Digital BW, The Print

Peter,

I don't remember if you are on a Mac or a PC.  I have a bunch of 2200 
UC inkset profiles for Windows uploaded in the Files section of this 
website.  They'd be a good starting point for you.  For my neutral, 
cool and selenium profiles I use all the inks except yellow.  K,C and 
M inks are used in the shadows, and LK, LC, LM inks are used in the 
highlights and midtones.  The neutral profiles are dead on neutral on 
my printer when measured with my Eye One.  

If you are on a Mac, you can download profiles from the Bowhaus 
website, or ask Joe to convert my profiles to a Mac platform for 
you.  

I spent a lot of time working on my first EEM neutral profile in an 
attempt to get it pretty close to perfectly neutral throughout the 
entire tonal range.  I knew I would be using that as the basis for 
future profiles, so it was worth my time.  

When I print a test target, I let it dry then read samples with my 
Eye One and Measure Tool to determine the extent and location of any 
color casts.  Then I make corrections based on that data to various 
points on the curve.  Or, if the entire grayscale has too much cyan, 
for example, I might lower the cyan ink limit a point or two then 
retry.  Like I said, it takes a little time to get the first profile 
right, but then it becomes pretty easy.  If you start with my 
profiles, you will be 95% of the way there already.  Then, you can 
make adjustments that suit you as you see fit.

If you are using UC Black and Light Black inks only, you will have a 
warm print, since both of these inks are warm black, not neutral.  
The only way to get neutral with the UC inkset is to blend in other 
colors to counteract the natural warmth of these inks.  That's why I 
added LM and LC in the lighter tones, and C and M in the darker 
tones.  In the Windows version, you can copy the LK curve and copy it 
to the LC and LM positions.  This is a great starting point, but you 
will need different ink limits.  

Hope this helps.  Have you read the tutorial on the Bowhaus website?

Lou

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "bwbonkers" 
<PeterDLevis@a...> wrote:
> 
> Hi all
> 
> I have successfully designed the black and light black curves and 
> linearised using an eyeone. So far so good. However the tone of the 
> print is anything but neutral. I think it looks a little green !! 
So 
> I have been trying to use light cyan and light magenta curves to 
get 
> a more pleasing tone. This part I have found very frustrating. Can 
> anyone give me some tips or general advice on a logical way to 
> proceed. 
> 
> Many thanks
> 
> Peter.