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Getting Better Blacks
With Your Epson Stylus C80 Printer
| In Epson's efforts to build an inexpensive pigment ink printer that would print well on plain (uncoated) paper, they decided to sacrifice its ability to make a decent glossy print (hey, something had to give). We'll show you a way around this problem. Here's a hint to the solution: You've got to give it some black ink. |
Although the C80 is not a "photo" inkjet printer (it uses 4 inks instead of 6 inks), its use of durable, pigmented inks, high speed printing, low price, and its unique ability to print well on plain, uncoated (and less expensive) papers has caused many artists to add this printer to their set of "tools".
We recently compared the black ink output of the Epson Stylus C80 printer against the other Epson pigmented ink printers: 2000P, 5500, 7500, 9500 and 10000 (Archival Ink model). The C80 had a richer black than these other five Epson printers when printed on coated matte papers (i.e. the Epson Archival Matte), and an even richer black, by comparison, when printed on non-coated papers. However, when the C80's "DuraBrite" pigmented ink was printed on the Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper and the Epson Premium Semigloss Photo Paper (the only two "gloss" type media listed in the C80's print driver), it's blacks were muddy and much lighter than those made with the other five printers. We wondered if the C80's DuraBrite inks were chemically different than the pigmented inks in the other Epson pigmented ink printers...
Using 3 Colors To Make Black!
| The image on the left is the original digital image file. |
The middle image is a scan from a C80 made glossy print (Epson PGPP) that was tricked into believing it was Epson Matte Paper - Heavyweight. The print uses all 4 inks: CMYK. |
The image on the right is a scan from a normal C80 made glossy print (Epson PGPP) -- it is dull and flat because it lacks the black ink channel. All values are being produced with only 3 inks: CMY. |
When the C80 prints on Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper it is only using 3 colors (CMY) to make its black and grey values -- it uses NO black ink -- unlike a typical CMYK inkjet printer -- therefore its "black" is weak. (NOTE: If your computer screen is accurately profiled, you'll see a much lighter value in #9 and #8, under the "CMY" column.)
A call to one of our high-level Epson contacts confirmed this suspicion. Epson's pigmented inks feature a MicroCrystal Encapsulation technology, where pigment crystals are coated in uniquely engineered resin polymer to ensure even particle size and distribution for a color gamut and gloss that far exceeds other pigment solutions and rivals dye. The resin polymer also enhances durability by pulling the pigment deeper into media crevices rather than resting on top of the surface. The C80 DuraBrite inkset has one exception: The black ink is NOT MicroCrystal Encapsulated! This is what allows the C80 to print so well on plain paper without "muddying" (and bleeding) like the other five pigmented Epson printers. However, the lack of black ink encapsulation allows the black ink to rest on the surface of coated matte papers, thus reducing its estimated longevity from 100 - 200 years (as in the other five printers) to a lesser "up to 70 years" rating. The C80's non-encapsulated black ink is so easy to scuff off of "gloss" papers that the black ink is NOT even used when one chooses the Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper or the Epson Premium Semigloss Photo Paper media settings in the C80 print driver! That's right, only the cyan, magenta and yellow inks are being used when printing with this media! This is why blacks are so muddy and grey, and why many people have complained about the lack of contrast in their "gloss" prints. The Epson executive we talked to estimates that the C80 DuraBrite inkset when used with either of the Epson Premium "gloss" papers would therefore only have a longevity of about 20 years, because it doesn't have the strength of any black ink.
The "Glossy" Work-Around Solution
Is there a work-around to the C80's "Premium Glossy" ink problem? First of all, we think that the CMY output quality on Premium gloss papers is so poor that Epson shouldn't have even bothered offering "gloss" media option! The C80 is a great printer, but it's just not a good photo "glossy" printer solution. However, good "CMYK" glossy prints can be made using the C80 (by tricking it with a different media profile), but these prints will need to be coated or laminated -- or the black ink will literally rub off!
Here's a solution we've tried with good results:
- When printing on the Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper or the Epson Premium Semigloss Photo Paper, choose "Matte Paper - Heavyweight" as your "media Type" -- this will make the printer use the black ink.
