Printer Custom Profiles

[Etienne Cassar]

I would like to get custom profiles for my iPF5100 printer and papers and wonder who offers the best service with the best profiles.  Any recommendations?  Also can anyone point out a good test print chart that I can use to help me select the best driver settings with a particular paper.  Currently I do not own a spectrophotometer and so I'll have to judge the results (such as best DMax) by eye and wonder if this will be possible.

Thanks

Etienne

[eronald]

I would like to get custom profiles for my iPF5100 printer and papers and wonder who offers the best service with the best profiles.  Any recommendations?  Also can anyone point out a good test print chart that I can use to help me select the best driver settings with a particular paper.  Currently I do not own a spectrophotometer and so I'll have to judge the results (such as best DMax) by eye and wonder if this will be possible.

Thanks

Etienne

I'll do a free profile for anyone on this forum who asks nicely

However, my profiles are intended for photographers making final prints and not for people doing proofing. They may be made with my own software in some cases, to help with my own tests.

I use automatic scanning x-y spectros, and can read the big Atkinson 4000 patch charts on an iSis XL, and any thickness of material and transparent materials on a Barbieri LFP, but will not do such specialty jobs for free.

Andrew Rodney who is present on this forum is one of the best color consultants on the planet - he does it for a living, and if you can afford his services I would of course recommend him.

Edmund

[digitaldog]

he does it for a living, and if you can afford his services I would of course recommend him.

Can’t say I do it for a living, but it generates income to go into the three dog’s Greenies savings account (3 greenies a day adds up!).

[Pat Herold]

I'll speak to your second question concerning test charts for driver settings.  
This is a good pursuit.  To get the most out of third party inks or papers, it pays to experiment with different media settings in the driver.  You would be looking for a setting that will give you the most ink on the page without having so much that it is puddling up, not drying, that sort of thing.  

You will also want a setting that will give you an even distribution of color throughout the spectrum.  This is easy to do with just a 1 page profiling chart that has its patches arranged visually - rather than randomly.  With a visual chart, printed with no color management, look for a smooth gradation throughout the patches.  For example, you should not see a sudden transition from shadows to light, with few patches in between.  Check the 100% black patch to see that it is drying, not bronzing, or looking lighter than the others.

The 918 RGB chart included in ProfileMaker from X-Rite is a free download from X-Rite.  Our own ColorValet Client software is free to download and use - and you can print out a visual target with that.