Shadows and mid tones of prints are brighter than the image ones using Piezography Pro on P600

General
1

Hi everybody,
I am new here as I’ve just successfully converted a P600 to Piezography Pro.
My first prints on HFA Photo Rag using the QTR curves Neutral from Community-Editions shows shadows and mid-tones brighter than expected.
For instance, measurements show 66%, 48%, 32% respectively instead of 80%, 60% and 40% (référence black is 100%).
As result soft proofing doesn’t fit either with final print.
Is it on purpose of this QTR curve ?
What could I check ?
Thanks for you help.
Best regards,
PhS

2

Hi Soly, thanks for reaching out! I understand you’re looking for some help with your printing. Let’s try to figure this out together.

Typically, density readings don’t directly translate to percentage values, even when referencing dMax. It’s not usually a one-to-one match with screen densities expressed as a percentage of black.

Now, regarding your display and soft proofing:

  • If you’re using a hardware-calibrated display set to Gamma 2.20, then accurate soft proofing should be possible with our provided Soft Proof ICC profiles. Just make sure you’re following our instructions, specifically the part about “Preserve RGB Numbers.”
  • However, if you’re working with a regular display (not a hardware calibrator), please keep in mind that soft proofing accuracy can be limited on software calibrated displays.

It’s true that many modern displays, like the newer Apple models with very high contrast ratios (e.g., 500,000:1 or 1,000,000:1), can look quite different from prints, which typically have a much lower contrast ratio (around 250:1). While hardware calibrator displays offer better accuracy, they can sometimes appear less vibrant due to their lower brightness. Remember, brighter displays can actually make shadows appear darker. Still, hardware calibrator displays like the BenQ SW240 are relatively inexpensive.

Given what you’ve described about the linear curves showing more tonal separation than your display, Piezography offers an alternative printing method called “Contrast Matching” that might be more suitable for your needs. This approach aims to create prints that visually match your display’s contrast better. This process is better suited to those using bright displays.

There are two ways to use Contrast Matching:

  1. Curve Adjustment: This involves fine-tuning the Piezography curves using the PPETv2 software.
  2. ICC Profile Printing (OS X only): We provide two special printing ICC profiles specifically designed for Contrast Matching: “Piezography Matte Print.icc” and “Piezography Gloss Print.icc.” These profiles are designed to darken the shadow areas of your prints, which should result in a closer visual match to your display.

Could you tell me more about the type of display you’re using and if you’re on a Mac? Knowing this will help me guide you to the best solution.

Rachel - IJM TechSupport