean pair of nail scissors and attach to a matchstick. Make a couple of dozen, and use a small-point light source to show up any dust on the sensor. Just align up the Blutak needle with a speck of dust and gently stab it once. That is, just tap it as gently as you can - once, and put the BluTak needle down, and pick up another one for a stab at the next speck of dust. I hope I explained that properly."
    Brilliant idea - We've not had need to try it yet, but it might be worth having some practice attempts on an old glass filter first. The bits of Blu Tack are also useful for picking up dust elsewhere in your camera before they get onto the sensor.
    Another useful idea suggested, was to keep double sided tape on the inside of your lens and body caps. The idea is to catch dust before it gets into the camera body.
  • Advanced Camera Services in Norfolk, UK - did a good job giving my equipment a thorough clean after a few weeks travelling. Although I clean my own sensor with wide swabs and Eclipse fluid, it helps to give equipment a good clean and service every so often. They also sell a wide range of cleaning products as do CameraClean.co.uk - who's site also has lots of useful cleaning tips and info.

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Camera Drivers and software

Firmware updates

Other areas of our site that may be of interest...

New site features and some of Keith's latest work are covered in the What's New page.

Visiting Leicester? If you'd like to see what some of it looks like, we have views from the Leicester traffic cameras.

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