Sure you’ll get a result, but it isn’t likely to be one that reflects your artistic intent. While it is true that you could send your color image straight to the printer and let it do the conversion, it’s my personal opinion that this is like sending your photos to the drug store without ever looking at them on your computer. Step 1 – Always Start with a good Black & White Conversion If my workflow changes, I’ll be sure to update this article so that it always reflects my current ABW printing workflow.
My recommendations are based on close consultation with Epson and many of the print masters interviewed on this blog, as well as my own subjective opinions. Before people ask, it should be noted that I am aware of Eric Chan’s Epson 3800: Step-By-Step Printing Workflow and I disagree with enough of it that I can’t recommend it. This article demonstrates how I use the Advanced B&W Photo (ABW) printing feature with a Epson Stylus® Pro 3880 for both a PC and a Mac using Photoshop CS4 and Lightroom 2.7 (respectively).
