Re: ProofMaster/PerfectProof
Re: ProofMaster/PerfectProof
- Subject: Re: ProofMaster/PerfectProof
- From: Henrik Holmegaard <email@hidden>
- Date: Thu, 9 Jan 2003 18:06:34 +0100
"Jim Reswick" <email@hidden>
>Is anyone out there using the ProofMaster RIP? They claim superior
results to
>ICC profiles with their "fingerprint" technology...can anyone comment
on their
>claims? Has anyone had experience with the print quality (beyond the
color
>management) of their RIP?
Well, of sorts. Last month I reviewed ProofMaster 1.10.1 for OS 10.2
and spent some time on the phone with the folks in Belgium.
First off I installed 1.10 and next moved on to the upgrade. I don't
want to discuss quality as there are by definition any number of
opinions, but I will gladly discuss functionality and UI /
documentation which is somewhat more down to earth.
The RIP is fast and simple in terms of functionality. You can't do
useful / standard things like nesting or ICC converting a FOGRA control
strip placed outside the netto page area. You can't soft proof either,
despite the marketing claim.
The review goes on to say that the UI and basic workflow is confusing.
The issue is that the spectral engine has an implicit assumption which
is that the inks must behave the same as offset inks. You are not
recommended to try the spectral engine on devices with colorant
behaviours which differ from those of offset.
As I understand it the spectral engine is billed as an alternative
approach to press characterization for the CMYK working space to be
simulated as well as to characterizing the device doing the proof
printing. This bills ProofMaster as a self-contained CMS.
So does the spectral engine work with offset inks but not with gravure
inks, for instance? The behaviour in terms of opacity is not the same
for these two device types. For proof printers the verbal information
is that some inkjets can be approached using the spectral engine and
others cannot. But opening the UI the spectral engine is the default
choice, no caveats.
By what criteria is the user to tell when the spectral engine applies?
With optical brightener I can look at the spectral curve in Eye-One
share or check the white point in ProfileEditor, but there is no
mechanism in the ProofMaster software that tells me when to use the
spectral engine and when not to do so.
Overall the recommendation is to build an ICC device profile using a
third party ICC print profiling application and then integrate that
profile with the linearization to make a proprietary fingerprint. The
term 'fingerprint' is also used to refer to files generated by the
spectral engine alone.
It is circuitious from a practical point of view. If the marketing
approach were changed away from pushing a proprietary spectral engine
over standard ICC device profiles, it would make the workflow easier to
understand. Maybe I didn't spend enough time on the review, or maybe
the software should be clearer. That too is a matter of opinion -:).
Henrik
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