I've just started using my new Epson 3800 and picked up a package of Innova Fiba-Print Ultra
Smooth Gloss paper (25 sheets 13x19 = $100, ouch!) which I chose from the sample book at Samys Camera in Los Angeles.

I am really blown away by the quality of the prints I've made on this paper. The B&W prints especially resemble silver/fiber prints of a quality I never really was able to achieve in the dark.

I'm most impressed by the feel and gloss of this paper that doesn't look pebbly or pearly, but yet it's not the plastic look of the RC Gloss papers.

My one concern is that the B&W prints I've made using the ABW driver have blacker blacks than the color prints I've made using the standard driver/ICC profile route.

Hence my question: Does anyone know of a way to get the color prints to match the d-max of the b&w prints?

My guess is that the the ABW driver lays down only black ink for it's black while the color driver mixes some other ink at full black. And this other ink is a little less glossy than the photo black and so doesn't look quite as black. So any suggestions?

Thanks,
-bruce

Hi Bruce,

Yes, I am familiar with the phenomenon you describe: the ABW mode produces noticeably (visually and measurably) deeper blacks compared to the RGB mode. The difference can be quite a lot, e.g., d-max of 2.6 versus 2.3. The underlying reasons are somewhat complex, but they involve the different screening and ink mixing algorithms used for ABW compared to RGB.

Unfortunately there is not a way to get the RGB mode to get the same density as the ABW mode -- at least, none that I'm aware of, and I've experimented quite a bit. You can increase the Color Density slider in the Paper Config section of the driver settings, but (1) this still won't improve the d-max of the RGB mode to the same level as the ABW mode, and (2) this can cause problems (sometimes severe problems) with shadow detail and ink buildup in saturated areas, esp. yellows.

Thanks Eric, that' what I suspected...
-bruce

I've just had a look at four of the Innova FibaPrint papers on a 3800 and was most impressed by the ABW results.

I did find that the info with the Innova supplied icc profile suggests the wrong media setting and lays down too much ink in colour printing.

The same setting however, is fine for ABW, which in conjunction with a close look at my B/W test prints supports the idea that the ABW mode uses some very different ink curves internally.

Of the papers I looked at, the USG you liked was the worst for out of the box (A3) 'curl' and exhibited noticeable head strike marks at the corners if not carefully 'flattened' before printing.

I've got sample pics and scans showing the profile issues and other examples at:
www.northlight-images.co.uk/reviews/paper/innova_fibaprint.html

Innova in the UK have contacted me and said that they are in the process of addressing the curl problems with the Ultra Smooth Gloss (285) paper... and looking at their profile collection ;-)

bye for now, Keith Cooper