John Paul Caponigro will release three new training DVDs through Acme Educational next week. Orders placed before the release date will save $10.00 off the $59.95 list price. Having spent a week with JP in the Fine Art of Digital Printing workshop that he teaches with Mac Holbert, I can personally recommend the tools and techniques that you’ll find on these three disks. JP’s earlier disks, ‘Drawing With Light: 21st Century Dodging & Burning‘, ‘Color Management in Six Simple Steps‘ and ‘The Art of Proofing‘ are also favorites in my studio.

Details on each disk are listed below. To get the pre-order pricing at Acme Educational, click here. To see the many other great resources on JP’s site, click here.

Black & White Mastery

Black & White Mastery will unlock the amazing power of digital color for you and your images.

You’ll discover what’s unique about black and white images, identifying a number of unique black and white palettes that will give you a wide range of options for crafting a black and white style that’s best for you and your images.

You’ll learn how to convert color to black and white with ultimate precision and flexibility. You’ll know which methods give you the best result and when to choose a simple or a complex solution. You’ll find out how to adjust the resulting tonal relationships with unprecedented precision. You’ll understand how to adjust your images selectively to further enhance your images. You be able to add color back into your black and white images (subtly or dramatically, uniformly or selectively) to add unique expressive dimensions.

In addition to processing Raw digital files, you’ll also learn how to scan analog originals (film and print). Finally, you’ll learn easy ways to make prints of your black and white digital files either with the latest inkjet technologies or by making digital contact negatives for printing with historic processes.

Most importantly, you’ll learn to see and think about black and white images in new ways which will open up a vast world of visual possibilities for you. Put this new perspective to work for you and your images today.

introduction:

• b&w is unique
• how gray is gray
• b&w expanding definition
• unlimited palette
• b&w signature style
• b&w seeing in
• color is b&w – trichromatic separation
• b&w strategic overview
• b&w scanning
• b&w prep for conversion
• b&w many ways
• raw
• b&w adjustment layer
• dual adjustment layer
• triple adjustment layer
• channels as layers
• simulated infrared
• b&w global contrast
• b&w local contrast
• b&w adding color – multi-tone
• b&w adding color – curves and overlays
• b&w adding color – restoring original color
• b&w adding color – handcoloring
• b&w inkjet printing – 2 ways
• b&w film

Photoshop Color Strategies

Photoshop Color Strategies will help you take your color skills to the next level. True mastery of color requires not only knowing how to use the various color tools available to you, but also knowing how to choose between them, when to apply them, and why to apply them to achieve specific color effects. You’ll learn to isolate the three essential components of color (luminosity, hue, and saturation) and control them with unprecedented precision. You’ll learn about important optical effects that affect the way you and your viewers see color and learn to put them to work for you. You’ll learn new ways of thinking about color that will help you see and produce a wide variety of color effects. You’ll discover strategies for identifying and creating successful color palettes. You can combine all of this new knowledge to craft your own unique artistic signature style. Put the unprecedented power and precision of digital color to work for you and your images now.

introduction:

• color r/evolution
• color is black and white
• memory
• optical effects
• color types
• successful palettes
• association
• side-by-side
• infinite variations
• color tool survey
• editing strategy
• blend modes
• selectivity
• light filled
• increase and decrease luminosity
• reduce hue contrast
• increase hue contrast
• reduce saturation
• increase saturation
• neutrals
• atmospheric perspective
• night
• inversion
• transpose color natural match color
• transpose color synthetic gradient map

Photoshop Color Tools

Learn how to use the color adjustment tools in Adobe Photoshop CS4 to achieve unprecedented control of your images.

Find out which tools are the go to tools (the ones you¹ll use everyday), which are exotic (the ones for exceptional images), and which are redundant and/or too limited (the ones you can forget about).

Make every adjustment tool more precisely target specific components of color (hue, saturation, and luminosity) using blend modes and easy to use selections / masks that allow you to target specific hues or luminosity values.

introduction:

• hsl
• color management – 6 simple steps
• monitor histograms
• editing strategy
• color tool survey
• blend modes
• raw conversion
• shadows / highlights
• channel blending
• levels- b&w points
• curves
• high pass contrast
• selective color
• saturation & vibrance
• photofilter & overlays
• match color
• b & w adjustment layer
• select by color range

Epson Stylus Pro 7900

Epson has officially unveiled the newest generation of their 24- and 44-inch pigment-based, inkjet printers: the Stylus Pro 7900 and 9900. [True confession: my inner-geek gets all tingly at times like this.]

