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The UltraTone FS inksets are pure pigment, predominantly carbon, black and white inksets for Epson printers. They
can be purchased from MIS Associates Inc. See the MIS website.
This Readme information page is for the 1270. There are similar ones for the 1280, 1290, and 2000P which use the
same cartridges. (The 2000P also uses a different chip on the carts.) The other printers also print with some
different settings and curves.
Ink Characteristics
The UltraTone monotone inksets come in two hues or tones – medium warm (UT–FS) and neutral (UT–FSN). Different
papers, of course, print with different characteristics.
The FS ink order in the printer cartridges is referred to as CMCMY. This puts the dark gray FS–C ink in both
the cyan and magenta positions. The medium gray FS–M goes in both the light cyan and light magenta cartridge
positions, and the light gray FS–Y goes in the yellow position. Some older hextone ink arrangements have used more
light ink. For modern printers, however, this is not only unnecessary, but it can flood the paper, causing, among
other problems, spots on glossy papers.
The UT–FS inksets can print on matte or glossy papers with several alternative procedures or workflows. MIS Eboni
Matte black is used with the inkset when printing on matte papers. MIS Photo Black is used for the best glossy
prints, but very good glossy prints are also possible with Eboni ink installed.
These are the only readily available monotone B&W inksets that can make extremely archival images on almost
any paper type, with the limiting factor often being the paper itself.
Settings
Most of the settings for printing these inksets are the same no matter what paper is being printed. For glossy papers,
however, the Media Type setting may change.
The Color Settings in Photoshop (Edit, Color Settings) are set as follows: First, set the top line to Photoshop 5
Default spaces. Second, set the RGB working space to Adobe RGB (1998).
In the Epson driver, the Print Space should read, Same as Source. The Print Quality is set to 1440, with
High Speed checked for matte papers, but not checked for glossy papers. The Half Toning should be set to High
Quality. The Ink should be Color.
The Media Type may vary, depending on what paper is used. In general, however, Matte Paper Heavyweight is used
for matte papers.
In the Color Management section, the setting will usually be No Color Adjustment. There are a few instances
where Color Controls can be used. The 1270 with Color Controls checked has a very good, even distribution
of densities, but is a bit light. With Epson Enhanced Matte paper the sliders may give enough control to get
the print to match the monitor.
Printing on Matte Papers
Some matte papers print quite nicely with no curves or adjustments. However, one can usually get the print to
match the monitor better, or obtain a better distribution of tones by either using simple Photoshop (or Picture Window)
image adjustment curves or, sometimes, by using the sliders in the Epson driver. These are applied to the final file
just before printing.
Slider Settings for Matte Papers
If you can get the print to match the monitor with sliders, this makes for an easy way to print from any
application. With Color Controls checked, the Mode can be left on Automatic. The Cyan and Magenta inks
are the dark gray inks. To darken the print, moving these to the positive (+) side seems to result in a
better image than using the top Brightness slider. The settings below are illustrative of what will probably
be useful to try for a number of papers.
Epson Enhanced Matte
Media Type – Premium Glossy Photo Paper.
Cyan and Magenta sliders to + 10.
Curves for Printing Matte Papers
Photoshop curves have been pre–made to profile the inkset for the papers mentioned below. These curves
files can be loaded in the usual manner in Photoshop (Image, Adjust, Curves) or Picture Window (Transform, Gray, curves),
or they can be loaded as a Transfer Function in the printer driver Setup box, if printing from Photoshop.
(Note that RGB curves will not load as Transfer Functions. Beware that after a Transfer Function has been loaded
and used, it may still be there the next time you print. So, check the Transfer Function to be sure you know what
is there.)
Curves are available for the following papers:
Epson Enhanced Matte (EEM – very popular and affordable paper, but not archival),
PermaJet Alpha (This is an excellent cotton paper that is distributed in the U.S. by Jobo. It has no OBAs, virtually
no flaking, and an excellent dmax.)
