Softproofing in Lightroom w/ Piezography

InkjetMall Customer Support Piezography Inks & Printing
1

does the softproofing feature in Lightroom provide any benefit when making Piezo prints?

or is the softproofing feature in LR only beneficial when making color prints?

thank you

Happy New Year!

2

It does. You can make your own ICC SoftProofs for each of your ink and paper combinations and then load them into LightRoom to SoftProof your b&w images. HAs the same benefit as using a color softproof.

3

i am currently using the piezo warm/neutral tone set with type 2 paper.

is there an ICC softproof profile I can download?

if not, what is the easiest way to generate my own?

isn’t this profile in my QTR software already?

thanks!

4

A softproof ICC profile is generated by measuring the inks on the paper that you are using. There are 1000s of combinations in QTR and there is no way the author of that software is going to generate SoftProofs for all the possible combinations.

He does offer a tool called CreateICC - and you print the 21 or 51 step targets on your paper with the K7 curve for that paper and then dry it and measure it using a X-Rite EyeOne Spectrophotometer with X-Rite Measure Tool. Then save out the info as a txt file and drop that on Create ICC.

We made a few (just a few) and those are available here: http://www.piezography.com/PiezoPress/blog/calibration/piezography-soft-proofing/

If you have an EyeOne and older Mac OSX you can use Measure Tool. If you have Windows you can use Measure Tool. Some of the users on the QuadTone RIP Users Group may have produced workarounds for instruments like Color Munki, etc…

QTR support their own software - and I just gave you the basics of how it’s done.

SoftProof ICCs are only as good as the calibration of your display. And there are varying levels of calibration available. Using Spyder on a Mac Display is quite poor in comparison to using an Eizo CG with its own calibration system. The biggest difference is that Spyder reduces the color output of a video board necessarily in order to simulate calibration of the display. The Eizo can actually be calibrated without the video board being compromised.

Then the SoftProof is really only relevant to comparing to a proof in a dimming SoftProof Viewing Booth to which the display is similarly calibrated.

So the use of SoftProof in and of itself does not guarantee better printmaking. It is just one part of the sum of a proper calibrated display, and a proper calibration standard viewing condition to which to compare it to.

The goal of the soft proof is to cut down the extreme black point and white point of the display to the same contrast of light reflecting off ink and paper. So the display looks like ink on paper rather than bright contrasty dazzling light. The color of the paper and the inks will be simulated onto the image on the display when it is softproofed. It’s quite handy!

We use it with Eizo CG and NEC Spectraview displays in a standardized imaging room with GTI SoftView Viewing boxes. We’re within 96% or so of dead match from print to display this way.

5

if you know prints will be displayed in a gallery with for brighter lightening then usually do you increase the brightness of the viewing booth to simulate the brighter then usual gallery lightening or does a viewing booth lighting always stay constant?

6

constant. the viewing booth is for your color management and soft proofing.

for making prints look the way that you want them to in a gallery - you should simulate the lighting in your studio and do the markup on the prints with a pencil or marker as to how you wish to modify. this is how it was done for years and should continue to be done - so that when you get back in front of photoshop you do not fall victim to your visual perception system in which you get accustomed to the adjustments you are making. rather if you know the print is too light or dark or needs to be opened up in the bottom or whatever - you can make that adjustment in relationship to the proof in the box with the markup on it. there is no way to simulate on a display what a gallery lighting will look like.

at Cone Editions we have a modular lighting system that we can connect various lighting to in order to see how it will look in that condition. However, the main light is a 5000k evenly distributed light (that make look horrible aesthetically - but is designed to allow us to make good judgement). Humans typically can not make very good color matching judgements under 3800k. While you may wish to display under warm lighting - you can’t calibrate to it successfully. you need to relate to it and make some form of judgement on your prints.

but some say that a good print will display well under any circumstance. after all, most museums are lit no brighter than 50lux and many only at 30lux - quite dim.

so decide how to put your best foot forward and make that judgement on the print in its final form.

my 2 cents!