My initial assessment is that the Stylus Pro 7900 and 9900 offer a slate of great innovations that focus on three goals – finer print detail, faster print speed and expanded color gamut. Among the new technologies are:

• a new MicroPiezoTFP™ print head that spits out incredibly small droplets more accurately and more rapidly.
• the new UltraChrome HDR ink set [my favorite feature] – which now includes orange and green inks. Way back in the Photoshop 2.5 era, Pantone invented Hexachrome by adding O and G to CMYK. I’m very interested in how far this new ink set will expand the color gamut of Epson’s pro printers. For more about color gamuts, read the PixSylated article on Simple Truths About Color Management.
• automatic black ink switching [my second favorite feature] – just five words on this… “thank you” and “it’s about time”.
• high-capacity ink cartridges – 11 individual ink cartridges are available in 150, 350 and 700ml capacities. Let’s see, 11 inks would be: Photo Black, Matte Black, Light Black, Light Light Black, Cyan, Light Cyan, Vivid Magenta, Vivid Light Magenta, Yellow, Orange and Green. [No word of a partridge or a pear tree from Epson, yet.]
• optional built-in spectrophotometer – the Stylus Pro 7900 and 9900 can be ordered with a built-in X-Rite ILS20 spectrophotometer. For color-critical work, this new SpectroProofer™ technology will automate the creation of color profiles.

My Conclusion: we’re gonna have to get a really big Christmas tree this year.

Check out the Epson Stylus Pro 7900 site here.

Check out the Espon Stylus Pro 9900 site here.

Epson Stylus Pro 7900 / 9900 Press Release

EPSON AMERICA ADVANCES PROFESSIONAL INK JET PRINTING WITH NEW EPSON STYLUS PRO 7900 AND 9900 PRINTERS

24- and 44-Inch Printers Feature All-New Epson UltraChrome HDR Ink Technology Offering Creative Professionals Unmatched Color, Quality and Performance

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Oct. 23, 2008 – Representing a level of technology unprecedented in Epson’s history, Epson America today announced its next generation of professional ink jet printers – the 24-inch Epson Stylus® Pro 7900 and the 44-inch Epson Stylus Pro 9900. This Epson Stylus Pro series incorporates Epson’s latest achievements in photographic ink jet technology, including Epson’s MicroPiezo TFP™ print head with new Epson UltraChrome® HDR Ink technology, to deliver a higher level of print quality, increased performance with speeds almost twice as fast as previous models, and the widest color gamut ever from Epson Stylus Pro printers.

“We continue to innovate, refine and expand the limits of professional ink jet printing with every new introduction of an Epson Stylus Pro printer,” said Mark Radogna, group product manager, Professional Imaging, Epson. “The Epson Stylus Pro 7900 and 9900 printers truly redefine what’s possible from ink jet printing, offering creative professionals a superior printing solution. The new Epson Stylus Pro series is poised to dramatically redefine commercial, flexographic and package proofing, as well as professional photographic and fine art printing.”
Based on unique high-density pigment chemistry, Epson UltraChrome HDR ink technology offers all-new Orange and Green inks, and when combined with Epson’s innovative AccuPhoto™ HDR screening technology, delivers the industry’s most advanced ink jet printing technology. The result is greatly enhanced photographic print quality with exceptionally fine photographic blends and transitions, and highly accurate highlight-to-shadow detail. In addition, Epson UltraChrome HDR offers excellent print permanence ratings for color and black-and-white prints and outstanding short-term color stability for a broad range of mission-critical proofing applications.

Also new to the Epson Stylus Pro series is an optional high performance, in-line spectrophotometer for commercial proofing applications. Developed by Epson in partnership with X-Rite®, the SpectroProofer™ incorporates a high performance X-Rite ILS20 spectrophotometer for extreme measurement accuracy. When driven by the latest front-end RIP software, Epson’s SpectroProofer can automate virtually any color management process in today’s printing workflows.

