Duotone Printing?
2005-08-11 by Carl Schofield
I was intrigued by the recent discussion concerning replicating the Lenswork "look". Some have tried using custom mixes with the Epson k3 driver in ABW mode and also the RGB driver with standard PS duotone presets, converted to RGB for printing with the Epson driver. I haven't had 100% success with either approach - close, but not quite there in all cases. If one uses a 2K printer (2200, 4000, 7600, etc.) why not just make a warm gray ink, with LK density, that matches the Lenswork gray ink (Pantone Warm Gray 11 C: L 40, a 4, b -7)) and then generate simple 2K curves (QTR or IJC) using MK or PK and the custom, Pantone matched LK? Has anyone tried this approach? I know this is not really true duotone printing, in the traditional printing sense, but it would seem to be capable of producing consistent results with a RIP and avoids the crossover and metamerism problems associated with using the Epson driver and color inks. If someone can tell me how to mix the "lenswork LK" I'll give it a try and do some profiles.