Quadtone "Working Space"
Quadtone "Working Space"
- Subject: Quadtone "Working Space"
- From: Nick Wheeler <email@hidden>
- Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2002 10:06:37 -0500
Hello All
For a while now (actually a full frustrating year) I have been wrestling
with the problem of easily predicting the behavior of quadtone inks when
installed in Epson four and six color printers.
The concept seemed simple, design a set of curves that would force a higher
percentage of light ink into the 1/4 tones and above, then roll in darker
inks for the heavier tones. More recently color has been added to this mix.
By using a higher percentage of lighter ink in the 1/4 tones (thus a higher
concentration of dots) it is possible to almost completely eliminate the
appearance of any visible dot in this area. The result is a dramatic
improvement in image quality.
The problem for me was how do you quickly predict the behavior of these
curves on a computer screen rather than having to laboriously print them.
The solution is absurdly simple. First, create an RGB profile of the
printer/ink/paper combination in question. Use whatever Quickdraw driver
settings you like best, then these remain a constant. I used the v2.88
Gretag target and ProfileMaker Pro but I'm sure any combination of target
and software would be fine including Monaco EZ color or WYSIWYG.
Then assign the resultant profile to whatever RGB test image you like in
Photoshop v6.xx. In essence it becomes your "WorkingSpace Profile". For the
final tweak use the exact same profile in proof setup (what had bedeviled me
for the past year was that it didn't work as just a proof setup). Maybe this
is well known and I just never saw it, if not - maybe it will save you some
time.
Curve away. Print.
The behavior of even extreme curves such as the Brandin MIS set is well
predicted on screen.
Now all you have to worry about is the dots. But reverting the workingspace
to Ektaspace and using a standard SWOP cmyk setup like ColorMatch will give
you a pretty good idea whats up with the dot percentages.
Best wishes
Nick Wheeler
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