Highlight Point Shift
Highlight Point Shift is a checkbox option in the Advanced settings of Advanced B&W Photo mode in the driver. What does it do? According to Epson:
"Select this check box to add a small amount of ink onto the paper-white area on the full-page within the printable area, to match the glossy feeling."
I tested this option as a part of assessing the value of Advanced B&W Photo mode. Highlight Point Shift should and did reduce gloss differential by shifting the whitepoint in the file with the result being enough information in the whites to lay down ink. Sounds good in theory, but I didn't find it to be case of warm and glossy feelings matched all round.
The preview image of the girl is pleasant enough, but
a) it's not the image you are printing
b) it's relatively small and
c) the change in the printed file can be far greater than that previewed (to the point the printed image is no longer acceptable).
All up this means when you check the Highlight Point Shift in the driver for the first time on any given image you are doing so blind and won't really know the result until the file is printing.
For my workflow Highlight Point Shift looks to be a waste of time. A better option is to check and correct the highlights in my file in Photoshop before printing - not at the last minute in the driver.
The ink/hardware/software combination in the 4800 is definitely a significant step forward over the 2100 regarding gloss differential - it can hang in there (sans Highlight Point Shift) for much longer when it comes to laying down ink towards white, in some files this fully addresses the problem.
Where there is no information in the file e.g. blown highlights, it remains that no ink is laid down. Highlight Point Shift will correct the latter problem, but it will do so by changing your image, possibly significantly, and you won't be able to assess the extent of the changes until the job is printing.
posted by Pete Walsh @ 3:58 PM 2 comments
At 12:49 AM, Nill Toulme said...
Pete are you saying that you tried Highlight Point Shift and didn't like the results on some or all of your images, or just that you don't like the idea in concept?
On the 2200 I've lately been fiddling with simply changing the white point from 255 to 254 in PS, on the thought that it would throw down a little ink on the blown areas. The jury is still out on that.
Nill
~~
www.toulme.net
At 11:38 AM, Pete Walsh said...
Hi Nil I've tried Highlight Point Shift out on a few images and haven't been happy with the results.
What I'm still in the process of working out based on my test prints is how close to white you can go on a given paper and still have enough ink laid to make gloss differential a non-issue.
It's been interesting to compare prints from the 2100 to the 4800 in this respect - where the 2100 prints have a distinct hole where no ink has been laid, the 4800 prints have more of a graduated effect - a value somewhere along the graduation is the answer I think.
I think it's one of those things better fixed in the file before printing vs checking the Highlight Point Shift option and not having much of an idea how the print will look.
I'm printing on matte so it's something I'm not worried about too much at the moment.
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