Digital BW, The Print

Cleavis,

Even though your monitor may be calibrated it is not matched to the printer
output with a proper monitor profile. So you are operating in the dark a
bit. Not unlike a traditional darkroom where you have to wait until the
print is developed to decide where to move next. If you are not satisfied
with the curves you need to print a reference step wedge, make a change in
the curves, print another wedge, compare the difference, adjust the curve,
print a wedge, etc. until you are getting the smooth tonal ramp you want.

The alternative is to profile your output to your monitor but no one is
commercially offering quad profiles that I am aware of and most color
profiling software is not capable of interpreting a quad print of a target
file.

Profiler Pro will generate a monitor profile of the VM inks. Unfortunately
this is a $900 piece of software that requires data from a
spectrophotometer, about $1,400 for the low end, in order to give you
something close to WYSIWYG from screen to print. This still doesn't build
the separation curves for you but you can then rough adjust the curves on
screen and in the future have a much better chance of having your on screen
view match the print.

The other thing to keep in mind is that the separation curves can induce
posterization or flat tones especially in 8-bit mode. Check your histogram
before and after applying the curve to see what is going on. I have
sometimes found it necessary in delicate images to do everything in 16-bit
mode to avoid image degradation.

Martin Wesley

----- Original Message -----
From: "lyonscox" <lyonscox@...>
To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, March 12, 2002 6:51 PM
Subject: [Digital BW] Using MIS VM inks, a question ongoing


> Several times in printing with the MIS VM on a 1270 (PC), the image
> is lightening up in the process of applying the curves (for me at
> least).
>
> My monitor is calibrated via Spyder and software so I don't want to
> change my monitor gamma settings (and it hasn't chirped at me that
> they have changed from the calibration).
>
> Since the VM is working in a partitioned workflow I'm uncertain what
> direction to make adjustments in?  I thought about using an
> additional color balance layer?  Directly changing the curves
> themselves (all lower)?
>
> I played at printing a step-wedge and scan the results this weekend
> and got the Newstep21 to separate more in the 95-100 range visually
> but not registering it in the scan & sample.  In the process I think
> I just muddied the 75-85% zone.  The stepwedge with no modification
> has a slight jump in tone at 70% and indiscernable separation from 95-
> 100%.
>
> In the Roark developed curves it doesn't quite make logic to me that
> there are a couple that slightly invert in areas - I keep wanting to
> smooth that out mentally?
>
> QUESTION RESTATED simply - best direction to darken the printing
> process without changing monitor gamma?
>
> Thanks (on or off-list),
> Cleavis
>
>
>
>
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