Which is the main problem with the Wasatch SoftRip if I am not mistaken. A maximum K generation should use all the grey inks and replace any CcMmY composite greys mixes not to mention any RGB ink "grey" mixes on the neutral axis. The few Z3100 profiles as delivered by Wasatch itself already show that they are not in that category. There are choices in the creation of N-color profiles where the extra hues, in this case OrangeRed-Mint Green-Violet, replace the cMmY mixes at the hue angles or at the extra condition hue angle + saturation. That kind of choices were available in the Wasatch SoftRip alternative RGB-device profiling but I do not think they are available in Monaco Profiler, at least not that transparent and adjustable for the user. Influence on the partitioning of the grey inks is not available in both Wasatch and Profiler in my (limited) experience. Then there is another obstacle; the Z3xxx inksets have no Cyan, just a Light Cyan. Part of where normally Cyan is used is done by Green and Violet. At least in the HP drivers, in a clever way, possibly adding something like a tone + hue angle condition on the shift from Light Cyan to Green. I wonder how that should be done in the Wasatch SoftRip and/or Profiler. As I see it they are then forced to go strictly by hue angle replacement to integrate the Green and by that it will be difficult to avoid the RGB inks in the neutral spine. The profiles I have seen were worse though with little Grey inks used, more 7 channels than the 10-11 channels the HP driver uses and the RGB-device profile controls. One would expect an effort by Wasatch to deliver optimal profiles for a supported printer....
Well this RIP functions in ways mysterious to me then,, and I should not muddy the waters with suggestions. My Monaco Profiler was not the Platinum version, so additional N color ink controls, I can not see. i1Profiler, which I now use for 6 color, does provide controls over how the additional inks are used. My other profiler, Ergosoft GPS, give no user control of how additional colors are introduced, but frankly whatever it does by default works better than i1 with all it's control at this point. 9900 O and G are only introduced as the CMYK gamut runs out, and there is no O or G in the neutral build at all, or in interanl colors easily handled by CMYK. Not only does this keep total ink down, it provides higher resolution since green ink dots are more visible than yellow and light cyan combined to make the same color... the builds describe above seem overly complex to me...
Profilers would not offer controls over light black ink partitioning, they see K as a single color, so all that control is in the RIP, if available. I have no knowledge of Wasatch controls, Ergosoft does let me control the black inks, partitioning, dot size, percents, etc...
thnks tyler. yes. i read a lot about max K. but realized it is not that easy and probably no one can actually say you have to use this and that setting, as numerous little test prints with different K settings bring totally different gradients. not only along the gray axis!
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and now to the K and wasatch. THAT could bring the point!.. i thought max K means only use K thus llk, lk, k.. but.. is this a problem about wasatch or my profile?.. im not sure.. i was talking with other press experts that it is impossible to use a CMYK profile and get a RIP to only use K or neutrals in the gray axis. and the RIP will ALWAYS use CMYK for neutrals because of the way its built?..
Well, hmm.. I never found a similar setting in Monaco (had to try to draw as straight a line as I could in the dumb chart), but there is a total K GCR setting in i1. They are wrong and right... there is generally some color ink in the neutral build regardless of setting simply because no K ink/paper combo ( including that channel's total build with the lighter Ks) is LAB neutral. So, color must be introduced to make nuetral. The amount, and the amount of K used there as well, depends on those GCR settings.
SOmehow I have the feeling none of this is moving you along though...
Tyler
