QTR-Quadtone RIP

I'd like to use Curve Creator in QTR to create a curve where each dot 
on the paper would be made of matte black ink and a slight amount 
(maybe 20-25%) of yellow. I'll be printing at 1440 dpi, and I want the 
image to print as a series of distinct dots, not a continuous tone 
image. I'll be using this to create a transparency for burning ethcing 
plates. 

Can someone give me the curve creation settings for the inks (density 
and limit) and for the overall Default Ink Limit and Black Boost

Best, David

Hi David. As you have had no reply, I'll make a suggestion. No
guarantee comes with it;) Why don't you simply try an overall ink
limit of 100% with 0% boost. Limit your yellow ink to 25% and copy
it's curve from the K ink. Call both of them 100% density.Go ahead and
print a scale and see what it looks like. Since you are actually
wanting a transparency, the usual d'max issues probably won't apply
here. You're just trying to get maximum transmission density so the
more ink the better. The issue you might have is the dot spread on
your transparency material if there is too much ink going down. Look
at it with a loop or magnifier to see if you have nice crisp dots. If
not, lower the overall limit, slightly reduce the yellow limit and try
again. Repeat until it works for you.

Hope this is of some use.

Regards
Duane



--- In QuadtoneRIP@yahoogroups.com, "David" <dkfreed@...> wrote:

>
> I'd like to use Curve Creator in QTR to create a curve where each dot 
> on the paper would be made of matte black ink and a slight amount 
> (maybe 20-25%) of yellow. I'll be printing at 1440 dpi, and I want the 
> image to print as a series of distinct dots, not a continuous tone 
> image. I'll be using this to create a transparency for burning ethcing 
> plates. 
> 
> Can someone give me the curve creation settings for the inks (density 
> and limit) and for the overall Default Ink Limit and Black Boost
> 
> Best, David
>

Thanks Duane, I'll give that a try. I'm trying to accomplish a few 
things here: create a dot pattern, make the inks as opaque or UV 
blocking as possible, and add a second color to the matte black ink, 
both for UV blocking qualities and to make the ink adhere better on 
the transparency film. 

The only part of your directions I'm not clear about is "copy it's 
curve (yellow ink) from the K ink"? I'm not applying any custom curve 
or linearization that I know of to the K ink, so what am I 
transfering over?  

Best, David. 



--- In QuadtoneRIP@yahoogroups.com, "dlruckus" <dlruckus@...> wrote:
>
> Hi David. As you have had no reply, I'll make a suggestion. No
> guarantee comes with it;) Why don't you simply try an overall ink
> limit of 100% with 0% boost. Limit your yellow ink to 25% and copy
> it's curve from the K ink. Call both of them 100% density.Go ahead 
> and print a scale and see what it looks like. Since you are actually
> wanting a transparency, the usual d'max issues probably won't apply
> here. You're just trying to get maximum transmission density so the
> more ink the better. The issue you might have is the dot spread on
> your transparency material if there is too much ink going down. Look
> at it with a loop or magnifier to see if you have nice crisp dots. 

If not, lower the overall limit, slightly reduce the yellow limit and 
try again. Repeat until it works for you.  Hope this is of some use.
> 
> Regards, Duane

Hi David. In QTR you have the option of matching the curve generated
for an ink with the curve from another ink in your description. It's
one of the check-offs in the Gui version. You always get some kind of
curve generated for each ink even before linearizing an ink set. That
is the reason I suggested calling both K and yellow inks density
100%.I believe that, and copying the K curve, would allow you to over
print the 20-25% yellow limit you wanted.

You could also just use the printers normal driver with color inks or
black only. You just have to fool it by adjusting contrast to avoid
solid coverage in your transparency. A gentleman e'mailed me
suggesting that he has been using the method for many years to make
etching transparencies with black only. He said we were making life
too difficult. Based on your latest e'mail I'm inclined to agree;)

QTR can do what you wish but there may be easier ways.

