Epson EcoTank ET-2720 Printing Very Dark

[kresslein]

I just got an Epson EcoTank ET-2720 and when I print photos on 4x6 Glossy paper, they come out VERY dark. Not just a little dark. I'm on a mac running 10.13.6 and the latest version of Photoshop. Are there profiles I need to load? Specific color settings to manage?

 

[The Hat]

Specific color settings to manage?

Mac monitors are brilliantly clear and bright and that’s what your problem is, you need to calibrate your monitor and tone down the brightness..

 

[kresslein]

That's not it at all. I've had many inkjets over the years and none of them ever printing anything dark like this one.

 

[allafter]

That's not it at all. I've had many inkjets over the years and none of them ever printing anything dark like this one.

Same issues. A decent test for printer color management is download a know color target image ( X-Rite, Fuji etc.) and print without making any changes to that file, let the printer manage the color. These targets are "balanced" to produce good prints if the printer's management is decent. I have not found a solution for the disappointing color from the ET 2720. Your assessment I believe is correct, this printer is just not pretty. I own it to make plain paper prints of documents and it does the job at an acceptable cost.

 

[ClarenceL]

Found L3150(Also L3110, L5190) driver on Windows & OSX might be only CMY inks for color printing on all paper types with "Glossy" keyword.
I am still checking the issue via microscope.

Since ET 2710, 2720 might share the same driver code base. It might be related.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Yes, these printers with 4 inks all just use CMY when you select a glossy paper type, the printhead in this model is used widely in lots of other Epson lower end printers - WF.... workforce home office oriented printers - XP home printers and a range of ET-xxxx printers for multipurpose use, they either may use 4 pigment inks - WF-models - or CMY dye and a pigment black or 4 dye inks. Yes, they use a common driver base, and black is generally excluded when you select a glossy paper. But if you want to get the printer to use the black ink as well you just select a matte or inkjet paper (or normal/copy paper) which overcomes some limitations, and you can print on glossy paper as well as long as you use a dye black in the black ink tank. This all applies to the black ink, if you print gray tones they all are mixed by the driver with CMY inks. The edge definition of black letters is finer with pigment black than with a dye black, the ink may spread further in the fibrous surface of plain paper than on coated/photo papers.

 

[ClarenceL]

After some more investigate about the older model driver.
Seems like most of the 4 color EPSON dye ink printer use CMY only for glossy paper type.
On Ecotank models, the exception might only appear on L1300, L550, L565 generation.
They have CMYK on glossy paper type.

But since L385(the time L655 Precision Core introduce with pigment black), all EcoTank 4 dye Ink models driver behavior changed.

I also checked some old dye ink cartridge model around 2007~2011, they also apply the same rule. Only CMY on glossy paper type.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

the exception might only appear on L1300, L550, L565 generation.
They have CMYK on glossy paper type.

How did you check/tested this ?

 

[ClarenceL]

How did you check/tested this ?

If I select driver pause print. Enable the always RAW spool mode in misc.
Get the .SPL file in windows\system32\spool\PRINTER.
Decode them to identify what ink number calling.
So, currently I can check how they works without really have that target printer.
(Color:0 is black)
But some new model Like L6250, they changed print method. Seems like RLE or TIFF raster, I can't decode them yet.

 

[ClarenceL]

How did you check/tested this ?

Just notice the L model much earlier available in Asia & EU
You might still have L310. It should be 4 colors print on glossy paper.
The ET- model in US seems like the first Ecotank available as ET-2500/ET-2550/ET-4500 around 2015.
It's just the same year in L series still available 4 inks glossy paper type prints.

I checked the driver on ET-2500, it could print 4 colors in glossy paper.

The same 664 dye ink also used by ET-2600/ET-2650, but they only have CMY 3 color inks on glossy paper.