We’re getting the band back together and hitting the road again. The Epson Print Academy is going to Atlanta this Saturday, November 8th at the Renaissance Atlanta Hotel Downtown.

Featuring Andrew Rodney (The Digital Dog), Jeff Schewe, Greg Gorman, Mac Holbert and John Paul Caponigro, the new Epson Print Academy is headed to Atlanta for the first of a 15 city tour. We’re dragging along one of the new Epson Stylus® Pro 7900 printers with UltraChrome® HDR inks and we’ll be teaching how to get the most out of that, or any fine art ink jet printer. In fact, attendees are registered to win one of the 7900 printers (given out next June) or a change to win one of 15 4880 printers (one will be given away at each venue). For more information, check out the web site at Epson Print Academy.

• Science of Color Management
• Calibration, Characterization
• Advanced Custom Profiling
• Color Spaces, Gamut, Bit Depth and L*a*b
• Advanced Driver Settings

• Advanced Photoshop CS4 Camera Raw 5 Settings
• In-Depth Understanding of the Lightroom 2 Develop Module
• Non-Destructive Workflow
• Smart Objects
• Working and Printing in 16 bit
• Editing in Photoshop CS4 with Lightroom 2 Managed Files
• Printing From Lightroom 2 with Files Edited in Photoshop CS4

• Developing a Strategy for Image Enhancement
• Creating a Sense of Dimensionality
• Working With an Exit Strategy
• Drawing with Light
• Mastering Selections
• Gradient, Contour and Luminous Masking
• Managing Midtone Contrast
• New Techniques with Photoshop CS4
• Advanced Burning and Dodging
• Evaluating and Employing Advanced Black and White Conversion Methods
• Working With Microporous and Cotton Fiber Media
• Printing to an Epson Stylus Pro 7900 with Ultrachrome HDR Ink

PixelGenius, LLC has added a free ICC profile for the new Epson Stylus® Photo 2880 Printers designed to work with the Epson Exhibition Fiber Paper. The free profiles are available from the PixelGenius web site on this page. This brings the number of free profiles available to 10 including profiles for the R2400, 3/4/7/9800 series as well as the 4/7/9/11880 series printers.

PixelGenius has partnered with Epson America, Inc. in the development of these custom profiles for Exhibition Fiber Paper for use with Epson Stylus® Pro Printers that use UltraChrome K3 Ink™ and UltraChrome K3 Ink™ with Vivid Magenta. In addition PixelGenius has made available useful color management information and instructions on how to create the finest prints.

The profiles are provided “As Is” with no warrantee nor direct tech support from either Epson nor PixelGenius. The profiles have been created and tested by members of PixelGenius and are being provided to the printing community for free as a public service. 

We highly suggest that you visit the Epson Web Site to make sure you’ve downloaded and installed the most current printer driver and firmware for your particular printers.

To use these profiles, you should install them in the correct location for your OS;

Mac OS X: /Library/ColorSync/Profiles (available for all users)
Mac OS X: User/Library/ColorSync/Profiles (available for just this users)

Windows98: C:\Windows\System\Color
Windows XP: C:\Windows\System32\Spool\Drivers\Color
Windows 2000, XP: C:WinNT\ System32\Spool\Drivers\Color
Windows Vista: Right-click on the ICC profile, and choose “Install Profile”

Press Release: Noritsu Koki announces an agreement that establishes technical cooperation between Noritsu Koki and Adobe Systems. This agreement enables photo retailers with Noritsu input terminals (CT terminals) and Noritsu minilab systems to accept and process raw image data, which is widely used in digital SLR camera photography. This is the first time that raw image data will be supported at the retail level, opening the door for retailers who want to easily provide high quality photographic prints from raw image files.

Raw image data provides more flexibility, higher quality, and more creativity than other image formats such as JPEG and TIFF, and this is why the use of raw image data has grown rapidly along with the increase in popularity of digital SLR cameras. However, raw formats differ between different camera manufacturers, as most manufacturers have chosen their own proprietary raw format. This means that when a photographer prints image data at home or at retail, they must first use proprietary software to convert the raw image data into another format such as JPEG.