Regards
Duane

--- In QuadtoneRIP@yahoogroups.com, "David" <dkfreed@...> wrote:

> 
> The only part of your directions I'm not clear about is "copy it's 
> curve (yellow ink) from the K ink"? I'm not applying any custom curve 
> or linearization that I know of to the K ink, so what am I 
> transfering over?  
> 
> Best, David. 
> 
> 
> 
> --- In QuadtoneRIP@yahoogroups.com, "dlruckus" <dlruckus@> wrote:
> >
> > Hi David. As you have had no reply, I'll make a suggestion. No
> > guarantee comes with it;) Why don't you simply try an overall ink
> > limit of 100% with 0% boost. Limit your yellow ink to 25% and copy
> > it's curve from the K ink. Call both of them 100% density.Go ahead 
> > and print a scale and see what it looks like. Since you are actually
> > wanting a transparency, the usual d'max issues probably won't apply
> > here. You're just trying to get maximum transmission density so the
> > more ink the better. The issue you might have is the dot spread on
> > your transparency material if there is too much ink going down. Look
> > at it with a loop or magnifier to see if you have nice crisp dots. 
> 
> If not, lower the overall limit, slightly reduce the yellow limit and 
> try again. Repeat until it works for you.  Hope this is of some use.
> > 
> > Regards, Duane
>

Thanks again Duane.  

Yes, I see the check-off now. Another question: when I hit the "create
curve" button found in the Curve Creation tool, it brings up a
graphic, scaled 0-100 going both up/down and across, with lines
plotted for the ink colors. What is this showing me? 

Regarding the gentlemen's email, I know that this should be easier,
but there are issues with using the Epson R2400 printer with its
default driver for this task: 1) the black inks have trouble blocking
UV light; 2) the printer has no true "black only" mode; 3)I can't get
it to print at a lower DPI (ideally 360 or 720 DPI) to get the
dot/grain pattern I need; and 4) the matte black ink has higher
opacity, but by itself doesn't adhere well to most quality
transparency films.

So, I'm using QTR to both control the inks and the printer resolution. 

Yes, I've been fooling at this for far to long, and if I don't get
results soon, I may have to break down and buy a second printer such
as the Epson 3000, which does a much better job at this. 

Best, David 


--- In QuadtoneRIP@yahoogroups.com, "dlruckus" <dlruckus@...> wrote:
>
> Hi David. In QTR you have the option of matching the curve generated
> for an ink with the curve from another ink in your description. It's
> one of the check-offs in the Gui version. 

A gentleman e'mailed me

> suggesting that he has been using the method for many years to make
> etching transparencies with black only. He said we were making life
> too difficult. Based on your latest e'mail I'm inclined to agree;)

David, I believe the curves are showing you the percentages of each
ink as it is brought into play along the light to dark scale. If you
matched everything except the yellow limit to the black ink I think it
should show both curves to be the same except the yellow as a lesser
relative percentage. I haven't done this so I may very well be wrong
on it. If so, perhaps someone reading this who knows better will pipe
up and speak truth. I have used toner inks in a similar fashion when I
wanted them to be involved all along the black scale and it seemed to
work.

OK. I assumed at the beginning that you had reason to be trying QTR so
I hadn't given much thought to other options until receiving the e'mail.

Regards,
Duane




--- In QuadtoneRIP@yahoogroups.com, "David" <dkfreed@...> wrote:

>
> Thanks again Duane.  
> 
> Yes, I see the check-off now. Another question: when I hit the "create
> curve" button found in the Curve Creation tool, it brings up a
> graphic, scaled 0-100 going both up/down and across, with lines
> plotted for the ink colors. What is this showing me? 
> 
> Regarding the gentlemen's email, I know that this should be easier,
> but there are issues with using the Epson R2400 printer with its
> default driver for this task: 1) the black inks have trouble blocking
> UV light; 2) the printer has no true "black only" mode; 3)I can't get
> it to print at a lower DPI (ideally 360 or 720 DPI) to get the
> dot/grain pattern I need; and 4) the matte black ink has higher
> opacity, but by itself doesn't adhere well to most quality
> transparency films.
> 
> So, I'm using QTR to both control the inks and the printer resolution. 
> 
> Yes, I've been fooling at this for far to long, and if I don't get
> results soon, I may have to break down and buy a second printer such
> as the Epson 3000, which does a much better job at this. 
> 
> Best, David 
> 
> 
> --- In QuadtoneRIP@yahoogroups.com, "dlruckus" <dlruckus@> wrote:
> >
> > Hi David. In QTR you have the option of matching the curve generated
> > for an ink with the curve from another ink in your description. It's
> > one of the check-offs in the Gui version. 
> 
> A gentleman e'mailed me
> > suggesting that he has been using the method for many years to make
> > etching transparencies with black only. He said we were making life
> > too difficult. Based on your latest e'mail I'm inclined to agree;)
>