- Under "Mode", choose the "Custom" radial button (leave on "Custom Settings"), then click on the "Advanced" button to get a new window.
- Always choose a resolution of 1440 dpi or 2880 dpi, as the 720 dpi setting is plagued with micro-banding on these gloss papers. (Un-checking "High Speed" can often eliminate any additional micro-banding problems, but don't un-check this unless you have problems, as its mono-directional printing will greatly reduce your printing speed.)
- One of the following custom settings will help to increase image density and contrast. The first is quick and easy, the second is a little more complicated, but offers more control:
- Under "Color Management" choose "PhotoEnhance4", and the "Hard" Tone.
- OR for even more control, choose "Color Controls" under "Color Management". Under "Mode", choose "Photo-realistic". Increase the "Contrast" by moving the slider to the right to about a "4" setting --your taste may vary. (To keep your image's highlight areas from washing out, you can decrease the print's "Brightness" -- thus producing greater density in the just the midtone to shadow regions of your print.) Your final step will be to adjust your print's color balance to your taste using the Cyan, Magenta and Yellow sliders. This color balance adjustment may be necessary since you are using the wrong profile ("Matte Paper - Heavyweight" vs. one one of the Premium gloss settings).
Sealing Your Prints
If you take a soft cotton cloth or a cotton ball you can actually buff away the non-encapsulated black ink right off your Premium gloss prints! In order for these prints to be durable, they must be laminated or top coated with a glossy spray. The Lyson Print Guard spray is not recommended for glossy prints if you want to maintain a high gloss look. The Bulldog Ultra "Gloss" spray will give you excellent protection and a high gloss finish, but we have noticed that it dissolves a small percentage of the yellow pigment ink and causes it to migrate. We have tried several Krylon clear sprays (i.e. their Crystal Clear acrylic coating and their Kamar Varnish). Our best success has been with Krylon's "Low Odor Clear Gloss" finish #7110. This product is a clear latex enamel, costing about $4.00 per 11 oz. aerosol can. We found the best results with this product came when we quickly applied a few light coats (varying the spray pattern between coats) to "set" the print, let dry for 5 to 10 minutes, then applied a very wet and smooth final coat. This thick coating will immediately go cloudy and somewhat milky, but will dry clear within a hour or two.
Our Conclusions
Tricking the Epson C80 print driver into using the black ink on glossy paper did produce a much better print that was quite acceptable -- if protected by a top coat spray, which is a hassle and an additional expense. For an occasional glossy print, it's a good solution. However, if one was to need glossy prints on a regular basis, we'd also buy Epson's cheapest 6-ink "photo" printer, the Epson 820 for $99 (after rebate) as a second printer. The "photo" printers are specialized in making very smooth (virtually dot-less) "photo" glossy prints that emulate and even surpass true photographic quality. The C80 has its specialty, too: Very fast and durable pigmented ink prints on inexpensive uncoated papers.
Despite the slight migration of the yellow ink, we still liked the final finish produced by the Bulldog Ultra "Gloss" spray. It had a glossier and harder surface (more scratch resistant) than the Kyrlon Low Odor spray. The Kyrlon spray was easier though on your nose and lungs. With both sprays you had to wet the prints heavily, as the Epson Premium paper's micro-porous coating technology tended to soak up the spray. We had to be very careful to dust off (using the Falcon Dust-Off) the prints before spraying, as any dust on the prints left very noticeable defects and bumps in the final gloss surface. One tip if you decide to go the lamination route: Don't bother using the glossy papers. Use the much cheaper Epson Matte Paper - Heavyweight. Once it's laminated, the "gloss" effect is about the same.
Despite the hassle of top coating or laminating C80 glossy prints in order to prevent the black ink from rubbing off, we suspect these pigmented ink prints should be very durable (70+ years?) outside of a "framed" environment, as they are now totally sealed off from atmospheric pollutants. (Glossy prints made from Epson's lightfast Photo Dye ink printers like the 1280 and 820 must be framed behind glass or sleeved in order to get their 9 - 10 years longevity rating. If left outside of this protective environment, the dye printed glossy prints have been known to fade and turn to a red-orange tone within a few months.)
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