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Re: [Digital BW] InkJet Control Software Released

Re: [Digital BW] InkJet Control Software Released

2003-03-27 by Glenn Thureson

Robert,

Do they intend to build a PC version?  It sounds fantastic.

Glenn
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Robert Morrison" <rmorrison@...>
To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2003 12:16 PM
Subject: [Digital BW] InkJet Control Software Released


Just wanted to let people on the list know that the Inkjet Control Software
that some of us have been beta testing is now available from Bowhaus.  You
can contact the at software@... or at 323-937-8400

Details on the software are below...but quickly here's a summary.

Currently the below software is only available for Mac OS9, but it runs well
under classic.  Inkjet Control runs in both OS9 and natively in OSX.

Openprintdriver is a opensource free application which allows printing of
16-bit grayscale tif files to several different epson printers including
Epson 860, 1160,  1280, 2200, 7000 and 7500.  It uses custom profiles that
come with it and can be created by using the Inkjet Control software.

Inkjet Control is software for creating custom profiles.  It costs $199 and
works for all of the printers listed above.  It allows single channel
control of each ink channel, and thus you can put anything you like in any
of your ink channels.  Beta testers have been using Ultrachromes (2200)
Piezotone, MIS FS/FSN, MIS VM and MIS Ultra-quad inks in all kinds of
combinations with great success. For instance you can put 2 blacks, a couple
of grays and a toner or two in you machine and call them up at will. You
edit ink mixing with curves in the program.  You can import and export
curves as well.  It then has an advanced linearization function for fine
tuning recipes if you have a densitometer.  With a little work you can
produce the best quad profiles I've ever seen.  Perfect hilight and shadow
detail...fine tuned exactly to Ames curves for Gamma 1.8 or 2.2.  These
profiles can then be blended in the openprintdriver.  So you can have a warm
profile and cool profile and call them up in any percentage.

This software is really a dream come true for BW digital printmaker.

Robert

PS I was a beta tester but am not affiliated with Bowhaus.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: BowHaus Inc.
> Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2003 5:23 PM
> Subject: InkJet Control Software
>
>
> BowHaus, Inc. Unveils InkJet Control Printmaking Software for Monochrome
Fine
> Art Inkjet Printing
>
> Los Angeles, CA - March 20, 2003 < BowHaus has announced a release date of
> March 24, 2003 for their new printmaking software.  InkJet Control is a
> printmaking application that was developed for quality conscious digital
B&W
> Fine Art Printmakers that demand full control over their printer and
media.
> Users of InkJet Control can use quadtone or hextone inks from different
> manufacturers and create their own unique profiles for popular Epson
printers.
>
> InkJet Control is a stand-alone application (not a plug-in) that frees the
B&W
> printmaker from \ufffdcanned\ufffd profiles or RGB workflows. The printmaker can
create,
> edit and save their own 16-bit profiles, which controls the tonal shape of
> each individual ink, dictating where each ink starts, stops and how the
inks
> merge together.
>
> All of InkJet Control\ufffds profiles and rendering algorithms operate in
16-bit,
> over 65 million shades of gray, resulting in smoother gradations and
> transitions. InkJet Control supports both 8-bit and 16-bit single channel
> grayscale TIFF files.  8-bit grayscale files are internally converted to
> 16-bit during printing to take advantage of the 16-bit profiles and
rendering
> algorithms.
>
> Another innovative and unique feature is the \ufffdBlender\ufffd tool, a slider-type
> interface that allows the printmaker to mix two profiles together.
> Printmakers using sepia and cool toners (MIS VM Inkset) can use the
Blender
> feature to instantly vary the hue from warm to cool.  Using a stock Epson
2200
> printer with UltraChrome\ufffd inks, the printmaker can blend between supplied
> profiles to achieve custom toning effects from print to print instantly.
>
> Printmakers with access to a densitometer can micro-tune each profile with
> InkJet Control\ufffds powerful 16-bit Linearization Engine.  Using
densitometric
> readings from a printed target strip, the Linearization Engine removes
\ufffdbumps\ufffd
> and inconsistencies to create an ideal tonal curve.  The Linearization
> function also ensures consistent results despite minor variations found
from
> printer to printer, different batches of ink or paper.
>
> InkJet Control ships with a set of profiles and OpenPrintMaker, an open
source
> printing utility which uses InkJet Control\ufffds innovative 16-bit ink/paper
> profiles and performs the actual printing.  The OpenPrintMaker utility
> currently supports the Epson 860, 1160,  1280, 2200, 7000 and 7500.
InkJet
> Control  is a MAC OS 9.x application that retails for $199.  A Windows and
OS
> X version of InkJet Control will be announced soon.
>
> For more information, contact BowHaus at 323-937-8400 (9am- 6pm PST) or
email
> software@....
>
> About BowHaus
> LA-based BowHaus, Inc. has been bringing high-end digital imaging to
> professional photographers since 1992, making them one of the first
> "all-digital" photo labs in the country. The company provides Crosfield
drum
> scans for a broad range of users including: stock-photo companies, graphic
> designers, fine artists, museums and photographers seeking to digitally
> preserve their traditional photo archives. Digital output includes
> high-resolution LVT transparencies and negatives, Fujix prints, Iris
pre-press
> proofs, wide-format NovaJet prints and Epson fine-art printmaking.
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
> Please visit the Group Homepage to check the Files, Bookmarks, Polls and
other
> resources as they are often being updated. The page is at:
>
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>



