Need Advice on Epson 4900 - SpectroProofer 17 and RIP's

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Dear Ink Jet Mall:

First let me say that Inkjetmall really tried to help me out on my old Epson 4800. They (Walker) did their best to try and help me un-clog the print head, doing everything from PiezoFlush with blank, resettable carts, replacing the dampers and capping station, to the waterfall trick on the print head with a syringe and solvent.

Unfortunately, none of that worked because the print head was electronically fried. So after 8 years I had to send my Epson 4800 to printer heaven.

So…fast forwarding I just purchased a refurbished Epson 4900 from the Epson Clearance Center. It’s a great printer! I’ve been trying out the canned-Epson ICC profiles and they are not bad. But now I need some advice from you Pros out there.

Preamble: I am using Windows XP Professional and Photoshop CS5. I have no plans at this time to upgrade my OS or PShop. My skill set is “professional amateur” and I don’t mind experimenting to the point of voiding my printer’s warranty.

  1. If I were to purchase the optional SpectroProofer 17, what RIP software would you recommend? (I was just researching Mirage 4 for example).
  2. Do I need to purchase a full RIP software package or is there some PShop plug in for the SpectroProofer 17 that will just make ICC profiles?
  3. What is anyone’s experience using the SpectroProofer 17 with paper other than Epson, ie. really thick non-brightened paper like Hahnemuhle?

Thanks in advance!
Ted B.

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I believe the spectroproofer can be used with the Epson driver (it essentially just makes profiles). I could be wrong, but I believe that is the case.

That said, I suggest an iProv2 (it’s not much different in price) as this will give you a lot more features including monitor and more custom profiling.

best,
Walker

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Dear Walker:

Thanks for the advice. I was not able to find info on iProv2 in Google (kept going to “iPro V2”). Do you have a web address so I may research them?

Thanks a bunch!
Ted B.

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I meant “i1Pro V2” (just a different of a single space key)

best,
Walker