Noritsu Koki and Adobe Systems have entered an agreement in which Noritsu Koki is supplied with technology to convert raw image data into the Digital Negative (Hereinafter DNG™ ) format, which is a standard raw format developed by Adobe Systems.

This DNG conversion technology will be incorporated in Noritsu minilab systems. This enables Noritsu equipment to read and process raw image data from each camera manufacturer without requiring an additional conversion step beforehand. Furthermore, the converted image data is then enhanced with Noritsu’s AccuSmart™ image processing technology, providing high quality photographs and media writing. This means that customers can easily receive a high quality print service, eliminating the need to conduct raw image data processing (conversion) beforehand.

The list of camera models supported by DNG conversion is extensive, and this list will continue to grow. Constant additions of new models ensure that digital camera models released in the future will also be supported.

Support is scheduled to be given to Noritsu equipment around the end of May 2008.

As of January 10, 2008. According information gathered by Noritsu Koki.
DNG™ is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated.
Noritsu and AccuSmart are trademarks of Noritsu Koki.

Information about raw image data that can be converted with DNG is available on the Adobe Systems Incorporated web page listed below. Some models may not be supported.

http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/cameraraw.html

Users of Noritsu products
In order to input and print raw image data with Noritsu input terminals (CT terminals) and minilab systems, a version upgrade is required for the equipment used.

These drivers provide enhanced functionality as well as the potential for 16 bit/channel printing–just as soon as imaging applications can actually send 16 bit data. Neither Photoshop CS3 nor Lightroom 1.3 do yet.

The drivers that are currently available are:
Stylus Pro 3800 Series

Stylus Pro 4800 Series
Stylus Pro 4880 Series

Stylus Pro 7800 Series
Stylus Pro 7880 Series

Stylus Pro 9800 Series
Stylus Pro 9880 Series

Stylus Pro 11880 Series

The download page is Professional Imaging Public Beta Leopard Printer Drivers

Additional info is at Epson’s Macintosh Leopard Support

There is no word, at this time, regarding Leopard drivers for Epson Stylus Photo printers such as the R2400 and R1800 although Leopard drivers are expected (some time in December, 2007).

The profiles are available on the PixelGenius web site for free download. Click here to go to the download page. PixelGenius also posted detailed instructions on the use of the profiles as well as a Profile FAQ page that includes gamut plots of the EFP 11880 printer profile with new Vivid Magenta Inks and Adobe RGB color space.

Profiles are available for:
Epson UltraChrome K3 Ink™ Family of Printers

• Epson Stylus® Photo R2400 Printers
• Epson Stylus® Pro 3800 Printers
• Epson Stylus® Pro 4800 Printers
• Epson Stylus® Pro 7800 Printers
• Epson Stylus® Pro 9800 Printers

Epson UltraChrome K3 Ink™ with Vivid Magenta Family of Printers

• Epson Stylus® Pro 4880 Printers
• Epson Stylus® Pro 7880 Printers
• Epson Stylus® Pro 9880 Printers
• Epson Stylus® Pro 11880 Printers

For the time being, if you are interested in participating in helping test the solutions, you can apply for the position of “tester” by visiting John’s blog, reading the post and following the directions (note, it’s really important to follow the directions!) See: Fixes for Photoshop printing due soon

Press Release: LONG BEACH, Calif. – Oct. 8, 2007 – Epson America Inc. today announced what many professional photographers are saying is the perfect blend of revered darkroom papers with the limitless creative control of ink jet printing with the introduction of its Signature Worthy™ Exhibition Fiber Paper. The paper will be available in 25-sheet packages of 8.5”x 11,” 13”x 19,” 17”x 22,” and 24”x 30” cut sheets.

