Digital BW, The Print

Thanks for the info Jon.

Your aren't loosing me to color inks. I'm just forced to build bw  
workflows for our 11880 printers in Chicago and (I guess) Germany. QTR  
doesn't support it yet and the RGB driver doesn't work very well with  
it's K generation. So I'm forced to use ColorBurst with 100% GCR and a  
base CMYK profile (just CMYK doesn't get there). I'm then tuning that  
profile with CreateICC RGB input profiles that I iteratively tune to  
neutral by inverting the ab values out of a 51 step patch printed  
multiple times. I can then take any hue from a 51 step patch printed  
on another system and add those ab (and even L) values to match the  
tonality and linearization of the system before. So far I've matched  
Quad Selenium, Warm-Neutral Selenium 1-1 split, and dead-neutral (not  
exactly K7), as well as the StudioPrint linearity "gamma" all going to  
60 inches (well 63.75, if paper comes out one day.) Iterative hue  
"linearization" is a very interesting world . . . .

But if I had a choice and the money, I would buy another 11880 and run  
split quad + a few added k7 highlight shades for a good BW setup. But  
there's no software. Alas . . . . . My partners in Chicago don't want  
to deal with Quad or our old creaky 9600s. I don't blame them. We've  
run those machines into the ground. Added to that, we need to build a  
workflow that can print exactly the same from 4x6 inches to 60x80  
inches all at 2880dpi and with as little metamerism as possible all  
while maintaining our print-by-print editions we started on  
Piezography 4 years ago and while upgrading our hardware. Right now  
it's a software availability problem, not a hardware problem.

Older Epson printers (even the smaller 880s) don't have good enough  
internal LUTs to build full BW workflows. The newer x900s and our  
11880 seem to have the built in K neutrality with their HM dithers and  
nozzle densities to be able to do all of this properly.

I'm trying to figure out a way to get two 9900s here in Burlington VT.  
I want to set up a non-profit version of Black Point Editions where  
artists would come and do their work. If it works out in the next few  
years, I'd run one 9900 on Piezo (depending upon the outlook for CUPs  
drivers, etc.) and another color . . . The economy sucks so bad, I  
have no idea what's going to happen. There's a greater chance I'll be  
logging and farming in Cabot before anything else.

all the best,
Walker



On Dec 12, 2008, at 1:15 PM, Jon Cone wrote:

> Hey Walker,
>
> Go into the reference files of the MeasureTool and look at the text
> format of the existing targets. It is not obvious how they organize
> the data to target. But if you create a small one with more than one
> row and column, you will get the idea.
>
> You can pretty easily make any type of target you need that way.
>
> Hope this helps. As I do not have a MeasureTool compatible target for
> it. ColorPort saves XML and MeasureTool needs text...
>
> Jon
>
> PS - losing you to color inks is going to be a very sad day. Do not
> use too much C,M,Y
>
> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, Walker Blackwell
> <forums@...> wrote:
> >
> > Jon. Do you have a MeasureTool TXT file for that 256 target? I am
> > working on a BW workflow that will let me match any hue value from  
> any
> > BW printing process (Silver or Digital) with either a K3 ink setup  
> or
> > K5 with LC LM Y, using custom RGB input profiles. I have some K3
> > matches done already for the 11880 . . .
> >
> > This target would be useful for debugging . . .
> >
> > all the best,
> > Walker
> >
> >
> > On Dec 12, 2008, at 12:33 PM, Jon Cone wrote:
> >
> > > Paul,
> > >
> > > Does the Spyder read single patches or rows? I am under the  
> impression
> > > it reads rows or is semi-automated to eliminate human error. It  
> would
> > > seem the type on your target might get picked up by the reader  
> unless
> > > the software eliminates it. Human error is a bad bad thing in  
> any form
> > > of precision profiling.
> > >
> > > If it is a single patch reader I would think it would take about  
> 20
> > > minutes to accurately read 256 patches. Why am I in the dark about
> > > this device????
> > >
> > > The 256 patch DTP70 target is here:
> > > http://www.piezography.com/EyeOne-256-patches.tif
> > >
> > > The EyeOne target is here:
> > > http://www.piezography.com/EyeOne-256-patches.tif
> > >
> > > I have targets also for the DTP-20, DTP-40, and the EyeOne iO, and
> > > even the old Gretag SpectraScan (wonderful device but needs older
> > > operating systems.)
> > >
> > > Jon
> > >
> > > --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "pr_roark"
> > > <pr_roark@> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Jon,
> > > >
> > > > ...
> > > > > Do you think that the Spyder software has enough  
> documentation to
> > > > > allow Brian to create his own 256 grayscale patch target,
> > > > > measure it, and save the L data that makes sense in relation
> > > > > to the target?
> > > >
> > > > Will a standard 256-Step grayscale test target like below work?
> > > >
> > > > http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/256-Step-GS.jpg
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Paul
> > > > www.PaulRoark.com
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
>
>
> 



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