Lightroom and Epson`s ABW

[ravncat]

So - Anyone have idea`s or process for printing black and white images from lightroom via epson`s advanced black and white driver? (In this case with an epson R2880)

I`m concerned that all the profiling and calibration in the world isn`t useful, as all the data from the ICC profiles, is meant for the RGB -> cmyk driver and not to black and white - and printing with only black inks is different. This is compounded by lightroom operating in the pro-photo gamma space of 1.8 instead of the adobergb gamma of 2.2

- I wish lightroom had softproofing.

[ravncat]

Ok - I've pretty much got a handle on this now. So - let me see if I can illuminate the issue, especially as there have been no responses to this thread - It`s taken me awhile to get my head around all of this, but here we go!

The Problem.

How to "color manage" black and white prints and use the more optimized ABW drivers?

-Epson`s Advanced B&W mode assumes a gamma of 2.2, Lightroom Uses a gamma of 1.8. Printing via lightroom will lead to darker prints, especially in the low and mid midtones.

-ICC profiles are for RGB and not greyscale.


The Solutions.

0. Forget the ABW mode and let lightroom handle it. (Ok, but better results can be obtained with ABW, and not my goal

1. (least setup) Forget managing it, set lightroom`s color management to `Managed by printer` and select epson`s ABW mode. Then set the tone curve in the Epson dialogue to "Dark" or "Darker" print and reprint adjusting that and other contrast / lightness settings as necessary. Not the most efficient and can be a bit hit and miss.

2. (Simple setup) Lightroom manages color. Instead of using a paper specific profile, use an AdobeRGB profile or other monitor profile with a 2.2 gamma embedded - such as the greygamma 2.2 profile obtainable here http://people.csail.mit.edu/ericchan...mma22print.zip This method does not take the individual paper type into consideration, use the epson ABW dialogue to adjust as needed, remember settings via paper type.

3. (Annoying setup) Lightroom manages color. export from lightroom to photoshop and apply a "grey curve" tone adjustment to your image so that when you return to lightroom you can print the image from the 1.8 gamma with epson`s ABW mode and get a result as if it had been put into a 2.2 gamma space needed for the print. It`s hard to find the grey curves - and applying them through the round trip to photoshop is alot of extra workflow, and while having very good results, is not very efficient and thus not the best solution.

4. (Advanced Setup) Lightroom manages color. Use a one of Mr. Chan`s epson 3880 grey ICC paper profiles OR use a calibration device to build your own grey ICC profiles for different papers. Select Epson ABW mode. A great solution - if you have a 3880, a bit more difficult if you don`t as you will likely have to build your own profiles. I`ve had no luck in finding prebuilt grey profiles for other printers.


The Sources.

Eric Chan
Epson 3800 Step-By-Step Printing Workflow
(There is also alot of great information on softproofing here too)

ICC Profiles for the Epson 3800 Advanced B&W Photo Driver
ICC Profiles for the Epson 3880 Advanced B&W Photo Driver

Adobe Forums
Adobe Forums: ProPhoto RGB 1.8 gamma / Grayscale /...
Adobe Forums: Using Epson's ABW mode through...

B&W profiling with a color munki.
ColorMunki black and white printing
Printer test image for black and white printing

You`ll probably notice that all of the available information that I can find on this on the web is old. It`s still pertinent as can be seen simply by printing the same black and white image via lightroom and photoshop. While lightroom does not have softproofing - it does have a variety of nice printing features that I prefer to work with, and thus a search for the solution. There`s alot out there on what this particular issue is, but they almost all end up pointing back to Mr. Chen`s work. I`ve found nothing of use via Epson`s site.

Let`s hope Either Epson updates their driver to include input Gamma Settings - and / or Lightroom updates to allow a choice of what Gamma to work in.