QTR-Quadtone RIP

J. Riley,

I've got a few questions about your workflow.  You're outputting files from Lightroom with ProPhoto RGB and selecting "no color management" in the color management section.  Is this because you're using quadtone rip?  

The Print-Tool will convert your images to gray if you're outputting through one of your quad printers.

I just ran a test exporting a raw file from lightroom using ProPhoto RGB as the colorspace, dropped it in to QTR Print Tool.  It read the embedded profile correctly.  Color management set to off, sent to our quad7800 matte black printer.  in qtr selected the 16 bit option and the HanPhotoRag-Neutral curve that was created for that printer.

The image outputted with normal values and gray densities nearly match the color version using Hahnemuhle's canned profile for the 7800mk albeit the grayscale print is a bit lighter than I'd prefer and this is why:

AdobeRGB 1998 uses Gamma 2.2 and ProPhoto RGB is built on 1.8.  This can lead to a difference in densities between your prints.  This is also why it's better to use AdobeRGB 1998 or Gray Gamma 2.2 when outputting with QuadTone RIP as it produces images more closely using that gamma setting than 1.8.

Hope some of this offers some insight as to what's going on with your prints.

Nick Enghardt
St. Edward's University Advanced Imaging Lab Manager

--- In QuadtoneRIP@yahoogroups.com, Jim Stewart <8jstewart@...> wrote:
>
> Lightroom keeps all edits to an image in a sidecar file that Print Tool doesn't apparently see. Therefore, you need to export the file to one of the compatible PT formats before sending it to PrintTool.  Also, by default, Lightroom embed Prophoto colorspace to all files (color and B&W). So when you export the flattened file, you can choose to have it convert to another color space or keep it ProPhoto.
> 
> I read that QTR PrintTool converts all RGB files to Gray, and that the image in PT preview should look the same as it does in Lightroom preview, or very close. My problem is that it doesn't… PT image (on screen and printed) is noticeably darker. I've tried various fixes, but the only thing that seems to work is to edit the image in Photoshop, convert it to GrayGamma 2.2, then print it using PrintTool, using "No Color Management"
> 
> The other method that comes close is to use the file exported from Lightroom in ProPhoto space, open it in Print Tool, but to use "Application Managed" CM with the color space as "QTR-RGB-Matte" (the paper I'm using). Then once I hit "Print" and the QTR dialogue box opens, I set it to my curves setting. 
> 
> I'm still not sure what's going on as I'm following all the most recent instructions for Print Tool, but I don't want to open my B&W files in PS just to convert to GG2.2 in order for PrintTool to work.   Perhaps PT isn't the best solution for LR users…. don't know.  Anyone have any thoughts about this?
> 
> J. Riley Stewart
>