The Art of Printing Photos on Your Epson Printer
The Art of Printing Photos on Your Epson Printer
Are you a photographer looking to either print and sell your photographs, or print your photos for your own creative expression? The Art of Printing Photos on Your Epson Printer is a comprehensive guide to the techniques of fine-art photographic printing and the first book to focus on both the technical and creative aspects together. It gives you in-depth coverage of all the latest advances in printer paper and ink technology — and how to make the most of them — and even gives you practical ad
List Price: $ 29.95
Price: $ 15.78
Hard Copy,
I guess I was being flippant when I once said about using an Epson printer “just read the instructions!” I still feel almost the same way, but I also acknowledge that there are a few things that you have to do to an image that you have on a monitor to get a good print that might not be intuitive or in the instruction booklet for your printer. This book provides most of the advice you might need.
The book talks about printers and inks; paper; color management; print comparisons between the printers photographers have and some printers used by printing houses; Photoshop preparation for printing; and presentation of the final images.
The authors write clearly and accurately about the process. I’m not certain you need to know everything that they explain, but it certainly won’t harm you, and, as I’ve found with a lot of things I’ve learned over the years, it might ultimately prove useful. For example, I’m not certain one needs to know exactly how the ink drops are sprayed onto paper, but I’ll bet that knowing that makes it easier to diagnose a problem when one comes up. On the other hand, there are a few common problems that come up that have not been covered. (For example, some rag papers leave a residue behind on the printer feed wheels that can prevent proper feeding. It would be useful to know how to deal with this.)
Sometimes the authors go into great but useful and important detail, as when they explain several different methods of sharpening images for output. Other times they give little hints that one might never have to use, but that are just as helpful. (You will know what I mean if you’ve ever gotten paper stuck on the sticky patch on the polythene package that paper usually comes in.)
The authors emphasize what to me seems to be the most common problem with printing which is improper color management. On the other hand, I wish they had gone into a little more detail on some subjects, like soft-proofing. I would have liked more suggestions on how to deal with out-of-gamut colors, or at least to be told that some times you just have to suck it up.
I also wish they had been willing to stick their necks out a little. I often feel I have not selected the best paper to present an image. I would have liked not only their explanation of the characteristics of paper, but also some ideas about how to select a paper, even if that is a very subjective matter.
Books on printing don’t often have a section on display so I was glad to see the authors tackle this task, and give some good advice. On the other hand, you certainly won’t be able to nicely mat an image with just the instruction here.
Beginning printers will certainly find it easier if they read the information provided here, and won’t be too overwhelmed as compared to some other printing books. More experienced printers will probably also pick up a tip or two, and even find an incentive to try something new. On the other hand, those who use a printer brand other then Epson will probably find the information less useful. Perhaps they might consider switching to Epson! (Consider smiley inserted here.)
Was this review helpful to you?
|A good book but it doesn’t live up to its title.,
I have been trying to get my teeth into all aspects of color management of the final print for nearly a year and felt that I was slowly getting to understand what it was all about. The one area where my knowledge was weak was print papers, their respective color gamuts, and the effect they have on the final appearance. I own an Epson 3800 printer and my attention was caught when I read the advance notice for the book where I was told “Filled with information on choosing an Epson printer, paper, and ink to help guide you to making the right purchasing …”.
Aha! I said. This sounds like just what I need. I have to say I was disappointed. Don’t get me wrong. This is an excellent book on how to produce color prints but very little of it is specific to Epson. About 180 of the 192 pages are about printing in general. There a number of photographs of Epson printers. Epson print head technology is specifically described on one page. Four pages are devoted to Epson ink technology and two pages discuss Epson printer maintenance in general terms. There is a table setting out the Epson photo papers and their various size ranges but almost nothing is said about their color gamut or the impact of the surface texture of the various papers on the visual impact of the final print.
Many pages of the book are devoted to the best use of the tools available within Photoshop and Lightroom. The image intentions described are very helpful but the details of specific techniques will be of limited relevance to those who don’t use the particular Adobe products. I did find useful the section of the book describing how to exhibit and archive your photographs.
The book is a good book on color printing in general but anyone who, like me, buys it to learn the black art of Epson printing will be disappointed. With minor changes this book can be converted into ‘The Art of Printing Photos on your Canon Printer – … or HP Printer’. I’m afraid I’m still looking for the book that lives up to the title of this one.
Was this review helpful to you?
|A Much Needed Art For A Long Time,
I am really enjoying this book. Have been frustrated many times because of my lack of knowledge. There wasn’t any material I could get to reseearch my problems. Now there is a well rounded book about printintg.
It begins with technical information. Then about in the middle of the book it turns the corner to things I can do to make better prints. I am at the point now where I would like to read it in front of my computer so that I can put the examples to use.
The book specifically relates to calibrating three areas to be compatible. The monitor, printer and Photoshop.
I highly recommend this book.
Joleene Wendell
Was this review helpful to you?
|