Books on printing?

[pixelhero]

Hi all,

Looking to get a book which goes through things like the important of paper types, ink types, getting the best print from your printer (generic, I know specifics can't be generalised for all printers), things like DPI and PPI etc. I know this is all a 'play with your printer and see what works best' but the printer I am buying is for someone completely new to printing and would be helpful to understand the basic concepts.

I saw the "New Epson Complete Guide to Digital Printing" from 2011 which covers all of this, but slightly aimed at Epsons which would be ok, but does anyone know of a similar / more recent / less Epson specific book?

I know it's all online, but my wife much prefers to read a book than read online.

Thanks

 

[The Hat]

@pixelhero, Your starting to get yourself in to deep waters, long before you have printed you first sheet, printing is not rocket science, you just click the print button and see what happens next.

There is no substitute for hands on experience and when you see what come out of your printer you can then experiment a little bit more each time, it’s very satisfying, rather than a chore, and also addictive.

Paper is a personal choice so try as many as you can and there are only two types of inks (Dye & Pigment) both can look very different on certain surfaces of paper, and pigment ink gives you far better longevity and lastly there is laser ink but that is usually only used for copying.

A simple word of advice, DON’T get hung up on DPI and PPI, in fact leave that subject alone till you know a lot more, the camera and printer usually takes care of them automatically for you without you doing a thing, it’s a place you don’t want to wander into.

If you have a book on digital printing by Epson then by all means read it, digital printing is very much the same on any inkjet printer so what you learn on one will work just as well on any other.

When first starting out it is expensive and there are many holes to fall into and no shortcuts, so read the specification on a printer before you buy, it will also help you to pick up a lot of useful information on how these machine work...

 

[Roy Sletcher]

Concur with with The Hat's opinion.

The physical function of making the print can be learned in one afternoon of following the manual.

The artistic component of colour values, paper, finished result, etc is best learned by practical experience. The JPAS technique (Just Print it And See)

I have a couple of print books, and quite honestly most dwell more on post processing and geeky colour reproduction issues than printing. I hesitate to recommend them because whilst well written and produced, I really did not think they added much to my knowledge base.

That may also be part of the reason you will have difficulty finding a good RECENT book on inkjet printing.

Best I can think if is our own JToolman's AKA Jose Rodriguez youtube videos on the subject. Some are very good entry level tutorials, and Jose will always answer your questions on this site..


rs

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

the Epson book is not bad, revised and updated several times, but nothing beats own experience. Although the author lives within the Epson realm most of the recommendations are quite generic. You may get a previous edition used just for a few dollars - via Amazon etc. You are not loosing much unless you are looking specifically for guidance , driver settings etc on newer printer models.

 

[The Hat]

Best I can think if is our own JToolman's AKA Jose Rodriguez youtube videos on the subject. Some are very good entry level tutorials, and Jose will always answer your questions on this site..

Here is a link to Joe’s channel...
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFPD5beoll9TvvW2u_dR0hQ

 

[pixelhero]

Thanks, that will be helpful.

 

[pixelhero]

@The Hat - Thanks for the link, looked at it, but think this is the one you meant: https://www.youtube.com/user/cheo1949 (incase anyone else looks here)

 

[The Hat]

Yes that seems to be a better link..
Thank you...