How "good" can a press profile really be?
How "good" can a press profile really be?
- Subject: How "good" can a press profile really be?
- From: joseph wilhelm <email@hidden>
- Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2001 17:32:32 +0800
Dear Group,
I am one of those people using cheap Epson printers for making press
proofs of photographic images. I have had some degree of success
doing so - comparable to a Matchprint for accuracy. I have also had
a share of surprises.
I have custom profiles for my monitor and desk-top printer as well as
for the offset press. I feel confident that my proofing and monitor
profiles are sound but I am concerned about press profiles in
general. Press conditions appear to be nowhere near as stable as my
desktop printer and monitor.
I am preparing to have another press profile made and this has gotten
me to wonder. Just how good can a press profile be? Even if the
prepress person and the pressman stick to repeatable settings and
densities aren't there random variables that will screw up a profile?
How much does the image setter affect things? Its not just the image
setter but the film batch and chemistry consistencies. Aren't there
variances each time that make knowing a press a bit unpredictable?
One challenge has been in the attempt to achieve neutral values for
light background color such as 5/3/3/0 or 3/2/2/0 (CMYK). Is it
possible to actually get this much control and predictability by way
of press profiles?
Thanks for your feedback.
respectfully,
Joseph Wilhelm