Please visit the Group Homepage to check the Files, Bookmarks, Polls and
other resources as they are often being updated. The page is at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint

If you wish to receive no emails or just a daily digest, or you wish to
unsubscribe, please edit your Membership preferences by visiting this same
page.

Please follow these basic guidelines:
- Include your full name with your message.
- Include the address of your website, if you have one.
- As threads develop, trim off excess portions of earlier messages to keep
them short.
- As the topic of a thread changes remember to change the subject header.
- Good manners are required at all time. No personal attacks or
&amp;amp;quot;flames.&amp;amp;quot;
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Re: [Digital BW] InkJet Control Software Released

2003-03-27 by Antonis Ricos

> Do they intend to build a PC version? 

Glenn,

yes, they do (Mac OS X will likely come out before windows)  - but need to 
work out the bugs and get user feedback first.


Antonis

Re: [Digital BW] InkJet Control Software Released

2003-03-27 by Steven Karafyllakis

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Antonis Ricos" 
<antonisphoto@y...> wrote:
> 
> > Do they intend to build a PC version? 
> 
> Glenn,
> 
> yes, they do (Mac OS X will likely come out before windows)  - but 
need to 
> work out the bugs and get user feedback first.
> 
> 
> Antonis

All of this sounds really great! However, it seems that in order to 
make full use of the system you need a densitometer, is that correct?
 So does anybody feel they know enough about them to gives us a 
quick primer on densitometers, particularly which types/models are 
useable for this application?

Steve Karafyllakis

InkJet Control Software Released

2003-03-27 by Antonis Ricos

> All of this sounds really great! However, it seems that in order to 
> make full use of the system you need a densitometer, is that correct?

I'd say so, Steve - though you can go a fair distance without one assuming 
you have a good printed scale and a starting profile (like the ones shipping).


>  So does anybody feel they know enough about them to gives us a 
> quick primer on densitometers, particularly which types/models are 
> useable for this application?

The good news is you don't need anything more than an old-fashioned bw 
densitometer, no color, no colorimeter or even transmission model needed. I 
have an X-Rite 810 (from eBay), and hear that these go for under $500  these 
days. It is of course a color instrument, but I use it on "visual", meaning 
grayscale.  The only thing to watch out for is that the instrument  you buy can 
read well into the higher dmax numbers and that it comes with its own 
calibration plaque. Some of the little  colorimeters (like X-Rite's Swatchbook 
and the like) may not have a robust enough lighting system to read shadows 
reliably. 

If you also happen to be into Pyro, apparently the X-Rite 361T is just the ticket 
according to View Camera (March '03).

Antonis

Re: InkJet Control Software Released

2003-03-27 by donbga

> If you also happen to be into Pyro, apparently the X-Rite 361T is 
just the ticket 
> according to View Camera (March '03).
> 

A copy of which just recently sold on e-bay for almost $800!

Don Bryant

Re: [Digital BW] InkJet Control Software Released

2003-03-27 by Robert Morrison

On 3/26/03 6:55 PM, "Antonis Ricos" <antonisphoto@...> wrote:

> The good news is you don't need anything more than an old-fashioned bw
> densitometer, no color, no colorimeter or even transmission model needed. I
> have an X-Rite 810 (from eBay), and hear that these go for under $500  these
> days. It is of course a color instrument, but I use it on "visual", meaning
> grayscale.  The only thing to watch out for is that the instrument  you buy
> can 
> read well into the higher dmax numbers and that it comes with its own
> calibration plaque. Some of the little  colorimeters (like X-Rite's Swatchbook
> and the like) may not have a robust enough lighting system to read shadows
> reliably. 

Yeah...don't buy a spectrophotometer like the spectrocam, either for this
application.  I have one and it doesn't read reliably above 1.7.  I also
have a X-Rite 810 which I bought on ebay for $300.

You can use the profiles with the free driver...and I suppose you could
eball things like people frequently do with the RGB workflows...but a
densitometer will be necessary to get you into professional output land.

Robert

Re: [Digital BW] InkJet Control Software Released

2003-03-27 by Ernst Dinkla

Robert, you wrote:

> Yeah...don't buy a spectrophotometer like the spectrocam,
either for this
> application.  I have one and it doesn't read reliably above
1.7.

