QTR and the old fellow

[Gigas]

Hello from Sweden!
I just paid for QTR on PayPal ($ 50) for the license, but what happens next?
I wish I could print better black and white copies than my Epson SC-P600 printer can handle in its ABW mode.
Can anyone help me step by step with how to install a simple but good profile for black and white prints.
I use Epson Fine Art Cotton Smooth Bright and Infinity Baryta Photographic II paper.
The image processing program is SilkyPix 10 pro.
Please help me with this!

[nirpat89]

Have you looked up this forum dedicated to QTR -

https://groups.io/g/QuadToneRIP/topics

[Gigas]

I will do that but after paying the fee of 50 USD via payPal is there not a license number or any receipt for me?

[David Sutton]

A web search "how to use quad tone rip" brought up the documentation on the QTR website (http://www.quadtonerip.com/html/QTRdownload.html) and a a tutorial on this site (https://www.luminous-landscape.com/a-tutorial-on-using-quadtone-rip-pc-version-to-create-digital-negatives/).

[nirpat89]

I will do that but after paying the fee of 50 USD via payPal is there not a license number or any receipt for me?

Oh, it is a shareware...it does not have a key.  You can just start using it. 

This should get you started:

http://www.quadtonerip.com/User%20Guide.pdf

And this:

http://www.diallophotography.com/pdfs/QTRworkflow.pdf

[Gigas]

On the current system I use, SilkyPix 10E pro, there is no chance to see the QTR profiles. On the Print-Tool 2.1.1 I get some adjustments but in the "Embedded Profile" there is only sRGB IEC 61966-2.1 and no Gray Gamma 2.2.
What am I doing wrong with this fine shareware?
If I adjust the picture on my SilkyPix and the transfer the image to the Print-Tool 2.1.1 would not that give me access to the Gray Gamma 2.2? In the dialog at my Mac and Catalina 10.15.7 and under the "System Preferences" and "Display"
I got these options:iMac calibratedQTR-RGB Lab, iMac_01-10-2020.icc, ACES CG Linear (Academy Color Encoding, Adobe RGB (1998)

It is hard when your head is slow and to many options!

[Garnick]

Have you actually installed the profiles for your printer?  This has to be done before you start using the app.  Then you can check and try some of the duo-tones as well as the neutral profiles.

[Gigas]

Sorry, but I gave up with this fine system. It is a little to much for me to handle as I am over 70!

[Garnick]

Sorry, but I gave up with this fine system. It is a little to much for me to handle as I am over 70!

Well, at 74 I suppose it's simply a matter of one oldie trying to help a younger oldie. Sorry to hear that you've now given up on QTR, but I really believe that the problems you have encountered are based on the app you are using (SilkyPix).  Until your post I had never heard of this program, so I did a bit of research.  I believe that this app is not capable of printing from a program/driver such as QTR.  Of course I could very well be mistaken.  I've used QTR for many years with no issues.  I use it through Photoshop, where it's used as a totally separate printer driver for Epson Printers Only.  If you do want to try QTR one more time I would suggest that you go to the SilkyPix site and ask them if a driver such as QTR can be used with their software.  That might be the only way approach this issue.       

[nirpat89]

Well, at 74 I suppose it's simply a matter of one oldie trying to help a younger oldie. Sorry to hear that you've now given up on QTR, but I really believe that the problems you have encountered are based on the app you are using (SilkyPix).  Until your post I had never heard of this program, so I did a bit of research.  I believe that this app is not capable of printing from a program/driver such as QTR.  Of course I could very well be mistaken.  I've used QTR for many years with no issues.  I use it through Photoshop, where it's used as a totally separate printer driver for Epson Printers Only.  If you do want to try QTR one more time I would suggest that you go to the SilkyPix site and ask them if a driver such as QTR can be used with their software.  That might be the only way approach this issue.       

I use PC and I simply used the QTRgui to print when I was messing around with it to make digital negatives.  You don't necessarily need to go thru a third party app like SilkyPix or Photoshop.  I am guessing PrintTool is the Mac equivalent to QTRgui.  It also converts the files to gray scale if you have it in RGB. 

I can understand OP getting discouraged, QTR does have a steep learning curve and a lot of the information is scrambled all over the place.  I thought ABW had advanced enough nowadays to give fairly good Black and white prints anyhow.

:Niranjan.

[Laminarman]

I inquired in the past here on it.  To be quite honest, the ABW in the Epson does such a nice job I haven't been using the QTR interface.  However, I'm unable to "soft proof" adequately and hate to do some trial and error, but that's about what I'm doing now.  I find the QTR steep to learn as well, and I got some advice on another forum (large format forum for view cameras) in a PM where the guy said to me, "I was spending all my time refining and proofing and tweaking and adding software that I spent less time making images than I wanted to.  Now it's one camera, one film, one developer, ABW mode and one paper and my look is nice."  Indeed his images are nice. To the OP, make it fun because it has ceased to be fun lately for me.  Too much computer and too little camera time.

[Doug Gray]

I inquired in the past here on it.  To be quite honest, the ABW in the Epson does such a nice job I haven't been using the QTR interface.  However, I'm unable to "soft proof" adequately and hate to do some trial and error, but that's about what I'm doing now.  I find the QTR steep to learn as well, and I got some advice on another forum (large format forum for view cameras) in a PM where the guy said to me, "I was spending all my time refining and proofing and tweaking and adding software that I spent less time making images than I wanted to.  Now it's one camera, one film, one developer, ABW mode and one paper and my look is nice."  Indeed his images are nice. To the OP, make it fun because it has ceased to be fun lately for me.  Too much computer and too little camera time.

This discusses an ABW tool I wrote some time back and links to a github repo that shows how well softproof works with it. It can print ABW using either Perceptual or Relative and softproofs both. What's unusual is the softproof accurately shows the color tint based on whatever setting of the ABW tint wheel was used to create the profile. It requires either I1PRofiler or Argyll and a spectro to read the B&W patches.

The github link has a long description of usage and example of both perceptual and relative.

https://forum.luminous-landscape.com/index.php?topic=132404.0