PermaJet Omega (like Alpha but with slightly brightened paper),
Hahnemuhle PhotoRag (This is a popular cotton paper due to its high dmax, but expensive and with a sensitive surface
that tends to flake. This curve should work with all the classic Hahnemuhle cotton papers.)
PremierArt Fine Art Hot Press. (The PremierArt 205 is a good value among cotton papers with coating on both sides that
appears to be quite durable. It appears to have the same coating as Epson UltraSmooth fine art paper.)
Moab Entrada (This is another good value cotton paper available in Natural (no OBAs) and Bright White. The paper
does exhibit flaking. Eclipse paper uses this curve, printing just a bit light. Both Eclipse and Entrada Bright
White print with a cold tone.)
These curves can be downloaded from a separate Download page, noted further below.
The existing curves will probably be close to what is needed for many papers. For information on how to modify the
curves to, for example, profile the inkset for a different paper, see the Modifying Curves section, below.
The curves and other downloadable information and test files can be accessed from links at
www.PaulRoark.com. On my main page, see the first link to the information index.
Printing on Glossy Paper with Photo Black Ink Installed
If one is only printing glossy paper, or wants the deepest black (best dmax) on such papers, the use of Photo
Black ink is recommended as opposed to the Eboni matte black ink, which is not compatible with glossy papers.
(And Photo black ink does not produce a good black dmax on matte paper.)
Among glossy papers, three deserve special mention and are supported with pre–made curves. Note that the
Media Type driver settings will vary according to paper. If the media type is different than the paper name, a
reminder is in the curve name.
Epson Glossy Photo Paper is a bargain and also about the only popularly–available glossy paper that prints
with no unwanted artifacts like "bronzing." This makes it a standard against which to judge other glossy papers
when MIS Photo Black ink is used. The driver Media Type setting of "Photo Paper" will give the best dmax.
A curve has been made for grayscale printing on this paper. There is also a second curve that requires the file to first be
converted to RGB. This RGB curve is the smoothest. (Note, Epson UltraChrome pigments do not print well on the paper.)
The curve names include GS or RGB to indicate which mode is used. Costco has a private label version of this paper.
It is slightly different and has a special curve for PK printing.
Epson Premium glossy papers – Glossy, Semigloss, and Luster – are the only popularly–available glossy papers that might
be considered archival, although some question whether any glossy paper can be as archival as a cotton matte paper. Like
most glossy papers, the bronzing is reduced by spraying with PremierArt Print Shield after printing. Many think the
Premium Semigloss has the best surface of this group. Use "Premium Glossy" Media Type in the Epson driver.
A grayscale curve has been made for this set of papers.
Ilford Galerie Smooth Pearl paper has the highest dmax. The Media Type selection should be Photo Quality
Glossy Film. A grayscale curve has been made for this paper. As with most glossy papers, spraying with PremierArt
Print Shield will lessen the bronzing.
For glossy paper, the Epson printer pizza wheels may leave marks on the finished print. I recommend the wheels be
removed or raised to eliminate the mars. See the
MIS instructions or
inkjetart.com/pizza.
Printing on Glossy Papers with Eboni Matte Black Installed
Glossy papers can be printed with Eboni matte black installed if they use an RGB curve. Using this method of
printing is the most convenient if you also regularly use matte papers because the black ink does not have to be
changed. The RGB curves simply print the black with the 2 dark gray inks, not using the Eboni matte black ink at all.
With this procedure, the dmax is about 5% less than when Photo Black ink installed. However, the dmax’s with
glossy paper are still very good. With all glossy papers the dmax can be increased further by spraying with
PremierArt Print Shield after the print has dried.
All three of the papers above are supported by pre–made curves for printing with Eboni installed. The Media Type
settings are the same as noted above. The curves for this procedure include Eboni in the name of the curve.
With RGB curves the print density is controlled by a simple, single set of points, usually on the combined RGB curve.
When Eboni ink is installed, the Blue curve turns off the light gray ink after the highlights and stops the Eboni matte
black from being used. The Red and Green curves illustrate how one can easily move the centers of those up and down in
offsetting fashion and achieve a smoother grayscale ramp – with any grayscale curve.
