Epson Colorbase - How Much Difference Does It Make?

I have an Epson R2400 and am using the "Premium Profiles" from Epson (apparently built with Monaco Profiler). These profiles are very good, but I am wondering how much difference (if any) I would see in prints if I used Epson Colorbase to calibrate the printer. This isn't to match one printer to another. I just want to find out whether the color will be more accurate using these profiles, and whether it will be enough for me to see.

I looked through the Epson Colorbase Help file, looks pretty straightforward except that some type of "black paper backing" is required. Doesn't specify the nature of this. My Eye-One "measuring board" (or whatever the new ruler is called) has a white backgroun.

Any info appreciated.

--John

Hi John,

Your question looked a bit lonely, so I thought I'd try and cheer it up....

My experience of colorbase is your question, and ten minutes using google. It appears (from luminous landscape and other sites) that testers did not notice much differance. Basically, what is happening is that epson have some software which decreases the differances between your printer and the 'standard' to which they prepare their profiles, which allows them to have not so tight manufacturing tolerances as on their 'pro' range of printers. It will depend if your printer is far off of standard.

However, if you only have the one printer, and you have the necessary print colorimeter, then you may as well prepare your own profiles. If you can do that, then you will not be restricted to epson inks and paper.

wrt the black paper, I think it is to stop reflections from a light background lightening the edges of the print, and giving wrong colour values.

I use the profile prism software/system - cheap and cheerful, but good enough, and that recommends the black paper too.

Best wishes,

Black against seethru

My experience here with colorbase is just common knowledge-

White is mostly used during profiling, but a black bacgkround is the only way to know that there is no see-through reflection from the substrate under the paper. Let me clarify:

When you profile you want real-life conditions, and usually paper is viewed over some whitish bacground which may show through a bit.

When you calibrate a device back to a known state, you want to minimise any extraneous influence. The old Eyeones had no standard background, so black paper is the nearest way a user can make such a standard background.

I think Colorbase should be run before profiling the first time. Later on, running it may bring your printer back into the factory state, and this relinearisation will avoidthe necessity for a complete reprofiling. In fact you should be able to swap out the printer for a model from the same range, use Colorbase on the new one and be all set up, with all your old profiles and edits on those profiles still good.

In an industrial context, also, printers hanging of a RIP would probably be good to run with the RIP profiles, as soon as Colorbase had adjusted them - provided Colorbase really adjusts the firmware - does it ?

Edmund

Edmund,

Thanks for the clarification of the white vs. black background. I could never make sense of it before reading your explanation. Any suggestions of an actual paper to use for the black background?

I have read that Colorbase doesn't actually modify the firmware, but modifies what is sent to the printer through software. It would be nice to get a definitive answer on this from Epson.

--John