This breakthrough paper was developed over several years in collaboration with many of the industry’s leading professional photographers to meet their most discerning requirements. Many who have contributed to the development of Exhibition Fiber Paper have commented that what sets it apart are its extraordinary blacks, clean whites and a surface texture that is just like a true black-and-white silver gelatin print. Additionally, Exhibition Fiber Paper produces extraordinary color output enabling photographers to make stunning prints in both color and black-and-white.

Testimonials from Leading Professional Photographers
“All I’ve been hearing for the last five years is that there’s a true fiber-based ink jet paper coming just like F surface air dried,” said Vincent Versace, fine art photographer and educator. “I’ve seen them all, I’ve printed on all of them, and I was still waiting until I printed on Epson’s Exhibition Fiber. Not only does the paper look like F surface air dried, but some of my images actually look better than they do on silver gelatin. To say the D-Max is amazing is an understatement. The whites are significantly cleaner and brighter than anything I’ve printed on, which means I can tone digitally in the computer with extraordinary precision and I am not locked into a manufacturer’s one tone. With Exhibition Fiber I’m getting details in deep blacks that I have never had before and overall this paper produces black-and-white prints that you literally fall into.”

“My black-and-white prints are amazing on this paper and the color is better than anything I have ever seen,” said Greg Gorman, well-known personality photographer and workshop leader. “When I saw my first print on Exhibition Fiber there was a 3-dimensionality to my color work that I haven’t seen with any paper before. For the first time I can use one paper that looks amazing in both color and black-and-white.”

More About Exhibition Fiber Paper
As part of an ongoing collaboration with creative professionals to produce the highest quality prints, Epson has partnered with the Pixel Genius™ group, a unique collaboration of industry-leading digital workflow experts, to produce custom color profiles for use with the new Exhibition Fiber Paper. The custom profiles will be available for download October 15 at www.pixelgenius.com/epson, along with valuable information on their use and how to optimize a color managed workflow.

“The print is in many ways the ultimate expression of photography,” said Dan (Dano) Steinhardt, marketing manager, Professional Imaging, Epson America. “Printmaking has a long-standing tradition that when the highest quality is achieved, the print is then worthy of the artist’s signature. Many of the world’s leading professional photographers are telling us that Epson’s Exhibition Fiber Paper is truly, Signature Worthy.”

More information about Exhibition Fiber Paper can be found at www.proimaging.epson.com.

Availability
Exhibition Fiber Paper will be available in November through authorized Epson Professional Imaging resellers.

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.

Dave says: “The change which seems to be causing the most consternation is the change from application-wide page setup to document-specific page setup in Photoshop on Windows. This is the way the Mac version has always behaved, and was the way the Windows version of Photoshop was intended to behave way back in the day, but for one reason or another, that never quite got hooked up.

With CS3, I was brought in to “improve and modernize the printing code,” and part of that effort has been trying to get the Mac and Windows versions more in sync. In the short run, this means trying to rip out code that behaved differently between the two platforms, or add code to make them behave identically because of a shortcoming on one platform or the other. In the long run, it means less code to think about and to write so we can add new features more quickly.

But people are still feeling pain. Well, there are at least two solutions to the problem. The first is using Actions in photoshop. If you start recording a new action, go to File->Page Setup in Photoshop and set up your page and printer and all the printer settings, you can run that action on every new document you create to give it that page setup. Or even easier, if you always want all documents set up the same for your default printer, you can follow the directions in our technote on non-centered documents which tells how to change the page setup system wide.”

GATINEAU, Quebec–THE preservation center at Canada’s national archive here might have the last word when it comes to keeping the color in color photography.

A four-story concrete building, which is enclosed within a second protective building, holds two warehouse-size vaults where negatives, prints and film are kept in the dark at 0 degrees and 25 percent relative humidity.

Before anything in the collection can be examined, technicians must put it into an acclimatization chamber that resembles an oversize stainless-steel refrigerator, where it is warmed up over a 24- to 48-hour period.

Henry Wilhelm, an American researcher on photographic preservation, says the complex and costly system is worth the trouble.

