What are ink level usage defaults in print dialog, and how can the defaults be set?

[robbrown99]

Hi, for my Epson 3880, I noticed that in the print dialog >> Advanced there are a number of % settings for ink level defaults,

Question 1 - specifically I see three defaults:
- UCR Black Usage (set to 50% default). Why 50%?
- Photo-Cyan Usage (set to 50% default). Why 50%?
- Photo-Magenta Usage (set to 50% default). Why 50%?

What are these defaults and why are they set to 50%?

Question 2 - There doesn't appear to be a way of setting these defaults in the desktop configuration tool, they can only be adjusted within the print dialog window. Is this intentional, or an omission?

Screenshot from 2021-04-25 19-21-13.png (39.85 KiB) Viewed 6819 times

I am on Linux Mint 20.1, with license for TurboPrint

[robbrown99]

Hi, is anyone from turboprint able to comment on this? Thank you

[zedonet]

Hello,

the default value is named "50%", of course we could also have named it "100%".

It should express that not all of Cyan is printed using Photo Cyan - in a typical photo, 50% Cyan and 50% Photo Cyan will be used. The same applies to Photo Magenta.

UCR Black Usage = 50% means that in a typical B&W photo, only about 50% black is used, the other 50% comes from a mix of Cyan+Magenta+Yellow (used in ligher shades of gray for smoother dithering).

These settings can be also be made in the desktop configuration tool "TurboPrint Control", dialog "Configure" -> tab "Ink Ctrl":

TurboPrint Linux UCR and Photo Inks.png (46.83 KiB) Viewed 6806 times

[robbrown99]

OK thank you for the explanation, it makes sense.

FYI my UI is a little different - I don't have separate sliders for photo magenta / cyan, only one slider.

Perhaps I set my printer up incorrectly?

Thanks

Screenshot from 2021-05-08 09-04-17.png (31.62 KiB) Viewed 6801 times

[zedonet]

Please excuse the delay.

Your UI looks different because you have a different printer. For the Epson Stylus Pro 3880 and other printers with grey inks, there is a "Photo Inks" slider instead of the "Bright Cyan" and "Bright Magenta" sliders.