Epson P700 (& P900) advanced black and white fine art printing using ABW & free Epson EPL software

Printing black and white on fine art media with the Epson P700 (and P900) pigment ink printer.
Testing B&W print linearity with fine art media and making a 13" x 19" A3+ photo print. Using the Advanced B&W (ABW) print mode for print neutrality and evenness .
Looks at the basics of editing B&W photos for print with masked adjustment curves, and the importance of appreciating the print as the end result.
00:00 Start
00:46 Paper choice
01:30 Using the driver ABW mode
03:08 Using a test image to see how the paper performs
03:53 Checking printer quality settings
05:37 Using ABW in Epson Print Layout
06:24 Choosing 'standard' quality
10:34 Printing the photo
10:58 Opening the image in EPL
12:10 Loading the printer
14:57 Looking at the print
15:22 How was the original image produced
18:22 Memories of the darkroom
19:00 A second image to print
20:12 Key thoughts on the printing process
For much more about P700/900 see the written B&W overview, which includes more technical informations and links to other articles and videos.
www.northlight-images.co.uk/b...
All of Keith's hundreds of B&W related articles, reviews and videos can be found at
www.northlight-images.co.uk/d...

[@GetOffMyyLawn]

Really liking your content, thanks for posting. One tip I learned when I started doing larger prints is to use a fine camel hair paint brush to clean of any dust and particles off of the paper before printing. Dust and small particles from cutting the paper are hard to see, and can ruin a print.

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks - I have a feather duster I use on roll paper with larger printers. For small printers like the P700 I tend to avoid papers that shed - it's the sort of thing I'll look at for initial testing. Curiously enough, one of the worst papers for this was the original Epson TPP which I tested back when I had an SP4800 here for review. It flaked very easily.

[@idontwantacallsign]

Thank you Keith 🙏🙏

[@davidromano2421]

Thanks for the video Keith love the content. One thing I learned from using your test pages was that whe making linearization curves to (mainly) fix the crushed shadows is to not define too many points. Trying to make the output perfectly linear caused stepping in the circle vignette targets. It was best to define the low bump point and maybe one other, then let the program's spline interpolation fill in the rest for the smoothest gradients.

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks - I agree, it's partly why I emphasise not to take the sense of precision too far ;-) I note that the Canon print plugin has the ability to save/load correction curves for its B&W mode - it's not very well supported though. It would be nice if B&W was a bit more widely supported by the likes of X-Rite ;-)

[@davidromano2421]

@@KeithCooper I agree, it's not great. But my experience might be getting old, since my spectro is the first i1 and I don't know what new developments have been made to i1profiler or whatever its called now with calibrite. And handy tip to give people is to always use certain patch counts that maximize the number of grey patches. I stopped using ABW mode when I got such perfect results with an ICC profile. I build mine with 2371 patches. The next step up from that is 2945, or down to 1877 or I use 1457 patches on smaller gamut matte papers. As for saving and loading curves, QImage handles that for me.

[@KeithCooper]

As long as your spectro passes the i1diagnostics - it should work fine. They dropped support with newer version of i1Profiler, but all the basics remain the same. I've actually got most of the current X-Rite and Calibrite gear/software (I've been involved with development work since Gretag Macbeth days) and I'll still choose the ABW mode for the 700/900 and all the bigger printers with multiple greys. It is partly about the inks used, since without a RIP you have no control over ink curves and inks used. That said, getting optimal ABW results with some third party papers can need a bit of experimenting with media settings - I also note any ABW issues as a potential red flag for a paper, since it indicates that the paper might simply be not very good with a particular printer/ink combination. It's one of the reasons I always suggest people make paper choices _after_ getting a new printer, not before. The i1Studio/ColorMunki/ccStudio software does include some efforts towards B&W optimised profiles, but from my testing (in my written articles/reviews) it still has quite some way to go. The only printers (of any make) I've looked at where profiles regularly yielded better results than a driver B&W mode were lower end ones, like the Canon G550 I looked at recently

[@gosman949]

where can I find the black and white test page?

[@KeithCooper]

@@gosman949 www.northlight-images.co.uk/test-image-for-black-and-white-printing/

[@maxsteele7620]

Your talks have been awesome. thank you! I have my 2nd Epson (original was 3880 and now P900) liked the older version a lot and am hoping to like the 900 but having lots of problems. do you have a forum for diagnosing what is malfunctioning and what to do about fixing or adjusting?

[@KeithCooper]

The usual place I suggest is the printing forum on DPReview - it's the one I check most often.

[@thib513]

Thanks for your work, Keith. I just purchased a P900 and you have been a fantastic resource. I started to print and I am very happy with the results. However, when I print borderless, one of the border (where the printing starts) is not perfectly straight. There is a small dent on one spot. Any idea of what could cause this? Pardon my English, I am French. Keep up the great work and thanks again!