“Those images should last thousands of years,” he said from his office in Grinnell, Iowa. “Imagine seeing photos of the building of the pyramids.”

But even officials at the archive are uncertain how to manage the medium that now dominates photography: inkjet prints.

“We really need to figure out what we have to do with them,” said Tania Passafiume, senior conservator of photographic records. “This is the history of photography: things change.”

Despite years of talks among researchers like Mr. Wilhelm, inkjet makers and scientists, the International Organization for Standardization has yet to produce a criterion for testing the permanence of inkjet prints and interpreting the results.

Consumers buying inkjet printers to make prints of their digital photos therefore face a difficult task, said James M. Reilly, director of the Image Permanence Institute at the Rochester Institute of Technology. “There’s too much variety in the inkjet marketplace to give general advice,” he said. “It’s also evolving very, very quickly.”

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Source: InformationWeek
Written by Paul McDougall

Adobe Systems(ADBE) on Monday said it plans to release a Windows Vista-compatible driver for printers that use its PostScript page description language in July — a full six months after Microsoft’s new operating system was released for general sale.

PCs running Windows Vista can currently print documents on PostScript-enabled printers using a default driver that ships with Vista. But the default driver isn’t capable of enabling advanced printing effects like transparencies and gradients, Adobe said.

Drivers send instructions back and forth between computers and connected peripheral devices like printers, monitors, and CD-burners.
Read entire article

Think about a world where you can print photos without ink, a printer cartridge or a big printer sitting alongside your computer. That’s the promise of Zink Imaging, a Waltham, Mass., start-up whose name suggests its bold goal: zero ink.

Zink is just one of 68 companies presenting new products at DEMO, a conference in Palm Desert that starts tonight and runs through Thursday. But its potential for shaking things up makes it stand out from the companies that have briefed me on their announcements.

A spinoff from Polaroid, Zink is today announcing a novel printing technology that could lead to a new category of devices. The company’s scientists have been working for about five years to develop a special kind of photo paper that needs no ink. That means they don’t need expensive printer housings or cartridges, either.

That would allow Zink to embed printers into portable devices such as digital cameras or into accessories for cell phone cameras.

Zink printers work differently from inkjet and laser printers. While inkjet and lasers form colored dots on paper by passing over spots several times, Zink printers heat up a printing element and roll the plastic paper past the print head just once.

Zink prints a 2-by-3-inch picture in 30 seconds — somewhat slower than inkjet printers — that comes out dry. It brings back the instant gratification of 1970s-era Polaroid picture, without forcing you to wait for it to develop. And it’s a much better quality print than Polaroids were.

With Zink devices, the plastic paper has layers of plastic in the middle with millions of tiny crystal dyes that can be activated by heat. If you heat the paper a certain amount, the dyes melt and you get yellow. If you heat it less but for a slightly longer time, you get magenta. If you heat it a little less and slightly longer, you get cyan. Those colors can be mixed to print any color. If you think of microwaving a frozen dinner, you get the idea.

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Nash Editions: Photography and the Art of Digital Printing

While you certainly may know Graham as a member of the rock band Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young you may not realize that Graham is a passionate photographer. Nash Editions almost single handedly developed fine art digital printing. (see the PSN story about Nash’s PMDA Award)

Fine art digital printing was born in the beginning of 1990 when Graham and Mac took a hacksaw to a $125,000 Iris printer (and voiding the warranty) to get it to accept fine art papers. That printer is now on display at the Smithsonian.

This book uses thought-provoking essays and glorious artwork to sum up not only Nash Editions’ achievements but also the state of fine-art digital printmaking.

After a brief history of printmaking, you’ll reach the heart of the book: an essay by Holbert on the genesis of Nash Editions and fine-art digital printing (which details the studio’s interactions with major artists like David Hockney); an essay by MoMA consultant Henry Wilhelm (which includes a technical comparison of traditionally and digitally prepared prints); and commentary from Nash Editions artists. The book’s more than 100 illustrations include Nash Editions artwork, photos of artists in the studio, images of the machines used in digital printing, and illustrations of the proofing process.

