Hi guys, I just got a sweet deal on an epson 2200!

I have my monitor calibrated at 6500K or 6000K (Apple LCD) and a gamma of 2.2 and it prints within a tolerable deviation. My blacks close up pretty quick on the 2 printers but othe rthan that its real accurate. Im used to working with the 4800 so I knew what to expect.

Im currently printing through photoshop. Converting my RGB files to SwopV2, the printing using the Espon paper profile for the paper Im using.

Is there anyway of knowing for sure if my color is in SWOP? is there anything specific I should be looking for?

Thanks
WP

The only real way to see if your colors are SWOP compliant is to use the information from SWOP's website: http://www.swop.org/certification/certmfg.asp
Since you are probably using the K3 inks, you can download the PDF for the 9600/7600 for now. There will be an update in April for newer Epson printers. Basically, the LAB readings measured from a print of your Epson will need to match the SWOP numbers within 3.5 DeltaE.

I highly doubt printing a CMYK through Photoshop directly to an Epson will get you SWOP compliance. It is a fairly tight tolerance and usually involves a hardware RIP and periodic verification (spectrophotometer).

In my prepress shop, we run Epson printers and the color is tightly controlled through a hardware RIP. In theory, it's making a very accurate profile of your printer and pointing it towards a SWOP compliant printer profile and saying, "match this." Then a color bar on each proof is measured and compared to the SWOP specifications.

Hope this answers your question . . . it can get hairy, but I think that it's great that SWOP standards are hard to match. It means that the tolerance is tight and that a standard is truly a standard!

thanks for the link, Im going to read through it now.

Im currently using a series of Epson 4800's right now in our small retouching dept, through ONYX postershop which has allowed us to print to SWOP. Before the RIPS were set up we did some tests straight through photoshop just in case the network ever failed, we could hardwire plug it in and run from there. It wasnt that bad, but not as good with the RIP attached.

Is there a good RIP you would recommend that wont break the bank? Im trying to start my own side gig retouching and want to get my color as accurate as possible before hand.

3.5? I thought the Delta for SWOP was 2?

Thanks WP

I can't recommend a reasonable rip, however the PDF lists a few options that might be cheaper than what I'm using!

Specs say 3.5 dE, which is still tough to match at times. Delta E's at about half of that (1.5) are the standard for the Munsell color test, which is used to test vision of color professionals. 1 to 1.5 is about the limit of what our eyes can see a difference.

When you see a 3.5 dE, it looks pretty big. But then when you consider how many variables there are on a printing press, it's reasonable. Plus 3.5 dE is the maximum and that might be in just one color family, so many of the other colors will be much tighter.

Fantastic, thanks for the help...

Mind if I ask what your eyes tested at?

It was a while ago, but out of 85 hue disks, I had two transposed. Can't remember which hue it was. I've given the test to others several times and there have been a few who've nailed it, but most get a couple wrong.

get a RIP - Colorburst or something. Otherwise you are/your printer/etc. is guessing.

Thanks for the help so far.

I recently picked up my 2200 for cheap. I also thought if I were to hook a RIP up to this machine, when I eventually make the move from the 2200 to say a 4800 that the upgrade would be rather seamless (theoretically).

So, Will a Fiery RIP 5000, which was used on an Epson Stylus 3000 be suitable for what I need? I search the internet, it doesnt seem like maybe people are putting a RIPs on the 2200. Should I just buckle down, buy a new dam RIP and or software? Instead of trying to find something that will work?



Thoughts?
Thanks
WP

If you already have the Fiery RIP, it's worth a try. It just needs to handle the color management correctly and have the necessary options to make adjustments as needed. Might save you some $$$.

My guess is that people aren't using a RIP on the 2200 because it's not listed under Epson's "professional" category. Most people that own them are probably home/small business users who don't require the accuracy of a RIP. Seems like the 4800 is their big ticket . . . they sold out in the US in December. I had one on order and it took nearly a month to get one from Japan!

JP