Digital BW, The Print

> From: joshhackney <joshhackney@...>
 
>  When you use your QTR
> create ICC 
> profiles with PS set to "Let PS determine colors", are you printing through
> QTR, or are you 
> bypassing QTR and going straight to the print driver?

QTR is the printer driver.


>If you use the icc
> profile you create
> with QTR create ICC AND print through QTR, aren't you converting your file
> twice?  (I'm not 
> sure if "converting" in the previous sentence was the proper word, but I think
> you get the 
> idea).  At first I thought you were bypassing QTR, but judging from your
> latest comments 
> about hue, it seems that you are in fact using the ICC profile and QTR.

I use QTR Create ICC to create profiles for both QTR and Epson Adv B&W.

The file is not converted twice.  It is simply converted once from the
storage file profile (usually the same as the workspace) to the print space
at printing.  Quadtone RIP simply drives the printer - ie it is through this
that we control which inks are used in what amount to make a greyscale.  A
part of this process is "linearisation" but this is not profiling.  Think of
linearisation as a final step in constructing a greyscale - specifically
smoothing this greyscale out so there is an even progression (rather than
bumpy) from dMin to dMax.  QTR Create ICC then PROFILES this smoothed
greyscale (much in the same way you profile your Epson driver colour
output).  Once we have profiled it with an ICC profile we can use PS's
colour management module to convert the image file to this output space.

So QTR Create ICC is completely independent of QTR.  It simply profiles
greyscale printer output and helps us manage the tonal compression from a
broad workspace to a narrower print space.  QTR Create ICC can (and should)
be used with Epson Adv B&W output, Black Only output, IJC/OPM output etc.

I hope this helps.

Steve