Whether producing sellable color or black-and-white photography, fine art reproduction or producing color accurate commercial and flexographic proofs for client approvals, the new Epson Stylus Pro series offers a range of features and next-generation technologies that allow creative professionals to produce their vision without compromise.

Key features and benefits include:
·         Ten-Channel, High-Precision MicroPiezo TFP Print Head: Produces a maximum resolution of 2880 x 1440 dpi and variable-sized droplets as small as 3.5 picoliters with highly accurate dot shape and placement to greatly decrease print times while optimizing photographic quality; latest ink-repelling coating and auto nozzle verification technologies virtually eliminate clogged nozzles
·         Automatic Black Ink Switching: Both Photo and Matte Black ink cartridges are installed simultaneously, enabling the printers to automatically utilize the optimal black ink mode to deliver maximum black density for the chosen media; auto-sharing black ink channel on the MicroPiezo TFP print head ensures a fast and efficient switch that is managed via the front control panel
·         Epson PreciseColor™ Manufacturing: Evaluates and adjusts each printer’s performance at the manufacturing stage, ensuring consistent color output from printer to printer and print to print, eliminating the need for internal calibration devices
·         Epson ePlaten™ Media Loading Technology:  Simplifies the roll and cut-sheet media loading process with automatic media loading, movement, skew adjustment, and tracking, including electronically controlled roll media back tension and automatic roll media rewind upon release
·         Professional Media Handling: Handles virtually any media type, roll or cut sheet, up to 24- and 44- inches wide via a unique straight-through media path; a printer and driver-based media identification and synchronization system ensures error-free media use
·         New Rotary Cutting System: Includes a durable rotary cutter for use with roll paper capable of cutting virtually any media type, including most canvas and fine art papers, in less than two seconds
·         Intelligent High-Capacity Ink System: Features 11 individual ink cartridges available in 150, 350 and 700 ml capacities with “on-the-fly” ink cartridge replacement for increased productivity; pressurized ink cartridge technology ensures reliable ink delivery at all print speeds, while dramatically reducing the physical size of the ink cartridges
·         Easy-to-Use Front Control Panel: High-resolution, 2.5-inch, color LCD offers improved viewing of printer status with a simple button layout for all navigation and basic printer functions

Epson Stylus Pro Series and myEpsonPrinter.com
The new Epson Stylus Pro 7900 and 9900 are compatible with myEpsonPrinter.comSM, a unique Web-based printer information and management system that is currently available for free while in beta. The site enables commercial printing professionals to monitor print jobs and consumables virtually in real time, including tracking ink and media consumption, managing printers at remote locations, robust reporting, and intelligent support, allowing Epson Stylus Pro printer owners to manage their Epson printer investment. For more information visit www.myEpsonPrinter.com.

Availability, Service and Support
The Epson Stylus Pro 7900 and 9900 will be available in November 2008 through authorized resellers for $3,995 and $5,995 (MSRP) respectively. They are supported by a standard Epson PreferredSM Limited Warranty, a one-year program that includes toll-free advanced telephone access Monday through Friday and usually next-business-day on-site service in the unlikely event of any hardware failure. Optional Epson Preferred Plus Service Plans are also available, offering one or two additional years of protection.

About Epson America Inc.
Epson offers an extensive array of award-winning image capture and image output products for the consumer, business, photography, and graphic arts markets. The company is also a leading supplier of value-added point-of-sale (POS) printers and transactions terminals for the retail market. Founded in 1975, Epson America Inc. is the U.S. affiliate of Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, a global manufacturer and supplier of high-quality technology products that meet customer demands for increased functionality, compactness, systems integration and energy efficiency. Epson America Inc. is headquartered in Long Beach, Calif.

The dates for the upcoming 2008/09 tour of the Epson Print Academy are now online. The 16-city tour starts in Atlanta on November 8. No specifics about pricing or curriculum have been released. Click here for the event calendar. I expect that more details will be released by the end of the month.

The last tour, held in 2006, offered two tracks at each venue –- one for amateurs and one for professionals. I attended the pro track in San Francisco and met Bruce Fraser, JP Caponigro, Greg Gorman, Jeff Schewe and Mac Holbert. I expect that the instructors on the new tour will be equally stellar.

