QTR-Quadtone RIP

Hi there,
I've browsed the archive but most of the information there is too sophisticated for me at the moment.
I'm using an Epson 4000 with Semi-Gloss Photo Paper and the standard (ultrachrome?) inksets. I can't get a quality mono image with the epson driver so I'm trying the quadtone RIP.
It certainly gives me a great neutral image if I just select a single neutral curve. However I find it a bit cold so I'm trying to blend it with the sepia and the carbon (which looks much the same as sepia to me).
However even if I set the first neutral curve to 100% the warmer curve seems to over-ride it. Same with choosing split tone - it makes no difference.
I'm sure I haven't given enough information here, but that's because it's new to me and I'm not sure what I need to offer up. 
I am using  mac (10.4) Photoshop CS and trying to a print a greyscale image (single channel).
Your help is much appreciated.
Mike

i think if you are using greyscale image and you want it to warm up come you 
may need to do back to your color image file with the saturation turned way 
down and add the color tint you want.....
----- Original Message ----- 

From: "mikerussell6864" <mike@...>
To: <QuadtoneRIP@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Friday, September 25, 2009 6:38 AM
Subject: [QuadtoneRIP] new user, day one, curve blending question


> Hi there,
> I've browsed the archive but most of the information there is too 
> sophisticated for me at the moment.
> I'm using an Epson 4000 with Semi-Gloss Photo Paper and the standard 
> (ultrachrome?) inksets. I can't get a quality mono image with the epson 
> driver so I'm trying the quadtone RIP.
> It certainly gives me a great neutral image if I just select a single 
> neutral curve. However I find it a bit cold so I'm trying to blend it with 
> the sepia and the carbon (which looks much the same as sepia to me).
> However even if I set the first neutral curve to 100% the warmer curve 
> seems to over-ride it. Same with choosing split tone - it makes no 
> difference.
> I'm sure I haven't given enough information here, but that's because it's 
> new to me and I'm not sure what I need to offer up.
> I am using  mac (10.4) Photoshop CS and trying to a print a greyscale 
> image (single channel).
> Your help is much appreciated.
> Mike
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>

--- In QuadtoneRIP@yahoogroups.com, "skip crawford" <auntskip2@...> wrote:
>
> i think if you are using greyscale image and you want it to warm up come you 
> may need to do back to your color image file with the saturation turned way 
> down and add the color tint you want.....

That sounds like a strange advice to me. QTR uses a grayscale image. Any toning is done by blending curves, as the OP seems to do correctly. Having said that, I've no clue why it doesn't work in his case. Espeoially since it happens with the first curve being at 100%.... Puzzling indeed....

Joost

> 
> That sounds like a strange advice to me. QTR uses a grayscale image. Any toning is done by blending curves, as the OP seems to do correctly. Having said that, I've no clue why it doesn't work in his case. Espeoially since it happens with the first curve being at 100%.... Puzzling indeed....
> 
> Joost

Yes, struck me from the instructions that the curves were applied in order to tweak a neutral image - otherwise how would the split toning offer work?

However, is it standard practise to use a grayscale image or a de-saturated RGB image? (I notice there are two options to choose from in profiles).

--- In QuadtoneRIP@yahoogroups.com, "mikerussell6864" <mike@...> wrote:
> 
> However, is it standard practise to use a grayscale image or a de-saturated RGB image? (I notice there are two options to choose from in profiles).

It doesn't matter whether it is a grayscale or color image, as long it has been converted to a Lab profile. That's the color space QTR assumes.

Joost

So does that mean I have to convert my file to lab before printing with QTR - neither grayscale or RGB is appropriate?

Mike

> It doesn't matter whether it is a grayscale or color image, as long it has been converted to a Lab profile. That's the color space QTR assumes.
> 
> Joost
>

To clarify: there are two different things here that should not be confused: the color MODEL of the image (maybe RGB, Lab, CMYK, HSV or whatever) and the color SPACE (with related color PROFILE). I'm referring here to the space/profile not to the color model. I'm not on a computer with Photoshop at the moment, but from the top of my head you can convert your file via the edit>mode option. QTR comes with an QTR-LAB.icc profile. If you install that in your profile direction, you will see that as option while converting your file.   

Joost

So as well as choosing QTR-RGB Photo paper as a profile in the printer driver, you have to first convert your file from, say adobeRGB to QTR - Gray LAB? I seem to have missed that in the instructions...

Mike

--- In QuadtoneRIP@yahoogroups.com, "horstenj" <j.h.j.h@...> wrote:

>
> To clarify: there are two different things here that should not be confused: the color MODEL of the image (maybe RGB, Lab, CMYK, HSV or whatever) and the color SPACE (with related color PROFILE). I'm referring here to the space/profile not to the color model. I'm not on a computer with Photoshop at the moment, but from the top of my head you can convert your file via the edit>mode option. QTR comes with an QTR-LAB.icc profile. If you install that in your profile direction, you will see that as option while converting your file.   
> 
> Joost
>

--- In QuadtoneRIP@yahoogroups.com, "mikerussell6864" <mike@...> wrote:
>
> So as well as choosing QTR-RGB Photo paper as a profile in the printer driver, you have to first convert your file from, say adobeRGB to QTR - Gray LAB? I seem to have missed that in the instructions...
> 

Now I re-read your intial post, I realize you're on a Mac. What I'm describing is the workflow for PC. And for printing that's quite different. 

I'm not familiar with the Mac workflow. Frankly, I would expect that the conversion to QTR-Lab is done automatically on the Mac but I'm not sure. In all cases a manual conversion to QTR-Lab should not hurt, but it may not make any difference on a Mac. But again, I don't know so I better shut up. Sorry for any confusion I created.

Joost