Re: CMYK profiling - Monaco / StudioPrint
Re: CMYK profiling - Monaco / StudioPrint
- Subject: Re: CMYK profiling - Monaco / StudioPrint
- From: Marc Levine <email@hidden>
- Date: Mon, 07 Jul 2003 11:48:39 -0400
>
Yes, there would be benefits to more complete black generation control;
>
though it would be ideal to avoid profiling as a seven color device. With
>
proper
>
RIP channel splitting controls CMYK profiling is sufficient.
Saw this link a few lists ago and figured I'd clear a few things up. First,
I wanted clear up a possible gray issue regarding Epson ultrachrome devices.
These printers are always treated as either 3 or 4-color devices (except
maybe with the Scanvec RIP?) and should always be profiled in that manner.
When talking about the balance of light and dark ink - this is purely a RIP
issue. When speaking about this "balancing act", it basically goes under the
umbrella of "screening". It is the screening that "fuses" light and dark ink
channels together and controls the ratio of the 2 components at different
lightness levels. I would look to the smoothness of light-dark transitions
as the most important factor in evaluating the need for this type of
control, but printability can be a huge factor as well.
Regarding MonacoPROOF vs MonacoPROFILER - the black generation differences
are this.
1) Both have presets for black development curves (light, medium, heavy,
none). These curves are similar to the curves that Gretag offers in
Profilemaker package, although they differ in naming convention.
2) MonacoPROOF always uses GCR and always has Monaco's intelligent black
feature enabled. This means that the software dynamically looks at the
measured data and adapts the algorithm to suit the device - ensuring that
the profile captures the maximum possible device gamut. MonacoPROFILER
allows the user to specify UCR/GCR logic (including GCR width) and allows
the user to enable or disable the intelligent black feature.
GCR users more black instead of CMY - even in colored areas. UCR replaces
CMY with K primarily in shadow areas.
3) MonacoPROFILER allows the user to specify a custom black development as
well - which can then be saved into the application. In the case of the
Ultrachrome printers, I have used this feature to start the black very early
and develop in a linear fashion. This produces a very nice gray construction
and can make a big difference in your black and white quality in some
applications. Neither MonacoPROOF, nor any other package (that I am aware
of) lets you make a custom black channel shape in the black generation
controls.
The key to defining your black generation settings in the most effective way
is to understand your device. Users can always take advantage of presets -
which will deliver very good results. However, when black generation control
can be tuned to work better with a device's "behavior", the results can be
even further improved. The nice thing about the intelligent black feature is
that, whatever the user settings are, the engine will always adapt for the
best possible result.
There's also the broader target support (including input Hutch and output
ECI/IT8 extended), more patches, and huge editing features that further
differentiate MonacoPROOF and MonacoPROFILER, but that's another story.
Marc Levine
email@hidden
www.monacosys.com
www.x-rite.com
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