I always look forward to the Epson Print Academy as a way to catch up the latest techniques. Even though I drive my Epson 3800 with a high-degree of confidence, I’m looking forward to attending the pro track in San Francisco next February. With the recent release of Lightroom 2 and the upcoming announcement of Photoshop CS4, I highly recommend the event regardless of your printer make and skill level.

I have the good (and bad) fortune to live on a hilltop halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. It’s a great place to live if you like to mindlessly stare out at vineyards and oak-studded hills. It’s a lousy place to live if the Light Magenta cartridge on your Epson 3800 runs dry on a Saturday morning when you are printing for a client. I know from past experience that the nearest replacement cartridge is exactly 132 miles to the south at Samy’s Camera in Santa Barbara.

Let’s see. I don’t have to deliver the prints until Monday afternoon… At $4.65/gallon for gas, the round trip down to Samy’s would cost almost $80 bucks in fuel and waste the better part of my day. My other option, fingers crossed, is that Amazon has one in stock and can still get it out the door. I check online and see that it’s in stock and I have 50 minutes to get it ordered. Here’s the part I love the most… Amazon’s shipping charge for getting it out the door on Saturday and to my studio on Monday morning is $3.99. Just $3.99?

That’s not a typo. It’s not supposed to be $39.90 (which I probably also would have paid to avoid the drive to Santa Barbara). For about the cost of a grande latte, I can get Amazon to deliver almost anything they have in stock to me overnight. If I can be a bit more patient, Amazon doesn’t charge me anything for 2-day delivery. What my secret? Amazon Prime.

For a $79 annual fee, Amazon Prime provides unlimited free 2-day shipping. An upgrade to overnight delivery is just $3.99 per item. I’ve found that Amazon’s prices are very competitive on all kinds of photo gear and printing supplies – especially when shipping charges are figured in.

You can get a free, 30-day trial to Amazon Prime by clicking here. [Be forewarned, just like that mom who puts a kitten in your child's arms and says "Take it home for the weekend... if you don't like it, you can bring it back on Monday", once you get used to free, 2-day delivery, you'll be an Amazon Prime customer forever.]

Two Keys To Happiness With Amazon Prime

The first key to happiness with Amazon Prime is making sure that the item is in stock and sold by Amazon. Once you’re an Amazon Prime member and logged in to Amazon, you’ll see the Prime logo in the items that are eligible for Prime shipping. In the photo below, the first item is Amazon’s listing for the Epson 3800. The second listing is for the same printer from a third-party vendor. [While the third-party price is lower, I put one in my shopping cart and learned that I'll have to pay $50 for ground shipping that will take a week to get it here. Having an expensive, heavy printer bounce across the country for a week in a truck to save $23.99 is no bargain when my Amazon Prime will get it to me tomorrow for $3.99 in shipping or the day after for free.]

The second key to happiness with Amazon Prime, if you need it tomorrow, is check to see that there’s still time to get it shipped today. In the photo below, you’ll see the tiny green type that says I have “7 hours and 15 minutes” to order the Epson 3800 for delivery tomorrow. The only time Amazon didn’t get an overnight shipment out the door for me was when the clock said they had 8 minutes. So, will they be able to ship my Light Magenta cartridge within 50 minutes on a Saturday morning?

Update – Monday morning 11:15: Great! The Fedex guy is at the door with my Light Magenta cartridge. So, I’m back in business. Amazon Prime comes to the rescue (again).

In the world of fine art photography, it’s often hard to figure out where the image capture ends and the printmaking begins. Many photographers begin visualizing the final print before their finger hits the shutter button. Others won’t begin to see the potential of their images until they’ve spent several hours in front of a computer monitor. The important point here is to understand that the process of creating a well-crafted, fine art photograph is a continuum and not a series of disconnected steps.

I attended The Fine Art of Digital Printing workshop in Santa Barbara last fall. So, I can personally attest to the fact that investing a week in FADP is an amazing way to catapult your printmaking skills forward. It’s a total immersion program — like Berlitz for photographers.

The headliners, Mac Holbert and John Paul Caponigro, are master digital printmakers who continue to advance the leading edge of the craft. FADP is about sharing. Mac and JP are willing to share every bit of knowledge that they possess. They balance group presentations with one-on-one time to keep the flow moving.

