Digital BW, The Print

alanrew42 wrote:
> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, Ernst Dinkla
> <E.Dinkla@...> wrote:
> <snip>
> 
>> I'm afraid that it will not be that easy to drive the iPF5000 
>> with QTR. The Canon driver is a 16 bit plug-in for Photoshop 
>> (and a Canon application). QTR isn't 16 bit AFAIK.
> 
> Not only that, but driving a printer directly, rather than via the
> Windows GDI interface, is a whole different ball game. Maybe the guys
> on the gimp-print project will have a go at producing a driver for
> this printer. I assume QTR uses GDI, which is (currently) limited to 8
> bits per channel.

Alan,

The first QTR versions didn't use the usual Windows route for 
printer driver data if I recall it correctly. To be honest I 
rather see QTR become more a Windows driver in total than it 
is now. It would suit the combination with Qimage a lot if its 
input was more Windows driver like.

There will be a lot of changes in the next years when Vista 
arrives + the combination with 64 bit systems and it is not 
unlikely that Canon will deliver 16 bit drivers that are more 
in Windows style then. Canon and Microsoft cooperate in the 
new WCS color management of Vista.

Gutenprint is already up to 16 bit (and 32 channels 
addressable ! ). Color management for it becomes serious too 
with LCMS and Argyll spin-offs so I think there will be no 
lack of third party/open source  software to fill in where the 
OEM software doesn't.

Mike Chaney of Qimage will not support the Canon plug-in route 
for the time being. He waits for Windows drivers and that 
could mean that it will take several years.

Ernst


                    --
           Ernst Dinkla


www.pigment-print.com
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