Digital BW, The Print

Hello Antara,

>When the file opens it shows  embedded profile as graygamma 
>2.2 and working dot gain 20%. I am on a Mac. I print from PS 7 
>on 2200 using the same settings you outline in Part 3 except for 
>2880. On screen it is very contrasty. Printed it is not.
>Suggestions?

I don't use a Mac, so I don't know if things are different there, but
anyway here goes:

1) In the 2200 Properties window, Color Management section, have these
settings:
  - select "Color Controls"
  - set gamma at 1.8
  - color mode = "Standard"
  - all sliders centered at zero

2) - Paper Type = "Enhanced Matte"
   - Photo 1440 dpi

3) Make sure the back end profile is "Same As Source".  This allows
changing the front end profile without altering the print.

4) If any of your settings were different from these, make a new
print, and this will be the reference print.  Otherwise use the
original print.

>On screen it is very contrasty. Printed it is not.

5) Ok, seems like the next thing would be to get better WYSIWYG.  You
said the contrast is greater on screen, so lets aim for making the
dark areas lighter until they more closely resemble the print.  In
order to go lighter on screen we must decrease the profile number.

>When the file opens it shows embedded profile as graygamma 
>2.2 and working dot gain 20%.

You didn't say which one of these you were using.  Whichever is was,
we must make the number smaller.  On a scale from light to dark, the
profile choices line up like this:

DG10    - lightest
DG15
DG20
GG1.8
DG25
GG2.2
DG30    - darkest

Whichever one you were using, select the next one up and the screen
image will get lighter.  Keep going until you find the one that most
closely resembles the print.  Once you find it, embed it (explained in
detail in Part 4 of the articles), and always use it when working with
this image.

6) At this point the screen image should more closely match the print.
   If you are unhappy with the print, then you should be unhappy with
the screen image, so adjust the image to suit and the print should
change to match.

7) That's the theory.  In actuality, the profiles make subtle changes
in contrast as well as brightness.  You may find that none of the
seven available profiles makes a satisfactory match to the print.  In
this case you can either live with it and do the best you can, or make
a custom profile that gets closer (explained in Part 4).  The better
WYSIWYG you can get, the easier and quicker it is to work up prints. 
Under the best of circumstances, it is difficult to match an
illuminated screen image with an opaque print.  Over time you get
better at interpolating the difference in your mind.

8) As for not getting good blacks in the print, the areas in the image
that you want to be really black must be RGB 0.  Anything greater than
0, such as 1 or 2, is not black (it's almost black <g>).  The printers
are sensitive enough, even with BO, to show a difference in just a
couple of RGB units (I like to use RGB values instead of % because
it's more precise.  Since there are 256 RGB values [0-255], it's about
2.5 RGB units for each %.  So an RGB value of 5 is about 98%.  RGB 2
or 3 is about 99%.  A system with a good curve will show a difference
in the 98/99/100 % steps (or every 2.56 RGB units).

9) "Black" in your print may not be really black, depending on the
ink.  It may be dark brown.  So "black" is a relative term, meaning
the densest color that a given ink is capable of.  If you really are
getting gray instead of black from RGB 0 areas, then there may be a
problem with the system (check to be sure the ink carts are in the
proper positions).

I hope this helps.  Please see Part 4 for more details on this.


Regards,
Clayton


Info on black and white digital printing at    
http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm