Digital BW, The Print

"brubaker_family" <brubaker_family@...> wrote:
>
> 
> I am starting to print with the C6 inks on an Epson R280. I recently was able to get a ColorVision 1005 Spectrocolorimeter to use with the SpyderPrint 3 software. I'm a bit confused on how to use the ICC profiles made with the QTR Create ICC RGB. In Paul's C6 Printing Guide it appears that he speaks of both using the ICC in Print Preview and as a printing ICC in PS. In other places I have seen it said that the QTR ICCs are only for use in Print Preview. So, I need clarification on this question.

ICCs can be used for either or both purposes.

I use the ICCs to give a "color managed" workflow when printing from Photoshop (in a Windows environment) through the Epson driver.  I put "color managed" in quotes because I really don't care about color soft proofing.  I know my print colors.  What I like is that the printer will produce prints that match the calibrated monitor rather well.  So, I work in Gray Gamma 2.2 space and simply hit the "print" button to get to the print preview, pull up the QTR that is for the printer, inkset and paper I'm using, and the print that comes out looks like what I anticipated as I edited the file.


> ...

> I note that the SpyderPrint 3 software guide also discusses creating B&W printing profiles with their 225 color target (and optionally adding their additional BW target data). Is this as worthwhile effort to make for the C6 printing process?

No.

I just use a 21-step test file to print a test strip, read the test strip with the spectro, and dump the results into Create ICC-RGB.  This may be a slight oversimplification, but not much.  

Mind you, a lot of work might have gone into making the inkset and finding the Epson driver settings that work best with it.  

Also, with some inksets and printers no Epson driver setting works well and Photoshop curves (that are then embedded in the ICC along with the spectro data) are needed to control it. For example, taming the WorkForce 1100, which I'm working on now, has been a challenge.  Its ink limits are terrible.  But, with some basic curves, glossy and matte papers can almost always be printed very nicely.  

With the Carbon-6 inkset, hopefully it is close enough when no curve is used that you can just use the Lab L data to "linearize" the output with an ICC.

Good luck with the system.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com