Modifying Curves
Making new curves or modifying the existing ones for other papers is an open process that allows users to freely
profile the inksets for any paper. To do this, use one of the existing curves to print a
21–step test file print
on the supported paper. Then use that test strip as a visual reference for modifying curves for other papers.
The procedure involves viewing the different patches of gray on the reference and the new curve test–strip prints, and
making modifications to the curves file in Photoshop when it is applied to a 21–step test file. If a patch on the
new curve is not equal to the reference print, just move the point for that patch density level on the curve up or
down as needed. Use the Ctrl and Tab (and Shift) keys to move from point to point along the curve. Click in
the Output box and use the arrow keys to move the point up or down. When the dark ends of the curves’ axes
are at the bottom left (switched with the arrows in the horizontal axis), moving a point down increases density.
Most matte papers will print smoothly from a grayscale file with a grayscale curve. However, if the input file
is only 8 bits (as opposed the 16 bits that are recommended for working up digital image files), there could be
some evidence of stair–stepping. If this is visible, convert the grayscale file to RGB when you want to curves print it.
Then when you open the curves file for that paper, it will be an RGB curve with the original grayscale curve points
on a combined "RGB" curve. Below that "RGB" curve, however, are separate Red, Green and Blue curves. These can be
used to smooth out any stair stepping that might have occurred in the printing. The RGB file has 24 bits available
to it as opposed to the 8 bits of the grayscale. Moving the centers of the Red and Green curves in an offsetting
fashion, as illustrated by the PremierArt RGB curve, will often be enough to smooth out the print. For example,
put a point on the middle of the Red curve (at 127 or 50%); do the same on the Green curve. Then use the arrow
keys to move the Red center point up 10 units and the Green center point down 10 units. The original grayscale
curve’s points will be on the combined RGB curve and will continue to adjust the densities as before.
1270–UT–FS Curves – Download
Following is a listing of the curves that can be used with the paper & ink described. Click here to
download a zip file (1270utfs.zip) containing these 15 curves for 1270 UT–FS printing.
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Curves for Matte Papers – (with MIS Eboni Black) |
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Epson Enhanced (& Archival) Matte –– |
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1270–UT–FS–EEM.acv |
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PhotoRag –– |
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1270–UT–FS–PhotoRag.acv |
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PremierArt –– |
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1270–UT–FS–PremierArt.acv |
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Permajet Alpha –– |
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1270–UT–FS–Alpha.acv |
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PermaJet Omega –– |
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1270–UT–FS–Omega.acv |
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Moab Entrada –– |
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1270–UT–FS–Entrada.acv |
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Curves for Glossy Papers – (with MIS Photo Black) |
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Epson Glossy Photo Paper –– |
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1270FS–GlossyPP–PK–GS–PhotoP.acv |
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1270FS–GlossyPP–PK–RGB–PhotoP.acv |
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Kirkland (Epson) Glossy Photo Paper –– |
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1270FS–KirkGlossy–PK–GS–PhotoP.acv |
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Epson Premium Semigloss, Gloss and Luster –– |
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1270FS–PremSemiGloss–GS–PK.acv |
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1270FS–PremSemiGloss–RGB–PK.acv |
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Ilford Galerie Smooth Pearl and Gloss –– |
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1270–UT–FS–Ilford–PK–GS–PQGF.acv |
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Curves for Glossy Papers – (with MIS Eboni Black) |
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Epson Glossy Photo Paper –– |
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1270FS–GlossyPP–Eboni––RGB–PhotoP.acv |
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Epson Premium Semigloss, Gloss and Luster –– |
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1270FS–PremSemiGloss–Eboni–RGB.acv |
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Ilford Galerie Smooth Pearl and Gloss –– |
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1270FS–Ilford–Eboni–RGB–PQGF.acv |
Where to Learn About B&W Printing
For an open forum where B&W digital printing is discussed, join the
B&W Digital Print forum.
Enjoy,
Paul
www.PaulRoark.com
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