I've been topping up stock tonight, reprinting images at various sizes on the 4800, matting them up and packaging them. In some cases I still have 2100 prints of the same images on the same papers. One thing I'm definitely struck by and liking is the 'openess' of the 4800 prints vs the 2100 prints. Side by side the 2100 prints look murky and closed in by comparison. I haven't viewed these particular prints under a loupe but the overall subjective impression is that the 4800 prints are sharper... All of which makes it hard to not throw the remaining 2100 prints away!

I cut my own mats - the 30x40" sheets are a little awkward to handle in the attic, but I enjoy the process. I've used the same old Logan for a while now, not state of the art but it does the job and I've gotten faster at it over the years. It's funny how you forget the most basic things though - after trashing a few mats tonight when I usually have no wastage I realized it was probably time to change the blades... Voila!

A number of people have emailed asking about what settings I'm using re Printing/Color Management etc

Photoshop has all the horsepower I need when it comes to Color Management - in a profiled environment it's quick, easy and reliable. With the exception of Epson's Advanced B&W mode I don't see any reason to leave it up the 4800's driver to manage color.

When printing color I 'Let Photoshop Determine Colors' in CS2's Color Handling dropdown, and select whatever profile I'm printing on in the Printer Profile dropdown. In the example below I'm selecting a custom profile for Photo Rag (HMPR) created for me by ImageScience(IS).



With Photoshop managing color, I turn Printer Color Management off in the printer driver. Having both attempting to manage color ends in tears.



One side effect of this workflow is that the Epson printer preview will most likely look a little funky - ignore it.

Some people swear by the value of Soft Proofing in Photoshop. I've always preferred a real print in the hand - soft proofing on a monitor is no substitute imo, but can be handy as checkpoint before printing. I leave it off in Photoshop and toggle it on as needed. If you want to see what an image really looks like on rag you need to print it on rag, not just see it on the monitor. YMMV.

As a sidenote, I use GretagMacbeth's Eye One Display 2 to profile my monitor.

Interesting reading in Epson's print permanence whitepaper:

"Photographs are simply too important to our civilization to be subjected to undisclosed compromises about their longevity."

(What would we wrap our fish and chips up in if not for printed images?!)

"If Epson were to use Eastman Kodak's testing conditions, some Epson prints could have lightfastness ratings over 1,000 years."

Let the spanking begin...

Download Epson's Print Permanence Whitepaper