I find that using Softproofing in Lightroom gets me to the result I want in a faster way. My prints without Softproofing are usually too light. I have a new BenQ monitor and use Moab paper. I always use the correct profiles. I would have to make about five prints to get the right  brightness. By using Softproofing I normally get it very close on the first print. That's because in Lightroom you can adjust your image while looking at the Soft proof. So no, I don't believe it is a waste of time but quite the contrary. Not only does it save me time but also paper and ink. I really wish QImage had a similar feature.
It would be interesting to hear opinions from professional photographers that make their own prints.

Is it possible in QI ultimate to adjust an image while looking at the Softproofing screen? As in Lightroom?
Regards

I recently contacted Epson about "printer native resolution". In short they say there is no such thing. Also in one of Marrutt's videos he says the samething except explained differently.
This is the conversation with Epson's technical support:

Customer By Web Form 06/14/2020 11:45 AM
Many authors refer to "printer native resolution". Measured in pixels per inch. It is not the same as the dots per inch. What is the native resolution of my Stylus Photo R1900? How come is not in the specifications?


Response Via Email (Dyroza B.)   06/22/2020 02:55 PM
Dear Arturo,
 
Thank you for contacting Epson regarding your Epson Stylus Photo R1900. It is my pleasure to respond to your inquiry.
 
There seems to be some confusion, pixels are native to screens (i.e. TV, monitors, projectors), these are the small squares of color that make up the image on an electronic display and do not apply to printers.
 
Printers solely use DPI as a unit of measurement because they output dots (or droplets) of ink. One color channel consists of 360 nozzles, we are not aware of a "printer native resolution", but if we had to guess that would be the closest thing to that.

Thank you very much for your explanation. I believe now I know how to use QImage. Which, I believe is vastly superior to Lightroom when it comes to printing.
Also thank you very much for your patience.

I believe I'm not wording my question correctly. What I mean is what does QImage do differently if I set the PPI Res to 360 ppi or If I set it to 720 ppi?
Does it resample the image? Just tells the driver to use either 360 or 720? or does it ignore the setting in Print Res?

Thanks for your fast reply. Unfortunately I'm having trouble understanding. So, does Qimage do anything different if I select 360 ppi instead of 720?
Thanks for your patience.

For my Epson R1900 Qimage Ultimate gives me choices for Overdrive, 720, 360, 240 and 180.
What happens if I choose 360 ppi but in the driver I choose "Best Photo"? What dpi will I get?

So,an Epson printer set to "Best Photo" is really both an increase in color accuracy and dpi ?