Hi Mike,
--
I think we still need some more clarification here.
Creating an ICC profile characterizes a particular print workflow -- (either B&W or for most of the world RGB).
This ICC profile can be used is several ways.
First -- the major usage is to print via a color management system that converts your image file to
values that "best" represent the colors/tones to match screen-to-print. This involves applying correction
curves on the fly -- calculated from the embedded profile and the print profile.
Second -- soft proofing in Photoshop with several options is possible. You can show what the print would
look like WITHOUT printing through the profile (this is the "Preserve Color Numbers) or what it would look like
WITH using the profile for printing.
So while your statement "creating an ICC profile DOES NOT linearize anything" is technically true -- after all it
doesn't modify the curves at all -- I think you are missing the main effect. It allows the CMS to create a
correction curve at print time to match screen-to-print. This is really the best of all methods -- all at once.
Sure this limited by rest of system but everything is anyway. Most modern displays are very good right out of the box.
At little about linearization. QTR driver linearization is based on straight-line L values. It's the "QTR driver standard"
basically so that all curves have similar responses. But in a sense is really an intermediate stage that for one
thing allows predictable curve blending. When you linearize a curve the software creates and applies a correction
curve to get a linear L-value output. It also allows the generic ICCs Gray-Matte-Paper for a lower dMax and
Gray-Photo-Paper for a higher dMax. The generic ICCs are for any linear L-value curve.
The Piezo K7 curves are a slightly different linearization -- I believe he picked one closer to Gamma 2.2 which is
his "workflow method" -- so that he could use a No Color Management workflow. This is easier on Windows w/ QTRgui,
and worked well on older Macs with Photoshop. But since CS4 correct NoCM has not been available -- so
that's why there's Print-Tool now.
There's a lot of nitty-gritty complicated stuff here but really its the icing on the cake. You can quite successfully
just make test prints and correct as needed by editing. The fancy stuff is generally needed for color work but B&W
is much more of a personal choice of all the possibilities -- try out various blends for toning, burn/dodge i.e. darken/lighten
areas of the print that you want that way. Don't get hung up on the "best" curves & workflow. "best" comes from
you editing to your image so it looks like what you want.
Roy
On Mon, Nov 17, 2014 at 2:47 PM, Michael King drmrking@... [QuadtoneRIP] <QuadtoneRIP@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
Just so that people don't get confused, let's be clear that creating an ICC profile DOES NOT linearize anything. It simply gives you the ability to preview your print output on screen. BUT that also depends on you having an accurately profiled monitor to view it !!Any linearizing with this ICC approach is manual based on tweaking a PS curve and good luck with doing that accurately if your monitor is not high end and recently calibrated.MikeOn 17 November 2014 21:25, sanking@... [QuadtoneRIP] <QuadtoneRIP@yahoogroups.com> wrote:Peter,
Or, you could use the method suggested by Roy Harrington for linearizing K7 inks where you create and apply an ICC custom file over the existing .quad file. In the case of the K7 inks this would probably be simpler for some than creating a new profile from scratch.
Sandy