Essay by Richard Benson

Example images from the book.

Nash Editions: Photography and the Art of Digital Printing
By Nash Editions
Published by New Riders
ISBN-10: 0-321-31630-4; ISBN-13: 978-0-321-31630-1
Published: Dec 12, 2006; Copyright 2007
Dimensions 9 X 10-1/2; Pages: 250; Edition: 1st.
List price $50.00

Contents:

• Introduction – Graham Nash
• The History of Nash Editions – R. Mac Holbert
• The Four Stages of Photography – Richard Benson
• A History of Permanence in Traditional and Digital Color Photography: The Role of Nash Editions – Henry Wilhelm
• Selected Bibliography
• Acknowledgements
• Index

R. MAC HOLBERT is a photographer and co-founder of Nash Editions. Prior to his work with Nash Editions, he was tour manager for Crosby, Stills & Nash; Peter, Paul & Mary, and Carole King. Holbert has lectured extensively and conducted workshops on digital output, digital imaging, and fine-art printing on Iris and Epson large-format printers. Under his supervision, Nash Editions is a beta tester for Epson America, Inc. and other software and hardware manufacturers.

GRAHAM NASH is a lifelong photographer and co-founder of the rock group Crosby, Stills & Nash. While best known as a musician—Nash first became famous as a member of The Hollies during the British Invasion of the mid-1960s. He has also pursued a parallel career as a photographer, collector, and digital imaging pioneer. His photographs have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in numerous museums and galleries. A retrospective book of his photographic work, Eye to Eye: Photographs by Graham Nash, was published in 2004.

Edited by Garrett White, founder of Five Ties Publishing, Inc., New York, has edited and produced numerous books on photography and fine art, including American Photography: A Century of Images, Eye to Eye: Photographs by Graham Nash, and Forbidden Art: The Postwar Russian Avant-Garde. He is the former director of publications at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Order now from Amazon.

We’re coming to Atlanta for a special one day Epson event – check out the Epson Print Academy web site for details and online registration. There’s still room available!

What will we be covering?
* In-depth color management and custom profiling
* Creating and optimizing a professional workflow
* Expert-level fine-art printing techniques
* Using a RIP for contract proofing and to increase productivity
* Collaborating with graphic designers and commercial printers
* Advanced black and white printing techniques

In addition to the Track Two (pro) all day sessions, there’s an Epson Print Gallery as well as a Tech Expo with booths from the sponsors: Adobe, Eizo Displays, GTI Light boxes, Lexar Media, Light Impressions, Logitech, Microsoft, National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP), nik software, onOne Software, Solux, Wacom and X-Rite.

George Jardine, Pro Photography Evangelist of Adobe will also be on hand to show the most recent build of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.

…with a few friends for the Epson Print Academy in Salt Lake City this Saturday, November 11th. (Boy, I hope they have a Starbucks there…)

We’re coming to Salt Lake City for a special one day Epson event – check out the Epson Print Academy for details and online registration. There’s still room availalbe!

What will we be covering?
* In-depth color management and custom profiling
* Creating and optimizing a professional workflow
* Expert-level fine-art printing techniques
* Using a RIP for contract proofing and to increase productivity
* Collaborating with graphic designers and commercial printers
* Advanced black and white printing techniques

For those attendees from Phoenix be sure to check the Epson Print Academy Track Two Info page. Remember the login & password? Here’s a photo report of the Phoenix event held October 28th.

Phoenix, well actually Chandler, started off as a beautiful sunny day-perfect for spending all day in a dark room, right?

As some of you may know, it’s an Epson Print Academy tradition to start off the day with a Starbucks Mocha. Mac was kind enough to bring me one.

Well before the crowds came in, Mac, Andrew Rodney (subbing for Bruce Fraser) and I were busy finalizing the setup.

Meanwhile, out front people were queuing up at registration.

