I have recently been working on a program that can compare multiple profile patch sets for accuracy. It works by combining the patches one wishes to compare along with an independent set of patches to allow evaluation of profile accuracy against the full gamut, a low saturation subset, and 52 device near neutrals. Additionally, it puts a common set of 10, repeating colors, 4 neutrals, 3 light CYM colors, and 3 heavier CYM colors along the right edge of each sheet for easy consistency testing with a spectro. It also prints both a top bar and bottom bar in i1isis format so that the pages can be read normally and in reverse. This is useful for detecting the fairly rate, but annoying, times when the charts get a bit of lint. A re-read fixes it.
The Pro1000 Problem
The Pro1000 tends to print the first page of a group with heavier inking. L* on dark grays can often be 1 L* or more lower on the first page. Similar effects occur on the color patches,
This can result in significant degradation of profile accuracy. So much so that a 1000 patch set will usually have worse accuracy than a 500 patch set where the first page is printed twice and the initial one tossed.
Getting the best profile patch prints should be done this way:
1. Use the print spooler. Do not print individual pages one at a time. Print them as an aggregate using the print spooler.
2. Print the first page twice, the throw the first one out.
3. Do not let each page stay in the tray. As soon as a page is ejected in the tray remove it and set it aside to dry. The reason is that when paper sits on top of another one that isn't completely dry, the ink dries slower. Turns out this is more important than whether you let the paper dry 2 hours or 24 hours. It's the drying in the first few minutes after printing that matters. Don't let it sit in the hopper.
Drying time isn't the problem on a Pro1000. It's these other issues. Especially the first page effect.
Here's the results comparing 12hour v 30 min. drying as well as the first page effect. The latter is overwhelmingly dominant.
Drying time: half day
Using initial "first page":
Device Neutrals Low Saturation Full Gamut
dE76 dE2k dE76 dE2k dE76 dE2k
0.61 0.53 0.87 0.68 1.07 0.64 581_patches.icm
0.56 0.52 0.76 0.60 0.92 0.56 957_patches.icm
Skip first and using second "first page":
Device Neutrals Low Saturation Full Gamut
dE76 dE2k dE76 dE2k dE76 dE2k
0.36 0.35 0.72 0.56 0.90 0.50 581_patches.icm
0.48 0.47 0.62 0.49 0.76 0.43 957_patches.icm
Now we look at the effect of drying time. Making profiles from
patches read after drying only 30 mins., here's how well these profiles read
the patches dried for half a day:
Device Neutrals Low Saturation Full Gamut
dE76 dE2k dE76 dE2k dE76 dE2k
0.37 0.35 0.73 0.58 0.91 0.51 581_patches.icm
0.46 0.45 0.63 0.50 0.76 0.43 957_patches.icm
Even after only 30 minutes drying there is almost no difference!