Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, CDTobie@... 
wrote:

Hi David,

Thanks for your comprehensive answer.

> This has to to with 
> specialty B&W inksets, which are typically used with a specialty 
B&W RIP, 
> most commonly QTR. The typical workflow would be to build custom 
curves for QTR 
> using PrintFIX PRO or Spyder3Print to take the measurements and 
export them to 
> QTR or its CreateICC Utility. 

Which is what I currently do.
 
> The other option is to build an RGB driver profile totally inside 
PFP or 
> S3Print. That works for me, in what testing I've done, to produce 
a neutral 
> profile, if the combination actually can reach neutral. But the 
complexity comes in 
> with how to tune such a profile for non-neutral printing. Since 
the gamut is 
> tiny, the adjustments the the PFP/S3Print sliders can make are 
similarly tiny. 
> I suspect the best solution, if one choses this rather unusual 
route, 

As a matter of fact, I recall it was yourself who advocated the 
combination of UT3D and PFP roughly a year ago...

> is to 
> have the neutral image in RGB in Photoshop, and to use the neutral 
profile to 
> softproof, then to carefully adjust the RGB curves to tint the 
image. Once you 
> get a print with the tonality you want (if you can, so to speak, 
get there from 
> here) that RGB curve set can be imported into PFP/S3Print to make 
it part of 
> the profile. 
> 
> All of this is pretty far of the radar in terms of typical 
PFP/S3Print usage. 
> Personally I'd recommend getting a "two grays" printer, leaving 
the standard 
> inkset in it, and printing color as well as B&W from it, using our 
profiles 
> for both, with your choice of printing via the color mode for B&W 
and tinted B&
> W, or the driver's B&W mode, with one of our profiles in either 
case, though 
> the tint is controlled by the driver settings, if you use the 
driver B&W mode, 
> and PFP/S3Print is only used for density control and softproof 
capablities.

... but I accept that further insight can lead to a different 
conclusion now.

Thanks for the explanation. The conclusion is clear: as long as I 
stay with UT3D, or another B&W inkset, I can happily stay with my 
Eye-One.

Regards,

Joost