Printing Article part V - Imageprint by Dan Wells

[Rand47]

One can build custom ICC profiles through ImagePrint (at least in the old days, I could).
One CAN compare IP's canned profiles to a custom profile and that's what should be done.
This has very little to do with 'number of patches'; more isn't necessarily better. It has a lot to do with the color engine used to build the profile. In the days I compared profiles thorough IP, John's in-house profile package had an issue rendering saturated blues (they would shift magenta) which is a common issue for some profilers and one of the warts in Lab color space. My profiles didn't exhibit this through IP nor anything else, I'm using the X-rite color engine. It's quite easy to see this if still producing such a color shift.
Someone with IP who wishes to know if their profiles are the 'best' or not therefore needs to build a custom profile through IP using whatever specified software product, sure, specify number of patches and Spectrophotometer, settings used to build a Perceptual table, then output a number of good color reference images with RelCol and Perceptual tables, and share the results. One could also compare the soft proofing tables of the two, less an issue but to some, pertinent.
Then there are colorimetric tests one can preform on profiles where one measures output and compares the dE to a reference for all tables. That takes a lot more work and some specialized software (like ColorThink Pro) but to some, useful for actual reporting of profile qualities. But at the very least, an Apples to Apples visual comparison using good color reference images, at best, the entire Roman 16 suite and a few others if possible.

Andrew,

Thanks . . .

Rand

[PeterAit]

A few years ago I downloaded the Image Print trial and gave it a good workout. I made prints of several images of widely varying characteristics on a few kinds of high end paper using a 7900. With IP and with the paper manufacturers' profiles. I found it impossible to see any meaningful differences--or any differences at all--and when there was a difference I could not say that one was better than the other, just different. So I kept my money and bought a lens.

[mshea]

Hi Dan,

How would you rate the overall color fidelity, etc. of that Canon Adhesive Vinyl you mentioned? And is there a company out there that does prints on this product (in Boston perhaps)? It only comes in 24" width, which leaves me out in the cold with my P800. A 22" X 6' or 8' print would be just the ticket for a few large pano files I have, if the quality is really good.

Thanks,
Merrill