As a bonus, you never know who will drop in… Henry Wilhelm gave an insightful presentation on the longevity of digital prints at the beginning of our workshop. Vincent Versace sat in as “an assistant” and punctuated the week with many of his unique insights into the world of photography and digital printmaking. Larry Baca, a pioneer in the field of color management, provided one-on-one tutorials and created custom profiles for each student.

Many of my fellow students were newsworthy photographers from both the commercial and fine art worlds. Adventure photographer Chris Noble sat next to portraitist Gregory Heisler – both just in front of me – giving me the bird’s-eye view of the works of these amazing photographers. The cross-pollination between classmates and the resulting network of new friends is an asset that remains long after the end of the week.

Unlike 9 to 5 workshops, FADP keeps the lab open late every night so there is plenty of time to practice your new skills. The generous support of Epson makes this workshop an incredible value. FADP sells out fast. So if you are thinking about attending, stop what you’re doing and enroll today.

FADP has two sessions scheduled for 2008.

• July 20–28, 2008 / Hallmark Institute of Photography, Turner Falls, MA

• October 26-31, 2008 / Brooks Institute, Santa Barbara, CA

One final thought. Figuring out which printer to buy for your studio is one challenge. Figuring out how to get it to print your vision again and again is a completely different challenge. Attending FADP will help you accomplish both.

Let’s start with the following. I think you’ll recognize it as irrefutable proof about why it’s important to know at least the basics of color management.

Huh? O.K. Stick with me and I’ll lay it out for you.

First, take a look at the following nothing-special-about-it-snapshot of some geraniums. While not a great photo, it is a great stepping stone towards an understanding of why your photos look lousy. Really.

The most important truth in color management – the fundamental truth that all digital photographers cannot escape – is that our eyes and brain can distinguish many more colors than our cameras can capture. The second most important truth in color management is that our cameras can capture more colors than most monitors can display. And… the third most important truth in color management is, you just guessed it, that our monitors can display more colors than our printers can print.

Let me also add, since I’m on a roll, that there’s no direct link between the cost of a printer and the range of colors that it can print. As you’ll see in the graph at the end, my Epson 3800 inkjet can print a wider range of color (say “gamut”) than a multi-million dollar commercial printing press.

A color space is like a box of crayons. It describes a gamut (think “range”) of color. Like friends, it’s important to choose your color spaces carefully. ProPhoto RGB is the huge color space into which you should be converting your RAW files when opening them with Photoshop or Lightroom. (Yes, our digital devices today can only use a fraction of the colors in ProPhoto RGB. But, converting your RAW captures into ProPhoto now will assure that you’re keeping your color options open for future technology.) Adobe RBG (1998) is a more moderate space and is the space your DSLR camera should be set to – unless it has ProPhoto as an option. sRGB is smaller still and is typical of the color gamut of most sub-$1500 monitors.

Of course, my inner-photographer wants to see these concepts as a graph. The yellow box below shows the vast range of colors in the ProPhoto color space. The blue box contains all the colors within the Adobe RBG (1998) space and the cyan box all those within the sRGB space. You’ll note that Adobe RGB (1998) and sRGB can show about the same range of reds and magentas. You’ll also see that Adobe RGB (1998) can show a few more yellows and blues and loads more green than sRGB.

If you choose to work in a color space that’s too limited (like using sRGB for capture or Adobe RGB for RAW conversion) you are literally throwing away crayons that you otherwise could have used to render subtle differences of color in your photos. Onward.

So, here is the truth about why your photos look lousy. They have colors that won’t show up on your monitor and colors that can’t be printed. Remember the nothing-special-about-it-snapshot of geranium? The green dots in the graph below represent all of the colors in that photo. The orange line represents the gamut of colors that can be displayed on my calibrated NEC 2090UXi monitor (a 20″ desktop LCD). You’ll note that there is a large blob of green dots that extend outside of the orange line at the upper-right corner… meaning that there’s a large number of red and orange shades in the photo that my monitor is not able to display. So right out of the gate, I’m not even able to see many of the colors that my camera recorded. Out-of-gamut reds and oranges with a geranium. Humm… my photo is beginning to look lousy already.

