QTR-Quadtone RIP

I've been using Roy Harrington's QTR for about a week and a half now 
with reasonable success mostly experimenting with Epson Enhanced
paper.I think I have a good understanding of the basic operation 
including the basic settings with the QTRgui,Ink limit adjustment, 
gamma adjustment, etc. I've read the QTRgui "Help" info  and it's  
easy to understand and straightforward.

But earlier this evening I felt adventurous and started reading 
Tom Moore's tutorial on 'Creating Custom Curves' and that was the 
beginning of the end of my comprehension. It seems I'm having a real 
problem grasping the concept and understanding of the technical 
aspects (terminology like descriptor files, linearizations, 
densitometers, quadprofiles, etc are confusing the heck out of me). 

So now I have two questions:

1) Is the 'custom curves' application really necessary for optimal 
results with the QTR? It seems that just about everybody on this
forum has adopted the practice so there must be something to it.

2) Does anyone know where I can find a more simplistic tutorial on 
this topic....a Creating Custom Curves for Dummies explanation?

I want to continue to learn more about QTR and upgrade my skills for 
producing better quality digital black and white.


Looking forward to hearing back from you.