Optimal PrinterSettings Within Vista?

[DaveGF]

I am using Vista SP1 with an Epson RX595 printer. I am an architectural
photographer, and was truly stunned by the quality of the prints I was seeing
until I recently did a clean install of Vista. Using the exact same
photograph, same paper, with the same settings in the Epson printer
software.....apples to apples........there is now a noticeable difference in
the print quality. Coarser, and there are areas where the details aren't as
filled in as they were before (halos around window frames of building in
distance) is the best way I can describe it.

My guess is that there is a setting within Vista's printer properties that
isn't the same as it was previously. Can anyone tell me where I can find the
recommended settings for optimal print quality?

 

[Chuck]

It may be that there is a difference in printer drivers.
Vista and windows 7 come with many printer drivers, but the drivers are
usually "basic" drivers, so it's often necessary to use
downloaded drivers from the OEM's web site to fully utilize the printer's
features.
Then, you get into the application settings, printer driver settings(look
here first), and so forth.
Vista and windows 7 also have improved (more complex) "color management". If
not set up properly, it can cause problems as well.
You may have inadvertently set something (camera, windows, application,
printing options, photo file type, compression,etc.) that reduces the
quality of the printed photo.
Without knowing exactly how you go about printing photos, it's hard to give
you any specific advice.

In the years that I've used windows to print photos, major improvements have
occurred, notably with printer output quality and speed.
A confusion factor that also has arisen has to do with the "DPI" of a
printer versus the photo file's pixel count. They are NOT the same.
A printer with decent drivers can print a photo file in multiple sizes. This
means that the printer software can add or remove "dots" to make the photo
file "fit" to the proper dimensions. This obviously will have an effect on
printed quality. (And so on)



Source for current drivers.
http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/...doid=63069457&com.broadvision.session.new=Yes