Digital BW, The Print

I am sure that the next stage of B&W printing will be to allow a colour
managed workflow that includes accurate control over the inks but I suspect
this is not an easy exercise (otherwise I am sure it would be much more
prevalent today) and will likely take some time.  The solutions that exist
along these lines today are expensive and inflexible (they don't transport
to new inks for example).  I have not used Paul's workflow but I understand
it involves the application of curves to an RGB file to alter the colour
composition of the file in order to manipulate the inks via a colour driver.
Hardly a what you see is what you get workflow.  My point was that there
exists today an easy way to get quite a good softproof from any B&W
workflow.  It is available to anyone with an Eye-One Photo.  I have found
that this has taken a lot of the trial and error out of my B&W workflow.  I
can simply work on an image and then soft proof for the paper I intend to
use and then apply an adjustment curve so that it then matches my original
file.  Easy. No more too light/too dark vs screen. Now obviously if my
display were not correctly calibrated and I have not built soft proof files
(with Carl's workflow) for my B&W printer output then I would again be
shooting in the dark.


> From: "David B. Brooks" <fotografx@...>
> Reply-To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
> Date: Fri, 15 Oct 2004 19:29:37 -0700
> To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
> Cc: <stevekale@btinternet.com>
> Subject: Re: [Digital BW] How reliable/ precise is your b&w print workflow?
> 
> 
> Steve,
> 
> I agree with your first sentence without reservation. However printing black
> & white is not limited to a ³same as² workflow. There is no reason a user
> cannot convert grayscale to RGB and thereby make the workflow process
> amenable to the same controls as color. Several B&W (black ink) options
> employ some aspect of this strategy. For instance the MIS/Paul Roark option
> is a simple one which, although it requires using a ³same as² CMS profile
> setting in Photoshop,  also involves a print driver setting of ³no color
> adjustment² .  This allows the use of RGB curve files applied to the open
> image which in a broad sense functions in lieu of a profile selection in
> PrintSpace, providing data going to the printer altered to linearize the
> application of CcMmY ink position output.
> 
> Ideally it is technically and theoretically possible to fully utilize color
> management and profiles to control B&W printing with black inks. What is
> missing for users are two software components. The first is a way to drive
> the printer to reproduce a standard grayscale image that would output a
> print with a set of recordings resulting from that graysscale reflecting the
> ink application performance for each printer ink channel.  Then the second
> step would be to ³read² the densities from the test chart print. This can be
> accomplished with either a flatbed scanner which has the support to output
> raw data, or with a photospectrometer. The key piece of need software would
> allow inputting the density data read from the chart to be used to write a
> profile applying preset algorithms to match ideal aim-points to control the
> ink application for each ink color channel.
> 
> Obviously a user B&W calibration and profiling capability will require a
> significant investment in R&D, as well as programming and marketing to bring
> these utilities to market. That will happen when the potential market is
> adequately recognized in size potential by those in the industry who have
> the capability to take the risks to undertake this challenge. From my
> perspective there are many times more photographers already with a foot in
> digital who have an interest in a B&W capability (if it is reasonably easy
> and affordable), than there are among those already involved and using some
> kind of currently available B&W printing option.
> 
> Regards, David B. Brooks
> Shutterbug Magazine
> E-mail: fotografx@...
> 
>   
>