Digital BW, The Print

> From: G Guhan Gunaratnam <guruguhan@...>
> Reply-To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
> Date: Sat, 25 Feb 2006 05:41:27 -0500
> To: "DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com"
> <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
> Conversation: Questions about Using Color Settings and Workspace Profiles for
> Grayscale Pr
> Subject: [Digital BW] Re: Questions about Using Color Settings and Workspace
> Profiles for Grayscale Pr
> 
> Thanks a lot for the information Clayton and Steve, it was very helpful in
> clearing up some, but not all, the questions :)  (of course I have a slew
> more)
> 
> So I'm deciding on the 2400, and the calibrated monitor approach.  If I
> understand correctly, I should then look at Harrington's QTR Create ICC.
> Steve, you say there are two components, inbound, and outbound.  Are these
> equivalent to a monitor profile and printer profile?

No I was referring to the A2Bx versus the B2Ax tags within an ICC profile.
It's worth having a look at the contents of an ICC profile at some point.
If you have a Mac this can be easily done with Colorsync Utility.  If you
have a Windows machine you can download a profile inspector from
www.color.org  Bruce Fraser's Real World Color Management book is a
fantastic resource.  Buy it new or used, or rent it from your local library
(or even read it in store).

Colour management is becoming more and more pervasive and an issue that
people should understand more.  Were it not for the fact that Microsoft is
so far behind on the issue, people would be dealing with it a lot more today
(printing from Excel and Powerpoint etc should all be colour managed).  This
will likely change when or if they finally put out a decent operating
system.

Try to take the time to learn the terminology that is used, what the
differences are between various types of profiles, the nuances involved and
the basis of colour management from a _sound_ footing.  A little investment
will be rewarded greatly.  The above book will do this well.

> 
> So I'll use my profile from my DisplayOne as a system colour profile, and in
> Photoshop I can use the QTR soft-proof (inbound) profile to proof my B&W
> prints...correct?

QTR Create ICC creates "output profiles" because we are profiling a printer
which is an output device.  (Input profiles are for input devices such as
digital cameras or scanners.  Output profiles are for output devices such
printers.  We then have workspaces, such as Adobe RGB which are not device
specific.  An image file can have an ICC profile embedded in it so that the
profile travels with it.  This embedded profile can be any ICC profile.
Typically a file from say a scanner will be converted from the scanner space
(as defined by its profile) to a workspace for editing and then to an output
printer space for printing.  So you can see the colour management chain from
input to edit to output. The Colour Management Module or CMM manages these
conversions for us.  Take a look at your colour settings in PS and see that
you choose there which CMM you want PS to use.)

An output profile has to have information or tables for 2 things.  It has to
have a table for conversion TO the printer space (I loosely referred to this
as the outbound leg) and also a table for converting FROM the printer space.
The latter is used for simulations and proofing.  FROM the printer to the
display ie soft proofing.  I loosely referred to this as the inbound leg.
> 
> Steve, thanks a lot for offering to share your 4800 profiles.  How hard will
> it be for me to get 2400 profiles?  Are downloads available anywhere over
> the net (I've just joined the QTR group).

This is an area we need to get organised a little better.  If I had a 2400 I
would happily share the QTR ICC profiles I would create with users who have
paid the QTR shareware fee.  Unfortunately I don't own the printer (yet).

I need to update the download package with my more recent profiles but it's
worth people taking a look at the 4800 profiles I have done.  Set up soft
proofs in PS in the normal fashion (Perceptual Intent with Black Point
Compensation - I don't bother with checking paper white and ink black) with
each of the profiles and flick between them.  You can see how easy it is to
check and edit images with full hue proofing of Epson Adv B&W.  I'll try to
update the profiles on my download site later today but the older ones are
available here:

http://homepage.mac.com/stevekale/stevekale2/FileSharing37.html

> 
> Does QTR support colour printing profiles (and are users making profiles for
> K3 inks printed in colour onto various types of paper)?  I will be using one
> 2400 for both colour and B&W.

No it does not.  But there are many packages available for doing this.

> 
> Is there a printing workflow detailed on the web using QTR on a 2400
> (starting from a converted & corrected digital capture)?

Not sure.  But you use these profiles in exactly the same fashion as you
would for colour ICC profiles.
> 
> Clayton:  Am I correct in thinking that you believe (and others too), that
> Eboni inks are superior to the K3 inks? (not only d-max, but other qualities
> as well).  (If I use BO with Eboni, vs. your 2400 K3 workflow, I'll get
> better blacks, less shifting, etc with the Eboni...right?)

Eboni performs better than Epson MK on some papers but generally not as well
on Epson papers.  Because I like to print on HPR (it's so cheap when bought
in the US rather than the UK) I use Eboni because it does a little better
than Epson MK.
> 
> I cannot use a BO printing method on the 2400 unless I use a RIP...correct?

Yes.  Epson don't consider BO as a photographic workflow and upgraded black
printing (which they consider a text/graphics workflow) with the 2400 to use
all the k inks.
> 
> Finally, will using a more expensive RIP (like Colorbyte or ImagePrint)
> remove any headaches, ease any of the work? (having pre-made profiles for a
> number of papers seems to be of great value).

You don't need this.  I think you will be very very impressed with the
2400's capability in B&W and colour out of the box.  The colour printing
uses colour ICC profiles.  The Epson Adv B&W printing does not and hence QTR
Create ICC is very useful for plugging this gap.

Have fun!

Steve