Profile editor for i1Profiler print profiles?

[rasworth]

I remember several years ago using Profile Editor to tickle the Relative return path, AtoB1, of Profile Maker printer profiles to obtain a better match between Photoshop soft proof and printed copy.  There were a complete set of tools, one could adjust saturation, contrast, etc. of the one tag and only affect soft proofing.

I have my present setup where I want it in terms of matching brightness of the printed copy and the display image, using the appropriate values in Photoshop View.  However, my lighting setup is not the best in terms of CRI, and I notice a difference in saturation.  I guess I could resurrect Profile Editor, the same dongle that activates i1Profiler is the one I used for Profile Maker, but before I do so I would like to know if it will work on the current day i1Profiler printer profiles.  Does anybody in the group have experience in doing so?  Is there any other software available that will successfully edit the i1Profiler files?

Thanks,
Richard Southworth

[rasworth]

Apparently nobody has tried this, so I fired up a spare Windows 10 system, downloaded the most recent version of Profile Maker (5.6.10), and installed.  All worked ok, the old HASP dongle driver didn't load but the i1Profiler driver did the job.  After re-familiarizing myself with the software I edited the A2B1 tag in an i1Profiler printer profile, dropping saturation by -20.

I then compared soft proofing of the original profile with the edited version using a common test image.  All appeared as expected, although I overshot the saturation adjustment, will have to do some more cut and try.  I attached a screen print showing the before and after.  I was curious as to how the editor modified the profile for the saturation adjustment, a quick look with ICC Profile Inspector gave the answer - the LUT was unchanged but the output a and b curves were straight line modified (see second attachment).  Don Margulis would be proud!

Again, only the return path Relative tag of the profile was modified, so that the actual print profile tags were unaffected.  After one try this appears to still be a reasonable way to tweak a printer profile for improved soft proofing.

Richard Southworth

[Doug Gray]

I'm curious about the what media you were using. Also, what was the profile black point? Getting a good soft proof match with an unmodified profile can be tricky but I've always found it doable by properly adjusting the illumination setup. I don't like editing profiles because it's a PITA to consistently do with multiple media/profiles and keeping track of changes bugs me.

[digitaldog]

I don't like editing profiles because it's a PITA to consistently do with multiple media/profiles and keeping track of changes bugs me.

Especially since the tools today are so rare and so bad. Not in the very old days (ColorBlind Edit, Kodak's Custom Color ICC). The Kodak product allowed us to edit all tables, based on viewing images in Photoshop, using the Photoshop tool set. Genius. But then, this was managed by Kodak (sad).

[rasworth]

Doug, the media was Ilford Gold Fibre Silk, black point of profile per ColorThink was L*=4, a*=b*=0.  Profile was created via i1Profiler using an i1Pro.  I was trying to attain a reasonable match with a non-adjustable, relatively crude print lighting configuration.  It's workable, but certainly not up to the quality level of a good viewing booth.

Andrew, Profile Editor works surprisingly well, particularly when being used to modify the back path.  When set up per the attached screen shot, the image is a dead ringer for soft proof in Photoshop with Simulate Paper Color checked in Proof Setup.

Richard Southworth

[digitaldog]

Andrew, Profile Editor works surprisingly well, particularly when being used to modify the back path.

It does indeed, it's just the awful GUI and confusing process. In Kodak's product, you open any image you desire through the plug-in. It places a lot of tiny color patches onto that image. You edit using any global tool you desire in Photoshop which most know. You pick which table to edit (either or both preview and output table, one or all). It builds a new profile. Super easy. I still have a copy running on a very old Mac running a very old copy of Photoshop. It was the only tool I found that worked to fix a bug in an old MonacoPROFILER CMYK profile that exhibited a mere 1% scum dot in only one of the four color channels.

[Royce Howland]

Andrew, have you got an opinion on ColorLogic's profile editing tool? It sounds like it operates roughly similar to how you describe the old Kodak tool working, though it sounds like ColorLogic emits a device link profile to reflect the edits. I've been planning for awhile now to add ColorAnt and Copra to my profiling toolset, but have been debating whether to also fork over for their editor...

[digitaldog]

Andrew, have you got an opinion on ColorLogic's profile editing tool? It sounds like it operates roughly similar to how you describe the old Kodak tool working, though it sounds like ColorLogic emits a device link profile to reflect the edits. I've been planning for awhile now to add ColorAnt and Copra to my profiling toolset, but have been debating whether to also fork over for their editor...

Haven't used it but looked it over. Big difference is the editing isn't taking place in Photoshop. BTW, both Copra and ColorAnt are quite useful, good products.