Epson SC P600--need help getting better clarity/crispness in art prints

[Anthony Wheeler]

Hi Folks,

I'm a rookie user of both photoshop and printing (not a good combo). I'm an illustrator, scanning original watercolor artwork at 400 DPI, bringing into photoshop and then printing. As i'm printing, I'm noticing that that some of the black lines of the artwork along with some of the coloring just isnt crisp and not professional looking. I'll give as much info below and would love any recommendations.

Artwork:
Watercolor paper, black ink and watercolor paint--size is either 8x10 or 11x14

Scan:
400 DPI, .tiff file

Photoshop:
Set canvas size at 8x10 or 11x14
400DPI

Typically Smart Sharpen, Reduce some noise, adjust the black level to make slightly darker in Levels and maybe some Vibrance. Image in Screen looks very sharp, solid black lines, great clarity.

Working in RGB, 8 bits per channel

Save as a .tiff file

Printer:
Epson SC P600
Photoshop manages colors
Printer Profile is Cold Press Natural MK v2 paper (I print on Finestra watercolor paper)
In the Printer driver--Use Media type Ultra Premium Presentation Matte, Matte Black ink, Max Quality (5760x1440 DPI) and typically +10 in Color Density.

Prints come out fine in color but the crispness of the black lines looks soft and in some places a little pixelated (especially if i enlarge). I've tried printing in CMYK and bumping the level of the blacks and doesnt seem to make a difference.

One thing i'm having trouble understanding is PPI to DPI--if my printer is printing at 5760x1440 but my PPI is only 400, do i need to up my ppi? Do i need my original scan to be much higher in DPI?

I've played with a lot of settings and run about 200 dollars of test prints and read a lot of internet forums and youtube vids...any help, suggestions would be wonderful!

Thanks, anthony

 

[Andygeol]

Lots of possible issues here Anthony
you don't say whether you are enlarging or reducing the original artwork

1. Like a camera, best image in =best image out. Try highest res. possible when you scan and if there is a possibility of sharpening at that stage then do it.
2. Paper type - watercolour paper will never give the crispest image. Try a small test print on Epson Photo gloss (with appropriate Epson paper profile) - this will clue you in as to what is possible with the scanned image.
3. Printer settings. Use the same profile for printing throughout. When printing I do whatever I need in photoshop; Save: flatten image and duplicate. On that duplicate go to View>Proof Setup>custom> select appropriate paper profile. Compare the original with the duplicate and make whatever adjustments neccessary to make the duplicate match the original (often just some curve adjustment to lighten up the Image).
4. Image size and resolution: at this stage set Final image size and resolution: 300 dpi is actually more than you need. 180 DPI should be fine. Any more just puts more ink on the page which for water colour is not ideal.
5. Final Sharpening: less is better than more - make sure you view at 100% or greater. Smart sharpen should be fine.
6. Final printing If you are using watercolor paper try Watercolor paper settings in the printer setting. Other than that you do not need Max Quality, again 'Quality' setting should be enough. Epson will always say use Max. but then they make their money from the sale of ink not printers. (This advice comes from one of Epson's own printing tutors)

Remember DPI is number of ink dots per inch while ppi is pixels. You can only change ppi by changing resolution, if you are enlarging the original scan, you are effectively adding pixels which may decrease the acuity of the resultant print.

Hope this gives you a way forward just remember - Quality starts with the original scan while crispness is likely down to the paper

Andy

 

[Anthony Wheeler]

Lots of possible issues here Anthony
you don't say whether you are enlarging or reducing the original artwork

1. Like a camera, best image in =best image out. Try highest res. possible when you scan and if there is a possibility of sharpening at that stage then do it.
2. Paper type - watercolour paper will never give the crispest image. Try a small test print on Epson Photo gloss (with appropriate Epson paper profile) - this will clue you in as to what is possible with the scanned image.
3. Printer settings. Use the same profile for printing throughout. When printing I do whatever I need in photoshop; Save: flatten image and duplicate. On that duplicate go to View>Proof Setup>custom> select appropriate paper profile. Compare the original with the duplicate and make whatever adjustments neccessary to make the duplicate match the original (often just some curve adjustment to lighten up the Image).
4. Image size and resolution: at this stage set Final image size and resolution: 300 dpi is actually more than you need. 180 DPI should be fine. Any more just puts more ink on the page which for water colour is not ideal.
5. Final Sharpening: less is better than more - make sure you view at 100% or greater. Smart sharpen should be fine.
6. Final printing If you are using watercolor paper try Watercolor paper settings in the printer setting. Other than that you do not need Max Quality, again 'Quality' setting should be enough. Epson will always say use Max. but then they make their money from the sale of ink not printers. (This advice comes from one of Epson's own printing tutors)

Remember DPI is number of ink dots per inch while ppi is pixels. You can only change ppi by changing resolution, if you are enlarging the original scan, you are effectively adding pixels which may decrease the acuity of the resultant print.

Hope this gives you a way forward just remember - Quality starts with the original scan while crispness is likely down to the paper

Andy

Andy,

thanks a million for replying! For the most part, I'm scanning 8x10 and printing at that size or enlarging up to 13x19 OR scanning at 11x14 and printing at 8x10, 11x14 or 13x19.

1. I scan at 400 DPI--Suggestions to scan higher and then scale down?
2. I'll try the Photo Gloss...
3. Great tip on duplicate...Are you saving one and then playing with the other just for printing?
4. Should i set image size at the very end? You mention DPI at that stage but all I see in the Image Size box is PPI...
5. Got it. I tend to smart Sharpen at around 150% and then play with the settings...
6. If i'm using Max vs. level 4 quality--If i use max, is it just trying to shoot more ink and thus making the lines a little denser? I noticed that printing at level 5 made the color tones more even but the black lines where a little fat and heavy.

If i plan on enlarging something, should i start by over scanning that piece? Say i have an 11x14 watercolor painting that i want to print at 13x19--I can scan it at 600dpi and then scale it down if needed?

Thanks again for your help and time. I really appreciate it.

Anthony

 

[Andygeol]

Anthony.
Scan at your highest possible resolution - like a digital photo, you use the highest resolution you can. scaling it down is easy, scaling it up 'invents' pixels.

I do all the resizing, print matching etc on the Duplicate that way you always have the original when if the duplicate gets 'fubar'd'

Do resizing last - you are correct , I should have said ppi c.f

Max quality is really just a money making exercise for Epson - lays down more ink - probably not a desirable thing for watercolour paper. If there are uneven tones, look really closely at your scanner and the monitor. If your monitor is colour calibrated, there shouldn't be any difference between screen and print.

Makae sure you use the best options for reduction (Bicubic sharper) and enlargement (bicubic smoother).

Good luck