Digital BW, The Print

Marketa,

>... The problem I am having with your curves is little
>differentiation between the steps in the darker midtones that wipe out most
>of the detail in those areas. The lighter areas come out pretty accurate.

If you use color space sRGB, try changing to Adobe RGB.  The main difference
is the shadow separation.  Then again, the problem may just be that you have
early draft curves.  The 1200 is still in process.

What computer do you use -- Mac or PC?

>...what do you mean by toner? The lighter blue ink?

Yes, the toner is the light blue ink in the MIS VM inkset.  It is in the
magenta position.

>... how close do you try to get the RGB values for a neutral print?

Well, dead neutral would be all equal, of course.  For the "nc" curve,
however, I build in a little blue to offset the warm shift -- by about half.
Of course, the paper choice affects this also.  So, the target for the "nc"
curve is blue channel 4 units greater than red channel.  This tapers toward
the ends.  I try to get the adjacent steps in the midtones within 1 unit of
the target.  Printer-to-printer and print-session-to-print-session
variances, however, make it difficult to say how far off these get in the
real world.

>... how do you decide on the RGB values for the toned prints?

The "nc" curve is explained above.  The Cool curve was the coolest I found
to be within the "normal" look of a silver print.  That is, it doesn't look
outright blue.  It's 9 units cool.  The warm curve is maximum warmth
(minimum toner) consistent with there not being too many artifacts (usually
humps in the g/s ramp that won't go away.  The "mw" is about half way to
that point -- target 6 units warm (red over blue).

Paul
http://www.PaulRoark.com