Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "Antonis Ricos" 
<antonisphoto@y...> wrote:

(snip)
> 
> As you do the soul-and-wallet searching, consider whether a simple 
reflection 
> densitometer wouldn't be a much saner idea in this case. Since you 
neither 
> have an investment in color processes nor in becoming a business 
offering 
> such services , all this sounds like massive overkill to me. 
> A few years back a friend with a service beaureau and I configured 
an Iris 
> Realist printer to do quad from scratch. Our entire investment was 
a set of 
> Lyson quad inks. We used an existing X-Rite T/R instrument (like my 
810TR) 
> to read strips and that was it. 
> He recently repeated the steps to set up a wide format Ilford 
inkjet printer. 
> Though he owns a DTP-41, that wasn't needed. Essentially he 
developed a 
> new product for his business with minimum investment and the 
results look 
> great (within the limits of those printers). More money coming in, 
less cost!

Antonis,

One of my major concerns is controlling colorcast. Of the three ink 
sets I have seen, Piezo, MIS VM and Spectratone none is quite to my 
taste. Hopefully with the MIS VM I will be able to dial in a tone 
that suits. I was thinking that the full-blown RGB profile would 
allow me to adjust the color cast on screen.

So if you are just measuring density then the workflow would be to 
print and measure a test wedge, make an adjustment curve using the 
measured values to push tones in the proper direction, apply the 
curve as a final step prior to printing, print and repeat until you 
have an accurately printed step wedge that divides the range evenly 
from Dmax to Dmin?

> 
> All this is to say, once again, that I doubt your actual quad 
prints will see that 
> much improvement if you jump from a $900 BW densitometer (Heiland 
TRD2, 
> no software) to $10,000 worth of exotics. Just my $0.02.

What if you jump from the $900 BW densitometer to the $1400 
spectrophotometer? Well I guess if you are just measuring density you 
don't gain anything.

Martin

> 
> I wonder what instruments Paul Roark finds most useful in 
developing his 
> curves.....
> 
> Antonis