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks - sounds like it might be a paper feed issue, but I've not seen it.

[@stans6582]

Keith, Thanks for all your time and effort with these reviews, do you think it possibile to print cut sheets of canvas with the P700 & P900? ......thanks again for all your work

[@KeithCooper]

More than possible... ;-) kzbin.info/www/bejne/bJ6sgKaeoK10qas

[@stopneverstop]

Hi Kieth, after watching a few of your videos, youve got me hooked on quality. Question, my blacks are more grey than black. how could I enhance them better? Would changing gamma and so on improve this? or would i be better off using a blacker ink?

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks! ;-) 'Gamma' has no part in this at all - nor 'blacker ink' - there is no such thing, from Epson It's about colour management, editing and choice of paper See the B&W article for details www.northlight-images.co.uk/black-and-white-printing-with-the-p700/

[@amersek]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge! When you send image from Photoshop to EPL - do you resize it to the exact size of your print or do you let resizing and sharpening to EPL?

[@KeithCooper]

It depends on the native resolution of the image - for these ones I let EPL do it. If there is enough real detail in the image I don't mind printing images at whatever resolution they come out at. It's an important question and I've always felt (backed up by my own testing) that the need to resize to certain 'special' numbers is a relic of printer drivers 15 years ago I have a few more P700 videos to make and will look at one covering resolution in general - it's one of those areas where I believe 'the numbers' are given an unwarranted power over some people's printing

[@kittyfilmsaustin]

Hello Keith, thank you for your b/w explanations. Why does the tree image on the BENQ appear bluer than the print? Is it my iPhone or something to do with monitor calibrations?

[@KeithCooper]

Well spotted - The colour temperature of the room is ~3000K - the monitor is set to as low as it can go ~4000K (much lower than most non hardware calibrated monitors can go) Both look bang on neutral to the eye - however video doesn't adapt, so it's a choice between the room and the monitor when editing the videos. When it's bright daylight outside, the colour temperature in the room can get to 4000K Of course I could change the kitchen lights to 'daylight' ones or get round to clearing my office, so I don't have to do the videos in the corner of the kitchen ;-)

[@kittyfilmsaustin]

@@KeithCooper Thank you so much for the detailed explanation. I teach photography in Austin. We have two BENQ monitors. I’m going to share this exchange with the students.

[@stevieh2780]

Thank you for the information Keith. Is Standard print quality as good as high quality on the majority of papers?

[@KeithCooper]

I'm currently testing aspects of this with some colour images and for photo papers. It certainly seems that for images with good detail, and viewed at normal viewing distances, the two highest settings (of the 5 on the 700/900) give no noticeable benefit. The quality settings for art papers are more limited but I suspect it's similar For B&W some papers show bronzing at higher settings As ever, the acid test is to print a small test image at two settings and see if anyone notices the difference - only photographers ever look at images with magnifying glasses, so they don't count ;-)

[@georgestark2065]

Hi Keith Appreciate your time and effort in testing the p900/700 very informative. Now I may have missed it.. but I don't believe you have mentioned whether printing High Speed vs.No High Speed... or with or without Carbon Black made any difference in printing B&W or Color? Thanks

[@KeithCooper]

See the P700/900 detail video I recently published, which steps through the available driver options. Also see the various written articles/reviews for more (they are where the significant detail goes). The highest quality settings are perhaps difficult to find a good use for ;-) The one area where high/low speed can make a difference is where a paper thickness affects alignment - this can be adjusted and the Media installer used to create a custom media.

[@georgestark2065]

@@KeithCooper I had a feeling I probably hadn't dug far enough into your articles...I have to learn to be patient...Cheers

[@gapop]

For black and white do you print from RGB color images or do you convert to grayscale? Does this matter, if the ABW mode is used?

[@KeithCooper]

I generally keep my 'printable' images in 16 bit grey gamma 2.2. However, some filters in photoshop and other plugins don't like greyscale images, so those are B&W, but in A98 (a gamma 2.2 space) I only ever print B&W images as B&W i.e. ones where there is 1 channel or 3 channels [r=g=b] - the colour to B&W conversion is handled much earlier in the process.

[@lastcenturyclassics]

Hi Keith, what software do we use to see the "L" line?

[@KeithCooper]

QTR - read the articles for lots more on this... www.northlight-images.co.uk/test-image-for-black-and-white-printing/ I may do a video some time, but this technical stuff is far better covered with the written word (IMHO)

[@geoffreymallin4602]

I’m not sure if I missed it but do you use the paper profile when using Epsom print lay out.

[@KeithCooper]

No, never with the ABW mode This for the 700 and 900 www.northlight-images.co.uk/black-and-white-printing-with-the-p700/

[@geoffreymallin4602]

Thanks

[@gordw6402]

Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom, your videos and website are extremely informative. If one prints exclusively B&W, what's the best procedure for keeping the other colour cartridges from clogging on the P900?

