QTR-Quadtone RIP

Thanks Daniels.  You've given me a very informative reply.

Cheers,

--- In QuadtoneRIP@yahoogroups.com, "Daniel Jackson" <dnj@...> wrote:
>
> > 2) In other people's experiences, how does QTR compare
> with Paul's > workflow using the Epson driver in general?
> 
> Mark,
> 
> I've been using Paul Roark's curves with UT7 on an Epson 2200
> for a few years and have been very pleased with the results.
> I've recently considered switching to QTR, so I've been trying to
> figure this out for myself. I haven't yet managed to get QTR to
> work reliably. Here's my summary so far of the advantages and
> disadvantages of each approach:
> 
> Roark curves
> 
> + simple to use
> + excellent results
> + easy to create soft proofing profiles
> + uses Epson driver
> - not so easy to linearize (1)
> - can't put MK and PK ink in same printer  (2)
> - can't mix curves
> - can only adjust default ink limit
> 
> QTR
> + can put inks in arbitrary slots, so easy to put MK and PK
> inks in at once
> + can mix toning of different curves, separately for highlights,
> shadow, etc
> + easier to create new curves yourself
> + ability to adjust ink limits might allow higher dmax
> - minimal documentation and hard (at least for me) to get
> going
> - changing driver resolution settings changes tones, so need
> to reprofile (3)
> - more likely to produce banding effects (4)
> - don't seem to be able to kill print job once started
> 
> Notes
> 
> 1. QTR's CreateICC should allow you to linearize the Roark
> curve and turn it into an ICC profile, but I've found that this
> only worked on some of my curves.
> 
> 2. But Paul says you can get good dmax with greys alone.
> 
> 3. This and subsequent disadvantages all due to QTR's use of
> gimp driver.
> 
> 4. Seems that most users stick to the highest quality settings
> (eg, unidirectional 2880) to avoid this problem, which on my
> machine (Epson 2200) means that a 4x6 test print takes ten
> minutes to print. With the standard Epson driver, the lower
> resolution settings produce almost indistinguishable prints
> much faster.
> 
> --Daniel
>