Customer Reviews

Epson Complete Guide to Digital Printing (A Lark Photography Book)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was exceptionally disappointed with this book, given the glowing reviews here at Amazon.
On the plus side, the book is very easy to read, written in a very accessible style. The color reproductions are brilliant, beautiful, with some wonderful shots from pro photographers.
Now for the minuses. I thought (considering the title) I might find some really practical information about the print dialog options: what to expect when adjusting gamma versus brightness, contrast versus saturation, differences in print quality with high speed, photoenhance, finest detail etc. selected. Quote from p. 38, "The only way to see what they can do for you is to try them."
Similarly, information on papers is just as vague. From page 26: "One of the highest quality papers available is actually a tough plastic material-very glossy, offering high color saturation and sharpness." That's wonderful information, except Sheppard never actually tells you what this paper is called. The cynic in me assumes it's not an Epson paper, and thus they would not sanction mention of it in the book.
If you're looking for someone who has sweated the minutiae of inkjet printing and is passing along some of his/her experience to you (as an example of a book I feel really succeeds in that respect, regarding color correction, check out Dan Margulis's book "Professional Photoshop"), this is not that book. But if you're just getting going and you don't know anything about resolution, or available software, or framing a photo, it's worth checking out.

This is a pretty good, if a bit basic, book on printing. I enjoyed the first edition. However, I picked up this so-called "updated edition" recently and was astonished to find virtually no new content. Here's a comprehensive list of the changes in the second edition:

* New image on cover along with Updated Edition banner

* Copyright page shows 2nd edition and 2004 (vs. original 2003) copyright

* TOC shows Simplified Color Management title on page 103 instead of Simplified Work Flow (original heading)

* On page 103, the heading has been changed from -- you guessed it -- Simplified Work Flow to Simplified Color Management

That is it! They used the same printing plates to reprint the book and only changed the plates for the pages listed above.

Essentially they changed two words in a heading on one page and some overhead (copyright page & toc) and are calling it a "Revised Edition."

Lark Books generally has attractive digital photography books with good content at competitive prices, but they've lost a lot of credibility with me on this one.

As a digital image maker, I get my hands on every digital imaging book I can find; I must keep up-to-speed on every aspect of image making, which includes making inkjet prints. In his latest book, Rob Sheppard (with a little help from his digital photo pro friends), showed me a few new tips and tricks for making the perfect inkjet print. . . one of the most important aspects off being a digital image maker.

It's hard to see how anyone would think this was NOT an Epson marketing book, with every chapter followed by a biography of some professional printer who gives a glowing testimonial about the place of Epson in his life! Yet, the book was very useful to me in an area of digital photography in which it seems difficult to find readable information. This book took me from being completely frustrated with printing, ready to give it up completely, to feeling comfortable, in control, and excited about making prints. For me, at least, it was the right book at the right time.

It is refreshing to find a book about digital photography that doesn't expect you to be a long-time expert in Photoshop or computers. The author seems to really care about helping photographers learn to make great prints with an inkjet printer. He does give tips that make it easier to use Photoshop to get a print you really like. He includes stuff that I have never seen in any other book, such as dealing with digital grain, how to selectively sharpen a photo for better prints, how to make your own test image for a test print and much more. I highly recommend it.

In this book, Rob Sheppard has explained the many factors that can affect the success or failure of an inkjet print. This book is mostly about printing photos on Epson inkjet printers and papers but a lot of the factors involved in a good inkjet print can be applied to printing digital art.

One of the most important factors of a great print is the paper. When choosing a paper, you must consider the purpose of the print. How will it be used? Sheppard discusses the many types of Epson papers and the paper's characteristics that can affect your print such as paper weight, thickness, opacity, surface texture and whiteness.

Sheppard then moves on to printers. He discusses the different types of Epson printers and what to consider when purchasing a printer. There is more to consider than just dye vs. pigment ink. You also need to consider droplet size, printer resolution and borderless printing. Resolution is a very important and confusing topic. Sheppard explains the difference between image resolution and printer resolution. He helps to make sense of these strange numbers and how to use them.

Not every photo is perfect. Sheppard walks you through the various digital darkroom techniques that you can use to fix or enhance your photos. He discusses the many adjustments that you can make to your photos using software such as Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. He also discusses special borders and edge techniques.

One of the most confusing aspects of color printing is how to get the print to look like the image on your computer monitor. The colors in the print usually do not match the color on your monitor. Sheppard discusses color management and calibrating your monitor and printer to alleviate this problem. However, the color on the print is also affected by your paper choice and how the print will be viewed. Will the print be hung on the wall? What type of lighting will be in the location? Sheppard shows you how to make a test strip before printing the final print.

Now that all the hard work is done and you have a great print, Sheppard suggests several projects such as postcards, newsletters, posters, greeting cards and more. He also discusses archival paper and inks, print storage and printer maintenance. Throughout the book, Sheppard profiles several professional photographers who have had success with Epson printers and papers.

Rob Sheppard has authored four books on photography. He is also editor for Outdoor Photographer and PCPhoto magazines.

This is definitely the book on printing I have been waiting for. It is a book by a photographer for photographers and not the techno-geek stuff that so much digital photo stuff is. I would strongly recommend it to anyone who cares about photography and getting the best prints possible for them. It covers more than any other book on printing and covers it in a way that anyone can understand. The author obviously knows the material and how to communicate it to photographers like me.

I have been making prints from pictures I took with a digital camera for some time and was never really happy with the results. This book helped me to understand resolution and get much better color. I found the suggestions such as how to adjust color and levels, and the trick of doing the extreme thing very practical advice. I have looked for books on using a digital printer in the past and I wish I had found this sooner.

I was so pleased to find this book. For so many digital photo books, I feel you have to be a computer expert to enjoy it. Not this book. The author makes everything about inkjet printing easy to understand, from choosing the best printer to understanding how to make the best print possible from your image. He seems to be very interested in helping photographers make great prints. He covers stuff that I have never seen in any other book, such as dealing with digital grain, selective sharpening for better prints, edge burning to make a print look better and more. I highly recommend it.

I found eight pages of new and useful information in this book.

*ALMOST* all of the other material covered in this book can be found (for the price of looking it up) within the various PDF's that come with an Epson Printer, the various PDF's available at Epson's Support (Downloads) website and/or at:
www.inkjetart.com/

The aspect of this book that made the strongest impression on me was the ten sections that are advertisments for businesses that use Epson products. This is not "How To" or even "Why To" information and serves only Epson and the advertised individuals and companies.

I paid for this. Special Ordered it in Juneau Ak. Now I can't send it back. Anybody want my copy? Cover the Postage (send me a box with the stamps or whatever) and it's yours.

DON'T be a "Dave"- look it up on the web for FREEEEEEEEEEE! (as in speech, not beer).