The Print Academy always comes with a Tech Expo area as well as an Epson Stylus Pro Print Gallery.

Sponsors had table areas, here’s the Microsoft rep talking about Vista.

The Pro dealer for the day was Professional Marketing Services (PMS-I think the dealer made a joke about that)

OnOne Software was there…

As well as the Adobe rep.

Free tutorials and Adobe pens were popular.

Nik Software was also there…

…as well as GTI showing their light booths.

Wacom demoed their Cintiq tablet/display.

Lexar was there…sorry, no free compact flash cards.

Coffee was served and the attendees needed it.

Jack Reznicki (left) joined the road tour taking care of Track One. Dan (AKA Dano) Steinhardt from Epson was there…the Print Academy is his baby.

People wandered around looking at the print gallery.

Then the doors were opened (and the crowd rushed the doors).

Even before we started, Mac Holbert was out front answering questions.

Outside the Track Two doors, Dano gives his watch a worried glance.

No worries Dano, we always start on time (well, within a minute or so).

One of the attendees mugging for the camera.

I watched where he sat so I could keep an eye on him.

The crowd is ready…

Andrew kicked off the morning talking about his favorite topic, Color Management.

Andrew has had to fill in for Bruce Fraser due to Bruce’s inability to travel. But Andrew does a great job (he just doesn’t have that Scottish accent).

At the break, attendees can look at prints made on the 4800 and now the new Epson 3800 (we are now traveling with both).

I’m up so Mac grabs my camera to snap a few of me on stage.

At lunch, we ate outside. Lovely day (mid-seventies) and I heard the sirloin sandwiches were great, I got stuck with turkey again (I never get out in time).

At lunch Jack gets into the game grabbing my camera to shoot me.

But I got him back…I wandered into his Track One session to “sneak up” on him.

Track One always has more people than Track Two.

In the afternoon, Mac Holbert covers fine art printing.

George Jardine was there from Adobe (left) and had demoed Lightroom Beta 5. On the right, Andrew gets excited when I tell him Greg Gorman sent me down a really nice bottle of wine for dinner.

The “wrap”. Another successful event. Right, a dealer loads up his stuff in a pickup truck. (A pickup truck?, well, ok I guess we were in Chandler).

Walking back from dinner (after Greg’s bottle of vino as well as a few additional bottles) I snap a shot of the last daylight and the moon over the palms.

The web is a great way of promoting and showing off your work: it allows you to reach a wide audience with minimal outlay, and putting together a small portfolio site isn’t too taxing for any designer. However, many clients and employers still prefer viewing work as hard copies and handling the final printed product.

Whether this is in the form of a hand-made book or simply a few examples of your work that specifically relate to a client’s interests, sometimes there’s nothing like holding a printed page in your hand and seeing it in the cold light of day. This is especially relevant if your work is made for print anyway (as opposed to web design, made for the screen) because it will give the client a strong idea of the quality of your work, and how it might also look in relation to their own project. For example, if you’re pitching for a packaging design job, try printing your previous package designs and logos onto a card that most accurately mimics the client’s end product (that is, as thick and glossy as your printer will allow).

So having established that there are times when you’ll need to print off work yourself, how do you go about it? In this tutorial we start by looking at the kind of conversations you might have with an external printer. Home printers are these days capable of very high-quality printing, but if you’re looking to have work printed up professionally, you may find yourself flicking through Yellow Pages – maybe because you’d like it on a particular paper stock, or want the artwork bound as a limited-edition book at a small publisher.

Read entire article and download the PDF (12.5MBs)

Track One teaches digital SLR owners how to create prints just like the pros. Track Two teaches professionals advanced techniques to take printing to the next level.

