Digital BW, The Print

> > > Are your settings correct in Photoshop and the driver? Same as
> > Source selected in "print
> > > with preview"?
> >
> > I'm not sure I understand your question here. Since I'm printing
> with
> > QTR I don't see why my Photoshop print settings should matter.
> > >
>
> It seems to matter big time. I was choosing Printer Color Management,
> figuring that PS would pass everything along to the QTR, because no
> one told me better. My densest shadow tones were completely
> posterized. All solved by choosing "Same as Source". And Roy's new
> gray profiles improved screen to print matching another big step.

I think Chris may be printing on a PC, so it has nothing to do with
Photoshop - correct Chris?

(because of problems with QTR and Win2000 on my main machine, I currently
print from a laptop with QTR that doesn't even have Photoshop on it).

Chris, I apply an S curve to the image along these lines (actually not so
strong a curve as suggested) for HPR and use the Premier Art or Entrada
curves with maybe 2 on the shadows and 3 on the gamma:

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Steve Kale
> Sent: Saturday, December 18, 2004 6:50 AM
> To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [Digital BW] Re: roark vs qtr - newbie q.
>
>
>
> I think the major reason why QTR prints out of the box can look a little
> flat is because of the combination of two key factors: (1) the relatively
> weak dMax (the maximum density (or least reflectance) generated by 100%
> black) of matte papers, around 1.6-7, and so the available contrast is
> relatively low, and (2) the way QTR does its linearization - not
> that it is
> necessarily wrong - one must pick a methodology - but because people don't
> understand it.  The first is a fact of life, the second needs to be
> understood and so compensated for if deemed necessary.
>
> If you want to see on screen the effect this weak dMax and QTR's
> linearization do the following.  Open a Gray Gamma 2.2 step wedge.  Add a
> Curves Layer (Layer->New Adjustment Layer->Curves->Enter).  Grab
> the bottom
> left anchor point and slide it up to (0,41) and grab the top right anchor
> and pull it down to (255,243).  Now look at how the input/outputs for the
> points in the middle have changed eg 128. For the most part, the image is
> lighter because the better part of the straight line has been shifted up
> (128 has gone to 142).  (Note that there is still nice visual separation
> between the steps on the screen which is QTR's linearization goal.)  When
> people say an image is flat it is largely, I believe, because all the
> mid-tones have been brightened.
>
> There is no getting around the low dMax short of printing to a
> paper or with
> an ink that leads to better blacks.  So what can you do with what you are
> stuck with?  Ultimately it involves compromise.  If you look at
> point 128 in
> the curve above and trace across to its output you will see it, 142, is
> halfway between 243 and 41 - input values are spread evenly over the
> available output range.  If you pull 128 back down to (128,128) your
> mid-tones head back towards where they were before but there is greater
> compression "in the shadows" than "in the highlights".  (In essence, when
> Paul is doing his curves he targets this midpoint and pulls it back a bit
> leaving a little more compression in the shadows than the highlights.)  Ok
> now drag the 128 point off the curves chart so that it disappears - you
> should now have a straight line again.  Hit OK. Leave it visible.
>
> Add another curves layer. Lock (128,128).  Grab (63,63) and pull it down a
> little say to (63,43).  Grab (192,192) and shift it up a little say to
> (192,213).  This is what is meant by an s-curve - it is shaped like an s.
> You are adding a little punch to the highlights and darkening the
> shadows a
> little without shifting the mid.  You can view the effect of the second
> curve by itself by turning the visibility of the first off.  The effect on
> the image though will be the two curves combined.  The selection of points
> and how much to move them is really an artistic one but you have to judge
> the two together which is why I said keep the first curve visible.  Note
> that the first curve (a representation or simulation of what the RIP is
> doing) shifted the mid up point up and the second left it the same - ie
> still up.  So your mid grey will still be lighter than the original image
> without the curves.  You might choose to pull the mid darker in the second
> curve to counteract the effect of the RIP.  It's up to you.
>
> If you don't use a soft-proof, adding the first curve is a good
> approximation for QTR's built in transformation for printing to
> matte paper.
> Put this curve up first, add and adjust the second so that the image looks
> to your likening.  Before printing, though, delete the first curve.  You
> don't want the effect to occur twice - it is already done by QTR and your
> curve was there so you could see the effect on screen and so design your
> adjustment curve.