Speckles

[dewmuw]

Hi

I've had my Epson 1290 for a couple of months. When I print pictures with high contrast I find the dark areas are 'speckled' or even 'blotchy' - a bit like the cracking effect you find on old oil paintings. I am using Kodak Premium Picture Paper - any clues to what is going on?

[John_T]

It could also be the paper, but it might be that when you up the contrast you are accentuating the noise in the original photo too. There have been lots of complaints about Kodak paper, I don't use it, but try Epson or Ilford papers and see if you get the same thing. That way you will know whether it is the paper or noise.

[john_houghton]

What you are seeing is "coalescence" or "ink pooling". You can reduce the effect by using the glossy film media setting, raising the black level with Photoshop and printing at 2880ppi, but the bottom line is that this Kodak paper is not really compatible with the 1290. There are many papers around that work much better.

John

[dewmuw]

john_houghton wrote:
What you are seeing is "coalescence" or "ink pooling". You can reduce the effect by using the glossy film media setting, raising the black level with Photoshop and printing at 2880ppi, but the bottom line is that this Kodak paper is not really compatible with the 1290. There are many papers around that work much better.

John
Is that true of all Kodak paper?

[John_T]

I've never used Kodak papers, but it is probably true of all resin backed glossy papers. The wrong ink/paper/printer combination for a paper will always make problems, though some of these problems can be solved with ICC profiles for a specific paper or by other adjustments in the printer driver.