Reader's Comments - Index of - Free

Color Printers
technology for those seeking the closest match to photographic results.
I have to say that overall, I'm disappointed with my digital printing experience
though it has been extremely interesting and quite fun at times to be engaged in so
experimental a process. Unfortunately, my results to date have not persuaded me to
continue with - at least color - digital printing. Based on what I've heard and read
from others, my relative lack of success could be due to some aspect of my system
or software (I have a current PII with 128 MB RAM, PhotoShop 5.5, and the most
up-to-date Epson and HP scanner drivers), though I strongly doubt this, or the
limitation of the HP scanner (the images on screen do look very good - and the
discrepancy between those, in terms of shadow and highlight detail and photorealism
- and the Epson prints points elsewhere). Or, perhaps my criteria is
different from those who are very happy with the results. Those with whom I've
corresponded have made various suggestions, and most, I m afraid, would disagree
strongly with my conclusions. One is struck by the range of opinion and
experiences. One recommendation was to use the Kodak PhotoCD as my source for
digital printing (though I've heard that these scans are not well color balanced);
another was to try a higher end scanner such as the Nikon CoolScan or Polaroid
Sprint Scan 4000 - or better yet, take the leap to an Imacon.
I would like to balance the previous comment with the observation that inkjet
printing seems to offer up a distinct aesthetic from silver printing that for many
coexists happily along with a silver-based aesthetic. I have seen some very lovely
inkjet prints done on older Epson printers, such as the Stylus 600, for example.
While the prints had very evident dots and weren't close to photographic they
nevertheless had a very appealing, one might say, pointillistic quality and very nice
color.
I would very much like to see the best results that various people have obtained
with the Epson and a consumer grade film scanner. I also would much like to hear
from those who have had less than stellar results from the Epson printer as well as
to learn about the techniques of those who feel pleased with the results, particular
for portraiture. I know that people have quite wide-ranging criteria about what
constitutes a "good" print let alone a good picture. For the purposes of trying out
digital printing my goal to reiterate - has been to try to match, as closely as
possible, the fidelity of the original, insofar as it is represented by reasonable good,
but not custom, silver print or - better yet - a slide. I have not come very close, but I
can say that in some instances the results are fairly pleasing and, if not viewed too
closely, reasonably photo-realistic - but emphatically not photographic. As stated,
this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but for me it is shows the limitations of digital
consumer printing technology at this stage of its evolution, if the goal is to match
silver-based printing. I want to emphasize that in my experience inkjet printing can
work stunningly well for non-realistic subject matter - such as abstract or highly
http://www.photo.net/equipment/digital/printers/primer (22 of 36)7/3/2005 2:20:36 AM