[@KeithCooper]

A weekly nozzle check on plain paper will help All go down slightly with cleaning and startup. BW uses least of the strong colours, but it does use light cyan, light magenta and maybe some others

[@gordw6402]

@@KeithCooper Thank you again. Perhaps you could have an affiliate link for printers. When it finally comes back in stock here in Canada I'm sure many of us would be happy to purchase it via your link.

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks - I do need to have a look at that - I have some on the written articles, but have not added anything on the videos.

[@kurotaka007]

Keith... greetings finally from Japan! Happy New Year. Not related to P700 or P900... moved myself and P600 printer to Japan. Thinking Epson (Japanese) it would be no problem getting ink... WRONG! No available ink and I'm not going to buy a new printer when this one is perfectly fine. So I found this company (Marrutt- E. Sussex) and ordered 9x cartridges, syringes and 125ml ink. Needless to say, amazing and worth a try??? Worse case, I'm out $312 bucks. Are you familiar with this company? Have you ever done an episode on "INK"? Alternative options are helpful. If all goes well... this 125 ml would be equivalent to $1200+ USD for the Epson equivalent. Huge huge cost savings. Now the key... performance??? Reviews seem good. Will be curious to know if this is a "must" or "bust". Respect your comments. Cheers!

[@KeithCooper]

I do know the company - they have been around for years and are generally well regarded. I have mentioned inks in a video and completely avoid 3rd party inks personally. A whole host of reasons, not least of which is that the printers I test are only on loan. My main issue is that I would have to completely re-profile and that in swapping from one ink to another you never completely flush the old ink - meaning that the characteristics of the ink coming out of the print head will vary. Some are not bothered by any of this - for myself it's a showstopper... I did test a continuous ink system years ago - when it worked, it worked, and when it didn't it made a right mess ;-)

[@fredwestinghouse2945]

Regarding "Carbon Black" setting. In your article you wrote "prints has gone off to Japan for analysis." Did Japan get back to you? If so, what were the explanations?

[@KeithCooper]

Nope - TBH I never expected to hear anything I will be repeating the experiments with the P5300...

[@barbarapevacevic2782]

Hello. Can u please tell to me which Epson is the best for B&W posters, with deepest black? And something where i can buying just Black inks. ❤️

[@KeithCooper]

This depends on just what you mean by 'B&W posters' - I tend to look at photo prints Nothing uses 'just black ink'

[@barbarapevacevic2782]

@@KeithCooper just white matt paper with black letters. Like some quotes.

[@KeithCooper]

In general none of the better photo printers are particularly effective for this sort of printing - it's not the sort of stuff they are designed for. A basic office printer sounds more like what you want? Not the sort of printer I test I'm afraid.

[@jameswalker7874]

Does "highest" quality mean more ink is used, or is it just the same amount of ink in smaller dots?

[@KeithCooper]

I suspect (from my other readings, when doing my initial review) that a little bit more is used - enough that I'd not give it a second thought though ;-) Dot layout is different. Note that in this video I'm specifically using a matt paper - with glossy papers you get more options (with _some_ media types), however for some papers I found a tendency towards bronzing at highest quality settings - this is discussed in more detail in the written B&W article I referred to.

[@jameswalker7874]

@@KeithCooper The more I watch of your P700 videos, the more it tempts me. Especially when I see the offer currently running at Wex. Further temptation is seeing HP increase the Instant Ink subscription by 50%! Is leaving a pigment printer a period of time between use worse than a dye based one? From the research I've done, Epson don't seem to do their own auto cleaning cycles canon do. Does that tie in with your experience? If so my plan would be to do the nozzle check print that you suggest to ensure that a very small amount of ink is used to keep the printer running. While it may be slightly more expensive to run than the 8550, it strikes me as another step up in terms of printer, I can actually get one now and as I don't print dozens of photos a week, the ink cost per year shouldn't be that scary (provided no auto cleaning cycles and I just do the nozzle check twice a week). Plus the benefit of more readily available printer profiles and pigment inks.

[@KeithCooper]

Ah, HP left the high quality desktop printer market over a decade ago ;-) A nozzle check every other week is fine - there are no timed cleanings as such, but it will do a bit more if it's been unused for a while.

[@jameswalker7874]

@@KeithCooper It's not the best, but for what I paid for the printer and the running costs I can't really complain. You can't have champagne quality on lemonade money after all. I'll have to look into it further and have a think. Your written review mentions intelligent ink cartridges with expiry dates - does this have any real world meaning? I don't suppose you'll have any better ideas of upcoming offers than the rest of us? :-)

[@KeithCooper]

The expiry dates are a bit like supermarket 'best before' dates - more for stock control purposes. I'd not see any problems with what is a sealed ink system (perhaps take the carts out every six months and give them a shake for a few minutes to alleviate any settling). As to offers - I don't sell stuff, so I don't really keep up to date on prices...