The new cities and dates are:

October 28, 2006 in Phoenix, AZ
Doubletree Paradise Valley/Scottsdale

November 11, 2006 in Salt Lake City, UT
Hilton Salt Lake City Center

December 2, 2006 in Atlanta, GA
Renaissance Atlanta Hotel Downtown

January 20, 2007 in Los Angeles/Orange County, CA
Doubletree Hotel Santa Ana/Orange County Airport

January 28, 2007 in New York City, NY
Hotel Pennsylvania

Track One topics include:

* A step-by-step experience following admired nature photographer John Shaw, beginning on a photo shoot in the Sierras and culminating in the creation of a print in the digital darkroom

* A discussion of common digital file problems and fixes provided by master printmaker Mac Holbert of Nash Editions

* New Photoshop® CS2 tutorials from Adobe’s Senior Digital Imaging Evangelist Julienne Kost

* A demonstration from celebrity photographer Greg Gorman showcasing how he creates stunning black and white prints

* An overview from Bob Krist explaining how he prepares digital camera files to address the growing interest in using digital projectors and multimedia viewers

Track Two features live presentations by renowned industry experts such as John Paul Caponigro, Bruce Fraser, Greg Gorman, Mac Holbert, and Jeff Schewe. Topics include:

* In-depth color management and custom profiling

* Creating and optimizing a professional workflow

* Expert-level fine-art printing techniques

* Using a RIP for contract proofing and to increase productivity

* Collaborating with graphic designers and commercial printers

* Advanced black and white printing techniques

Early bird pricing for Track One is $49.95 when participants register at least three days prior to the program. Pricing for Track Two is $99.95 after a special $50 discount for professionals. More information including the complete tour schedule and how to register is available at www.EpsonPrintAcademy.com. Price includes admission to the new Print Academy Expo, featuring the latest products for pros.

See the PhotoshopNews coverage of the following tour cities:
Dallas
Miami
Boston
New York City
Seattle
Los Angeles
San Francisco
Reports from Minneapolis, Montréal and Toronto are coming.

Press Release: DUBLIN, Ireland — June 15, 2006 — Research and Markets has announced the addition of PC Printers and Photo Printers in the United States to their offering.

U.S. factory sales of PC and photo printers in the U.S. in 2005 were $3.8 billion. Despite increased volume sales, dollar sales decreased 25% between 2000 and 2005 at current prices, and decreased 34% at constant 2005 prices. The drop in dollar sales is due to a continued rapid decline in pricing for printers. During the period under review, the average estimated price per unit fell from $294 to $200.

Inkjet printers and inkjet multi-function printers (MFPs) accounted for about 73.5% of unit sales in 2005 and laser printers (mono and color) and laser MFPs accounted for 26.5% of unit sales. However, inkjets are losing share to MFPs of all kinds, and to laser devices. The price of laser units has fallen dramatically, putting color laser printers within reach of many consumers, while MFPs provide more functionality to the customer, reducing the clutter of multiple products. In the near term, demand for laser printers and laser MFPs will help stem the decline in average per unit price.

Based on research, overall growth in the PC and photo printer market should be flat or decline between 2006 and 2010, with laser printer sales increasing and inkjet device sales decreasing. Looking forward, under threat is the business model that relies primarily on post-hardware sales revenue from ink and paper. Retail ink kiosks, third-party cartridge providers, and online/retail photo printing options can reduce the demand for supplier branded ink and paper. With hardware margins already taxed, any shift in post-sale profits will cause turbulence in the market.

Printers are the focus and concentration of this report. Any printer that can print photos from a PC, digital camera, or memory card is included, provided the product is sold to a consumer or used in a small office/home office (SOHO) environment. Machines intended for professional purposes or primarily sold to corporate entities are not the subject of this report.

Products covered are inkjet and laser printers, including monochrome laser printers, portable and standard inkjet photo printers, and multi-function printers (MFPs) that function as printer, fax machine, scanner and copier. These products are bought through traditional retail channels for home use, including home office applications. Other retail channels include the Internet, mail order, catalogues, and computer resellers.

Accessories (toner, ink cartridges, cables) are not the subject of the report, but are discussed as relevant. Sales figures do not include sales of toner, cartridges or printer cables. Printing services are not included in this report.

This report encompasses HTS codes 8471605200 and 8471605400 for laser and inkjet printers, respectively.

