Digital BW, The Print

Martin,

there are different kinds of "profiling" in this regard.

The simple one, that deals with matching a grayscale file to a grayscale print 
can be done right now in PS 6. Simply calculating dot gain (OK, that may 
require an instrument, though eyeballing is mighty close) and saving the 
resulting gray setting becomes a profile in the "eyes" of Photoshop. 

Then there is the more complex one of dealing with separating the 8 or 16bit 
grays into the 4 or 6 inks. I believe you are already ahead of me on that one, 
but my previous experience point to the necessity for a RIP capable of 4 or 6 
color printing before any profiles can be made meaningfully. In other words 
gray-to-CcMmYK would be preferrable to gray-to-RGB-to <unknown Epson 
separation algorithm>.

But either of the above solutions still require a way to bring the hardware into 
a repeatable, linearized, calibrated state. That means that for a given digital 
value it has to produce the same exact density of ink on paper. A tall order for 
most desktop/toy printers. It's probably why the wide-format Epsons cost that 
much more. But even then, plotting graphs to check for drifting (what my 
original message was about) should be a regular part of any serious  printing 
"regiment".

Antonis



--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "mwesley3" <mwesley250@e...> 
wrote:
.....
There is a real need for a gray ink printer profiling 
> software package that creates true printer profiles and separation 
> curves unique to each individual printer/ink/paper combination and 
> allows us to constantly up date them as our equipment and materials 
> shift. Not likely to be cheap but maybe someday.