Re: Monaco EZ Color, Profiler etc.
Re: Monaco EZ Color, Profiler etc.
- Subject: Re: Monaco EZ Color, Profiler etc.
- From: email@hidden
- Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2001 18:19:40 EDT
In a message dated 4/15/01 2:18:20 PM, email@hidden writes:
>
I am new to the list, so very glad to see these comparisons. Can you or
>
others say something about how Monaco Proof 3.0 compares with Profiler
>
Pro for generating and editing printer and monitor profiles?
Both are excellent programs, but with slightly different features, methods,
and color cores. On the core issue: I can tell a Monaco profile from a
ColorVision profile at the low end or the high end, due to how each company's
core processes color. This may fall to personal preference, but I am
impressed with the greater saturation available in the ColorVision profiles.
About the only balancing comment I can make is that the Monaco profiles offer
a slightly smoother gradation in fully saturated vector color gradients; not
a photographic issue, but one that might ocassionally show in vector
illustrations.
Regarding methods: Monaco offers CMYK targets at two ink limits, and allows
preliniarization, though this feature does not affect the ink limit on the
liniarization target, which can still be problematic for devices with extreme
ink conditions. This is typically thought of as a quality approach, but
building a curve to add in from of the main look up table in a profile has
the potential to reduce quality, in addition to the feature advantage of
being able to reliniarize by reprofiling that curve with out rebuilding the
entire profile. For example: if you have a laser that changes with the
whether you can reliniarize with far fewer patches than reprofiling; but if
it uses fewer patches, and effects your color, isn't it logical that it's
less accurate than reprofiling?
ProfilerPRO offers the very unique method of creating your target in RGB and
converting it via your CMYK settings to print it. This allows all the ink and
black generation settings to be actually sampled in the target, not
theoretically created for varying settings. This is amazingly accurate, but
means you need to print a new target for any changes in settings. ProfilerPRO
makes building a new profile so fast and easy that reliniarizing or reading
a new target for different ink settings is trivial. Printing new press
targets, however would not be, and mean that it is wise to print all likely
press settings in the same press run, so that another run is not needed if
different settings prove necessary.
ProfilerPRO offers a number of functions that Monaco reserves for its premium
product Monaco Profiler; while ColorVision's ProfilerPRO offers a less
broadbased package, on the theory that profile editing, monitor profiling etc
should be purchased seperately as needed.
I have a recent set of prints made with ProfilerPRO, and MonacoPROOF both
with and without preliniarization. The liniarized profile is somehow
defective (neither I not Monaco have been able to figure out why) but the
non-liniarized one is excellent. Comparing the same test image printed
through that profile, and the ProfilerPRO profile shows comparable results in
most of the image, with slight differences in how the two programs work in
shadow areas (again this might fall to personal preference), plus the
increased saturation in highly saturated colors in the PRO profile, plus
slightly more pleasing skintones in the PRO image. Though one might be able
to claim the Monaco skintones are more litera; still, they are not more
effective. Less discriminating users would be very satisfied with either
result, and the experts could argue the various merits of one over the other.
Personally I find the balance to fall to the PRO results.
The several hundred dollars one would save on ProfilerPRO over PROOF would be
another factor; the price difference would be enough to allow you to buy a
Monitor Spyder with PhotoCal for premium monitor calibration, a copy of
DoctorPRO for easy, Photoshop tool based profile editing, and have enough
left over to get a stand alone scanner profiling package, if you feel the
need.
C. David Tobie
Design Cooperative
email@hidden