Thanks so much for all your help and encouragement not to give up on
QTR. I guess I had read a lot about how the images seem flat, and I
confirmed it with my test prints.
I don't think I was very clear in my post. I was referring to
printing black and white only.
I am a fairly advanced Photoshop user and I think I am able to
convert beautiful b&w images in PS. I also do a lot of color
printing on my 2200 with Epson and other paper company's
profiles,
and I think they come out beautiful. (Are the profiles on the Epson
2200 driver and download page by Bill Atkinson?)
I understand the difference in dynamic range between monitor and
print, but I have never used a rip before, so I am new to black and
white printing and I want to learn. I was referring to a comparison
I made of test prints using the QTR compared to a print made with an
Epson paper profile which had a color cast, but beautiful depth and
detail.
You are right, John, I was doing something wrong. Steve, your
explanation about the PS profiles confirmed it. I did not convert to
profile. When you convert, do you use dither? I thought the profiles
for PS were for soft proofing only, but then again I could not find
the quick start guide, it did not install (Does anyone know where to
find it?)
I just printed some more test prints, WOW they are beautiful!!!! I
am convinced.
Here is my workflow, please let me know where I am going wrong and
where I can improve. Paper type matte, my paper is Epson enh.
Matte, MK ink, 1440 super, better speed. Enh matte cool both curves.
A second print with 75% cool, 25% warm, there is only a very slight
difference, and they are both beautiful. A third print on Premium
Luster, PK ink, 1440super, better speed, dither ordered, now I used
a semi gloss curve because there was no Luster, and this print came
out brown, but still a beautiful depth and clarity.
Thanks again, I couldn't have done this without you, Gurli
--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, Steve Kale
<stevekale@b...> wrote:
> $50 is all you need spend. QTR is really very good at what it
does. You
> just need to understand how to use it best. Here's the longer
answer.
>
> First understand that you can't, generally speaking, print as dark
as you
> can see on screen and that paper isn't generally as white. That
is, the
> dynamic range of today's paper with today's inks is relatively
narrow. Not
> bad but narrow. OK that first bit was easy.
>
> Now QTR is set up to print an even gradation L* (Lab's L) from its
darkest
> black to paper white. If it could generate perfect black and
perfect white
> then you could print the Lab space in totality with an even
gradation of L*
> and have a nice "gamma" or curvature in density from pure black to
pure
> white. But as noted above we can't get perfect black or perfect
white. If
> the best black is really "light black" and the best white
is "almost white"
> and there is still a straight line of L* between the two then the
gamma or
> contrast must be less. Hence, out-of-the-box the prints look a
little
> "flat" because the black isn't as good as on screen and the gamma
or
> contrast is less.
>
> OK so what do we do about it? Two solutions. First, we could
introduce an
> arbitrary S curve to increase image contrast so that when it is
printed we
> have a better look. Secondly, we could use some of the tools
available to us
> to do that for us. In either case, it is useful to see before we
print the
> result of either action.
>
> The second of the two is more effective, easier and more readily
previewed
> or soft proofed. Roy has designed two ICC profiles, QTR Gray
Matte Paper
> and QTR Gray Photo Paper, which are in essence general profiles
for the two
> types of media we print to. With these you can use two
Photoshop's ability
> to convert between ICC profiles and to preview a file in another
colour
> space. So at the time of printing you can use Photoshop to
convert your
> image to the print space using the perceptual intent and black
point
> compensation. This in effect automates the s curve piece.
Furthermore,
> prior to printing you can preview how the file will look once
converted to
> the print space (matte or photo), ie see how it will look when
printed. Use
> View -> Proof Setup -> Custom to set up the soft proof. Convert
the
> document to the print space prior to printing (save a preprint
master
> first!). The workflow for last bit is slightly different
depending on
> whether you are on a Mac or PC.
>
> The ICC profiles can be found here:
>
> http://homepage.mac.com/royharrington/FileSharing2.html
>
> under grayspaceXYZv2.zip
>
> Steve
>
>
>
>
> > From: Diane Fields <picnic@c...>
> > Reply-To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
> > Date: Fri, 15 Apr 2005 12:38:47 -0400
> > To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
> > Subject: Re: [Digital BW] Best Rip for 2200
> >
> >
> > Have you tried softproofing in PS and adjusting
tonality/contrast?
> >
> > Diane
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: glovinger
> > To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@...m
> > Sent: Friday, April 15, 2005 8:12 AM
> > Subject: [Digital BW] Best Rip for 2200
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > I installed the QTR rip yesterday for my Epson 2200 and made
several
> > test prints. So far I like the color tones, but I am very
unhappy
> > with the flatness of my prints. I actually prefer the green
colorcast I
> > get without the rip because of the wonderful detail and subtle
tones
> > the printer can produce.
> > What do you all consider the best rip on the market for the
2200? I
> > guess I need to spend more than $50.- to get the best of both
worlds.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Please visit the Group Homepage to check the Files, and other
resources as
> > they are often being updated.
> >
> > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint
> >
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PROFITS, GOODWILL,
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OF YOUR
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