Digital BW, The Print

> From: Eric Bowman <e5bowman@...>

> 
> 
> I have an R2400 on the way, with the intent of primarily using it for
> B&W.  I have a question about how the ABW driver and the paper
> profiles relate.
> 
> If I have a custom profile done for a specific paper, does that also
> handle "optimizing" the ABW printing as well?

No.  A custom profile is likely a colour ICC profile for a colour workflow.
Epson Adv B&W is not a colour managed workflow.  However, if you pay your
QTR shareware fee you gain access to QTR Create ICC which is an ICC
profiling package designed for B&W workflows.  You can then profile the Adv
B&W settings of your choice and use these profiles to luminance manage and
soft proof your workflow.

>Does the printer
> require a special target or anything, or is all of this handled in the
> driver as long as the profile is the standard type?
> 
> I feel like I understand the basic concept of how profiles work and
> have no trouble using them, but I'm just not sure if there is
> something special involved in setting up the printer for a specific paper.

In essence, think about profiling as being a, well, profile of a particular
workflow - a picture of response behaviour when subject to stimulus.  Most
profiling software (eg GM EyeOne) is designed for colour work.  You send a
colour target through a colour workflow to a colour printer, measure the
output and then use this data to profile its behaviour.  When people talk
about making their own or purchasing custom ICC profiles they are for most
part talking about colour profiles for a colour workflow.  As we know, a
colour workflow and colour driver don't work so well for B&W.  Various
"RIPs" have been developed to help with this and the latest is really
Epson's Adv B&W which sits within the broader colour driver.  But up until
recently there has not been a way to profile the output of these B&W RIPs
because the profiling software available required colour input and output,
ie colour stimulus-response data.  With QTR Create ICC this has changed.  It
is designed to specifically profile B&W output workflows.  It does not
attempt to correct hue when sending an image to the printer.  You still
determine hue with the RIP/Epson Adv B&W driver settings.  But it does
profile luminance and this is the critical aspect of B&W.  It also profiles
both luminance and hue for the purposes of soft proofing.  So you get to see
the impact of hue (colour) in soft proofing but don't attempt to manage it
for printing. (Remember you send a neutral grey image to the printer and
choose warm, cool etc in the driver/RIP.  If the profile managed hue then
these two things would fight each other as the profile tried to correct the
hue back to neutral.  Comprendez?)

QTR Create ICC is worth the $50 shareware fee of QTR by itself.

I hope this helps

Steve