Companies and brands mentioned:
Canon
Dell
Epson
Hewlett-Packard
Lexmark

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c38274

The awards are presented in honour of William Henry Perkin, who discovered mauveine (vivid purple) 150 years ago. It was the first commercially developed synthetic colorant and its discovery opened the way for the production of many other synthetic colorants.

Instituted shortly after the jubilee of the discovery of mauve to celebrate Perkin’s unique contribution to the coloration industry, the Perkin Medal is the highest honour the Society can bestow. It is only awarded for extraordinary scientific achievements and these are the first medals to be awarded in the 21st century.

Kenneth McGhee the Society’s CEO says, “The SDC is delighted to honour Minoru Usui of Epson for his striking scientific contribution to the development of piezo inkjet printer technology.”

Epson Micro Piezo printheads use original technologies to fire the precise, tiny and perfectly formed droplets crucial to creating a fine print. An electrical signal is sent to the piezo elements placed above each nozzle on the print head, and ink droplets are fired according to the force generated by the change in shape of these elements. This technology allows precise control of the piezo elements, which in turn means precise control of ink droplet size and fantastic print quality.

About the Society of Dyers and Colourists
The Society is an educational charity and a chartered professional society, established in 1884 to advance the science of colour. The chartered part means that the Society is a Royal Chartered Institute, legally constituted via royal approval and governed by Royal Warrant and ultimately by the Privy Council of the UK. It is recognised and respected worldwide for the charity work, research and publication of colour related matters.

The Society operates internationally in the UK, China, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka with affiliate societies in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The Society publishes technical papers, textbooks and operates websites see http://www.sdc.org.uk

About Epson
Epson is a global leader in imaging products including printers, 3LCD projectors and small- and medium-sized LCDs. With an innovative and creative culture, Epson is dedicated to exceeding the vision and expectations of customers worldwide with products known for their superior quality, functionality, compactness and energy efficiency.

Epson is a network of 90,701 employees in 120 companies around the world, and is proud of its ongoing contributions to the global environment and to the communities in which it is located. Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corp., the Group had consolidated sales of 1549.5 billion yen in fiscal 2005.

To access the downloads page you’ll need to enter the Track Two login and password provided at your Print Academy Track Two session. Check the EPSON PRINT ACADEMY TRACK TWO INFO PAGE for access to the downloads page.

Most people know Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Graham Nash for the high harmonies and inspired songwriting that helped make Crosby, Stills, Nash (and sometimes Young) a rock legend.

Others know Nash as a gifted photographer with a keen eye for the surreal. His photographs have appeared in solo and group exhibitions in museums and galleries around the world, and in books such as “Eye to Eye: Photographs by Graham Nash.”

One thing not many people know: Nash and friend R. Mac Holbert, who was also CSN’s tour manager, pioneered fine art digital printmaking.

In 1990, Nash and Holbert helped to build the world’s first fine art digital printer — from a $126,000 IRIS 3047 proofer and a vacuum cleaner borrowed from Holbert’s wife, Ruthanne. In 2005, Nash and Holbert donated the printer to the Smithsonian Institution, where it resides at the Museum of American History next to Samuel Morse’s daguerreotype camera. (See the PSN article)

Nash Editions, the child of Nash’s and Holbert’s inventiveness, is widely recognized as a premier limited-edition printmaker of the work of young artists, as well as modern masters such as Horace Bristol, Pedro Meyer, Olivia Parker, William Matthews, David Hockney, Jamie Wyeth, Stephen Hannock, Eric Fischl, and Kim Weston.

And today, all of it is reproduced using Power Macs and Epson printers.

Read the entire story

Also, check out the PSN article Print Show by R. Mac Holbert-Seattle.

Mac is also on the road with the Epson Print Academy appearing this coming Saturday, April 22nd in LA. Future dates include May 6th. in San Francisco, May 20th in Minneapolis, May 27th in Montreal and in Toronto on June 3rd.