Digital BW, The Print

I don't know if someone can help me but this group rocks!

I printed one of my picture using Mr.Roark's preset for Red River Polar Matte (using QTRip). The result was pretty good but I think that the blacks could be more defined.

I looked at Mr.Roark's ink limit and saw that it was 35%. Following his pdf, I tried to move with a test involving the ink limit set-up. Printing at 100% left me with a target so full of ink that even the text was blurred!
I made a test with 25% ink limit and another one at 15% ink limit on my 1430 EB6 set-up. Used my scanner to see what could be the results; the 15% ink limit is more defined than the 25% one and I'm asking myself, if this is normal to go so low?

I'm using the ink separation target.

And for some reason, I see that on the cyan line, one block (55) is darker than the 60 one; is this normal? All the other inks are OK.

Should I go on and try to get the best definition (separation) with the other inks?

Thanks

<jacques.caron@...> wrote:

> **
>  ...
>
> I printed one of my picture using Mr.Roark's preset for Red River Polar
> Matte (using QTRip). The result was pretty good but I think that the blacks
> could be more defined.
>

One of the issues that often crops up with QTR involves the difference
between QTR's linear printing characteristics and the way a color managed
workflow displays and prints files.  This might be what is going on.  See
http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/QTR-Printing-Windows.pdf for a brief
explanation of my QTR printing workflow -- Windows environment.  I use a
curve to adjust for the differences between Gray Gamma 2.2 and the QTR
linear printing characteristics.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

It's a little bit clearer.

If I understand well, I could, for example, work on my image and, at the end, add that curve (GG22-to-QTR) to see how it will print.

Already, adding that curve to the ink separation target is a good hint.

When I was talking about the "blacks", I meant that there is no differences in between the 80 to 100 blocks for ink 1 (Black) in the print made using 15% ink limit. Reading the patches, I can already see that 20% would be my "greater" blacks but still, the 80 to 100 is a clump.

Following your approach, I could then scan that print (the one at 20%) and read the remaining inks to determine their limits.

Again, I see that all the inks (from 2 to 6) are "blocked" from 80 to 100. I was aiming to have a little bit more "separation" in the "high" values printing the target but maybe I'm asking too much from that process.

In any event, I'm getting much loser to my darkroom prints.

Thanks again for the help

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, Paul Roark <roark.paul@...> wrote:

>
> <jacques.caron@...> wrote:
> 
> > **
> >  ...
> >
> > I printed one of my picture using Mr.Roark's preset for Red River Polar
> > Matte (using QTRip). The result was pretty good but I think that the blacks
> > could be more defined.
> >
> 
> One of the issues that often crops up with QTR involves the difference
> between QTR's linear printing characteristics and the way a color managed
> workflow displays and prints files.  This might be what is going on.  See
> http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/QTR-Printing-Windows.pdf for a brief
> explanation of my QTR printing workflow -- Windows environment.  I use a
> curve to adjust for the differences between Gray Gamma 2.2 and the QTR
> linear printing characteristics.
> 
> Paul
> www.PaulRoark.com
> 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

"jcphoto52" <jacques.caron@...> wrote:
>
> ...
> When I was talking about the "blacks", I meant that there is no differences in between the 80 to 100 blocks for ink 1 (Black) in the print made using 15% ink limit. ...

Looking again at your initial post and this one, if your 1430 with Eboni-6 is not producing a black test strip that looks like the one on page 2 of http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/QTR-Flatbed.pdf when the Calibration Mode print settings are as shown on page 1 of the above PDF, then there is a problem.  Something is introducing inconsistencies -- paper, inks, printer or other.  Usually the "other" has to do with some settings being different.  I'm using a 1400, not a 1430.  However, I've been led to believe they print the same with the same profiles, but I have not personally tested this.  I have noticed that there are at least 2 different versions of the Red River paper (one sided and 2 sided coating).  I assumed they printed the same.  (Be sure you're printing on the right side.)  The ink batches I've received from MIS/Inksupply.com have been quite consistent.

If the profile I made does not work, make a new one following the PDF and see if it works for you.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com