QTR-Quadtone RIP

Hello John. My post is nearly a month old now. It could hardly have
been in reference to you. Most of it was an attempt,however poorly
done, to help David. It explicitly stated that his query was Not a
problem. It is true that the learning curve seems somewhat steep, as
others have mentioned.
 The last paragraph was an expression of opinion about the impatience
of some who, in reaction to their personal difficulties in
understanding, become highly critical of that which they don't
understand. Frustration can have that result with some. Not even the
highly learned are immune at times. Should you not agree with the
opinion, however, it is perfectly ignorable;-)
 As regards your problem. First, the paper and, if I'm not mistaken,
the printer you are using is designed specifically for glossy papers.
If you are referring to values from your spectro, they would be
expected to show high maximum densities for that situation. The
tutorials likely were written from data using matt papers and would
report different, and lower, density numbers. There's nothing
diabolical about that. It shouldn't be particularly objectionable or
difficult to understand either. 
 I have not looked to see if there are previously generated curves for
your printer in the QTR distribution but assume from your comments
that there are not. Asking if others may have made one for your
combination of paper and machine is the viable way to go. If you don't
receive a response to that then you are left with the prospect of
making your own. As a scientist, you should find it easy to adapt
virtually any glossy paper curve for any machine/ink combination that
IS included with QTR to your needs. The same is true for any matt
papers as well. Then "you" can be the respondent to another newbie
with the same query.
 I do not have, or have access to, an Eye-one so can't comment on that
issue.
 If your creation of a new curve was successful and you were able to
save it, then it should be available to you for use. If you found it
in the curve box in QTRgui and selected it before trying to print the
 step table through QTR you should have ended up with a print. You
apparently did not. If you are looking for help in finding out why
that is, you will need to give a lot more information on exactly how
you went about the task.
 Lastly, I doubt anyone has ever been tossed off for asking a
question. It would not be me doing the tossing in any case.

Regards
Duane
  

--- In QuadtoneRIP@yahoogroups.com, "johncjmd" <johncjmd@...> wrote:
>
> I, too have had considerable problems using QTR.  The User guide admits
> it is slightly out of date.  This sin't the problem.  But I am a user of
> computers with considerable experience and have an advanced science
> degree, and I find the description of the process of making a curve very
> difficult to follow.  I am trying to make a curve to use Epson Premium
> glossy Photo paper on an R800.  The values I get seem very different
> from those given in the example.  And although I own an EyeOne, the
> instructions for using it to get the values needed are sketchy to say
> the least.  I followed along with the beginning of the tutorial and made
> a new curve, and then attempted to print the step wedge, but the program
> simply does not print my test.
> Now, I fully expect to be removed from this list after less than 24
> hours  of membership and my initial post, since the writer of this
> initial post has been accused of whining about something rather than
> making a sincere attempt to get help with a difficult process.
> Please don't get me wrong about all this.  QTR is obviously worth
> considerably more than the $50 shareware request.  Commercial RIPS are
> exorbitantly expensive, and don't offer usage on smaller printers like
> the R800.  But it is not simple to use.  I suggest that a list of
> profiles by successful users of various printers might be a useful start
> for those who wish to customize their curves.  And I respectfully
> suggest that those of us with difficulties are not just complaining, but
> asking for help from the more experienced and more knowledgeable.
> --- In QuadtoneRIP@yahoogroups.com, "dlruckus" <dlruckus@> wrote:
> >
> > Hello David. I will try to help but if anyone has better words, please
> > chip in.
> > Density, as it relates to QTR, means  how dark does the ink look once
> > printed on the paper. It's the nature of the relationships between the
> > inks and papers we use to vary with different printers,inks and papers
> > and, to some extent, even in variations in the surrounding environment
> > (eg: humidity,temperatures etc). It is also true that more ink does
> > not necessarily mean darker. There often comes a point where the
> > application of more ink to the paper actually makes it look lighter
> > rather than darker. The use of the terms density and ink limits in QTR
> > are referring to this effect. We all want the maximum darkness(d'max)
> > as dark as possible so we try to limit the amount of ink used to be
> > only just enough to give us the maximum visual blackness we can get.
> > In practice, generally you stop somewhere just before this at a point
> > where increasing the amount of ink laid down stops giving significant
> > increases in density. You do Not want to go beyond that to where you
> > reverse the ever increasing darkness curve.
> > What I just described is in reference to the K ink but it is equally
> > true of the lighter inks(grays). At some point they also will max out
> > in their density and give no more. So when you make the calibration
> > prints within QTR you are, first, trying to determine what the maximum
> > amount of black ink you can use is(limit) and, second, once this is
> > determined, testing for what the darkness of each of the other
> > inks(grays) is at that same limit and specifically in relation to the
> > black ink. Those figures are then used to derive the initial control
> > points used for bringing the various shades in during the printing
> > process so you get the proper distribution of tones.
> > Linearizing is just a continuation of the above process by adjusting
> > the curves that were derived from them such that they give equal steps
> > across the test step tablet and replicate it properly.
> >
> > All said above is a simplification, though I believe accurate, of what
> > the QTR RIP does and or can do. It has many controls and, beyond a few
> > folks who post here, most of us don't have sufficient experience and
> > knowledge of rips overall to be proclaiming much in the way of wisdom
> > in the matter. That is why it sometimes takes a while to get suitable
> > answers to questions. We don't really relish the possibility of being
> > caught out as a case of the blind leading the blind. Most will wait to
> > see if someone far more knowledgeable will answer first. Those people
> > are usually very busy and have limited time to spend in doing so.
> >
> > In regards to this overall thread (Not your query), some of the
> > responses or complaints are a bit like a 5 year old going into a rage
> > because daddy won't teach him to drive the family sedan. Never mind
> > that he's still too small to reach the pedals and can't yet read the
> > road signs.
> >
> > Regards
> > Duane
> >
> >
> >
> > --- In QuadtoneRIP@yahoogroups.com, "David" dkfreed@ wrote:
> > >
> > > I've posted this question before, but didn't really understand the
> > > answers. So again, can someone help me understand what the ink
> density
> > > and ink limit settings do? How are they different, the same?  Can
> > > someone give an example of what changing these settings do?
> > >
> > > I have only a layperson's understanding, so looking for help.
> > >
> > > Best, David.
> > >
> >
>