You need to plug a real monitor into your laptop. If you want your photographs to be taken seriously, you have to get a “real” monitor. Here’s a graph that compares the gamut of my stylish MacBook Pro 17 to my NEC 2090UXi. The sad reality is that my laptop monitor is worthless when it comes to making critical color decisions. It just doesn’t have enough crayons in its box. When color matters, I haul my studio monitor with me – especially when shooting for clients on location. [Look for more in an upcoming post on "Shooting Tethered Into Lightroom".]

Your printer and paper make a huge difference as well. Can your favorite printer/paper combo show all of the colors in your photo? Maybe. Maybe not. The graph below compares the gamut of my geranium photo (green dots) against the gamut of my three favorite Epson papers coming out of my Epson 3800 – Ultra-Smooth Fine Art (pink line), Premium Luster (cyan line) and Exhibition Fiber (purple line). For the geranium image, Ultra-Smooth Fine Art absolutely would be the wrong choice because most of the important reds and oranges won’t show at all (check out the large blob of green dots outside of the pink line). Premium Luster shows all but a handful of the reds (just a few dots outside of the green line). Exhibition Fiber (using the free Pixel Genius profile) is able, but just able, to show everything (all of the green dots are within the purple line). In terms of showing the full gamut of colors in the geranium photo, Exhibition Fiber would be the best Epson paper for printing this image on my E-3800 (as if I would actually want to print such a handsome image… not).

Here’s the detail from the upper right corner showing that the gamut of Premium Luster is a tiny bit smaller than Exhibition Fiber when it comes to geranium reds.

You have to be very careful with CMYK. When it comes to having your photos printed in books, magazines or catalogs, your heart will be broken again and again by the limited gamut of the commercial printer’s Cyan Magenta Yellow and blacK. (Remember CMYK is a 4-letter word.) Despite the fact that we see images printed in CMYK countless times each day, it has the smallest gamut of all the crayon boxes we’re discussing. As shown below, the vast majority of the important colors in my geranium snapshot cannot be reproduced on a commercial CMYK press (note the huge blob of green dots outside of the green line). Yes, I hear the uber-geeks shouting that there are alternative ink sets to CMYK, like Hexachrome and such. But, unless you’re self-publishing and paying the printer, you’ll be stuck with good ol’ CMY and K. If you are handing photos off to a commercial printer, your photos will greatly appreciate the time you invest in the study of color management.

My photo looks lousy and it’s not my fault! (Or is it?) There’s no arguing with the fastest thing in the universe. As Einstein may have said, “physics is physics.” I can’t make my monitor show a wider gamut of RGB than it’s capable of showing. I can’t get a redder red on a commercial CMYK press than 100% Magenta mixed with 100% Yellow. If I can’t extend the gamut of the monitor or printer, then I have to optimize my photo for the gamut in which it will live forever. For instance, when photographing a subject that has ultra-saturated colors, I know that I’m in for some extra work back in the studio – skillfully massaging pixels with Photoshop so that at least the essence of the image is portrayed in the smaller gamut of my intended printer/paper combo.

One final graph. If you were baffled by the graph at the top and have read this far, I bet that you now can interpret the graph below. Consider it to be the photographic proof that the resources on color management listed below are worth checking out.

Learning About Color Management

Books

Real World Color Management by Bruce Fraser, Chris Murphy and Fred Bunting

Color Management For Photographers by Andrew Rodney

More Color Management Books – at Amazon

DVDs

Six Simple Steps to Good Color Management – new DVD by JP Caponigro, available through ACME Educational

Online

John Paul Caponigro’s website – check out the Downloads page for free tutorials

Kelby Training – on-demand tutorials from the folks who invented Photoshop education

National Association of Photoshop Users – access to NAPP’s online tutorials is worth the price of membership alone

Lynda.com – 24/7 on-demand tutorials for a wide range of digital topics

Workshops & Seminars

D-65 Workshop – lives up to it’s slogan “Digital workflow, not workslow.”

The Fine Art of Digital Printing – spend a week with JP Caponigro and Mac Holbert at FADP and you’ll no longer think of “Color Management” as a four-letter word

Photoshop World – offered spring and fall by NAPP. You’ll find many seminars on color management and sit in large rooms filled with fellow photographers who are as baffled eager to learn as you.

Santa Fe Workshops – week-long workshops in beautiful northern New Mexico