I guess I can find a densitometer somewhere but with a SpectroCam
available here I wonder whether it is totally useless for this
kind of work. The 1,7 is near the black of most pigment inksets
and only dye + coated pigment blacks go beyond that figure. Am I
right on that observation ?

Ernst

Re: Densitometer specs

2003-03-27 by Antonis Ricos

Ernst,

1.7 is conservative as a high end, even for pigmented inks. With the new 
Ultrachromes and UltraTones capable of printing on glossy or RC-type 
papers, we are soon going to see uncoated, pigmented prints that will exceed 
2.0.


Antonis



--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Ernst Dinkla" 
<E.Dinkla@c...> wrote:
Show quoted textHide quoted text
> Robert, you wrote:
> 
> > Yeah...don't buy a spectrophotometer like the spectrocam,
> either for this
> > application.  I have one and it doesn't read reliably above
> 1.7.
> 
> I guess I can find a densitometer somewhere but with a SpectroCam
> available here I wonder whether it is totally useless for this
> kind of work. The 1,7 is near the black of most pigment inksets
> and only dye + coated pigment blacks go beyond that figure. Am I
> right on that observation ?
> 
> Ernst

Re: [Digital BW] Re: Densitometer specs

2003-03-28 by Robert Morrison

Actually, I first realized that I had a problem with the spectrocam when I
was coating matte prints.  The spectrocam was topping out at a dmax of 2
when my coated prints were actually hitting upwards of 2.4.  I then went
back and checked calibration and realized that anywhere above 1.6 with black
the spectrocam was in accurate.  The further from 1.6 the worse the problem.
Photorag with any of the common BW inks is already a problem.  As Antonis
mentioned, the spectrocam will be inadequate for any glossy or semi-gloss
print with photo black...they all hit above 2.0...and the accuracy of your
shadow detail will be what suffers.  This will be a serious problem if you
get into using the linearization function of ink jet control.

Robert
Show quoted textHide quoted text
On 3/27/03 12:19 PM, "Antonis Ricos" <antonisphoto@...> wrote:

> 
> Ernst,
> 
> 1.7 is conservative as a high end, even for pigmented inks. With the new
> Ultrachromes and UltraTones capable of printing on glossy or RC-type
> papers, we are soon going to see uncoated, pigmented prints that will exceed
> 2.0.
> 
> 
> Antonis
> 
> 
> 
> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Ernst Dinkla"
> <E.Dinkla@c...> wrote:
>> Robert, you wrote:
>> 
>>> Yeah...don't buy a spectrophotometer like the spectrocam,
>> either for this
>>> application.  I have one and it doesn't read reliably above
>> 1.7.
>> 
>> I guess I can find a densitometer somewhere but with a SpectroCam
>> available here I wonder whether it is totally useless for this
>> kind of work. The 1,7 is near the black of most pigment inksets
>> and only dye + coated pigment blacks go beyond that figure. Am I
>> right on that observation ?
>> 
>> Ernst
> 
> 
> 
> Please visit the Group Homepage to check the Files, Bookmarks, Polls and other
> resources as they are often being updated. The page is at:
> 
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint
> 
> If you wish to receive no emails or just a daily digest, or you wish to
> unsubscribe, please edit your Membership preferences by visiting this same
> page.
> 
> Please follow these basic guidelines:
> - Include your full name with your message.
> - Include the address of your website, if you have one.
> - As threads develop, trim off excess portions of earlier messages to keep
> them short.
> - As the topic of a thread changes remember to change the subject header.
> - Good manners are required at all time. No personal attacks or
> &amp;amp;quot;flames.&amp;amp;quot;
> - Complete your Yahoo profile.
> - Before posting a question, search the message archives and the various
> resources on the homepage.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
> 
> 
>

Re: [Digital BW] Re: Densitometer specs

2003-03-28 by Ernst Dinkla

> Actually, I first realized that I had a problem with the
spectrocam when I
> was coating matte prints.  The spectrocam was topping out at a
dmax of 2
> when my coated prints were actually hitting upwards of 2.4.  I
then went
> back and checked calibration and realized that anywhere above
1.6 with black
> the spectrocam was in accurate.  The further from 1.6 the worse
the problem.
> Photorag with any of the common BW inks is already a problem.
As Antonis
> mentioned, the spectrocam will be inadequate for any glossy or
semi-gloss
> print with photo black...they all hit above 2.0...and the
accuracy of your
> shadow detail will be what suffers.  This will be a serious
problem if you
> get into using the linearization function of ink jet control.
>
> Robert

> > 1.7 is conservative as a high end, even for pigmented inks.
With the new
> > Ultrachromes and UltraTones capable of printing on glossy or
RC-type
> > papers, we are soon going to see uncoated, pigmented prints
that will exceed
> > 2.0.
> >
> >
> > Antonis

Antonis, Robert, thank you. It is good to know this.

Ernst

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