QTR-Quadtone RIP

Joost & Others,
I do not want this to divert from your current question about the two 
workflows you mentioned, but I have a different approach and maybe 
someone can tell me if I am doing something wrong.

I have used QTR for so long for B&W that I do not even remember if I 
paid Roy Harrington for the privilege or not (Roy, if you read this 
and can go back in your records, please replay off line if your 
discover I have not paid).  It is well worth the small cost.

I have tried the methods you have listed and found that to me, much 
of this is not required for me to obtain quality prints.  I 
understand the word "quality" is in the eyes of the beholder, but I 
have had B&W prints in exhibitions that were printed using my method 
in QTR with no complaints from anyone.  Here is my most current 
method to achieve Black & White prints:

1) Keep my monitor calibrated (using Spyder)
2) Process image using Lightroom, CS3, & Photokit Sharpener.(All in 
Adobe RBG workspace)
2a. Use Lightroom to convert to B&W (Before this I used CS2 & Channel 
Mixer Adjustment Layer)
3) No SoftProofing (I have found that what I see no my monitor is 
very close to what prints out in QTR)
4) Save a TIF file, flatten image (I do NOT convert to 8 bit + image 
file retains the color channels)
5) Print image with QTR GUI

The only difference in my printing workflow between color & B&W is 
that for color I do not display the image in B&W in Lightroom & I 
print color through PhotoShop using the Epson driver.

As stated earlier, I have not seen any benefit of doing additional 
steps.  I use paper profiles I have obtained from other.

I am sure that since I do not have dosimeters nor other scientific 
methods of measuring the exact results, some of the additional steps 
could be beneficial, but I really cannot see it for my self right 
now.  Hope someone can enlighten me if I am really missing something 
here?

It seems that the only way to be sure, is for others to print the 
same exact image on the same exact papers using the different 
methods.  If that image could be posted so that other then would 
print the same image (without any alteration), then it could be 
determined if most other have the same result.  I am suggesting this 
to compare QTR processes to each other, NOT differneces in printer 
models.

Thanks!

Bruce
http://BruceVarner.com/
___________________________________________

--- In QuadtoneRIP@yahoogroups.com, "Joost Horsten" <j.h.j.h@...> 
wrote:
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> In view of the confusion we had lately on this forum on the 
different
> QTR workflows, I decided to do a small experiment, comparing two
> workflows..............
>
>Joost