Hey everyone. I’ve updated Piezography Professional Edition to version 1.2. With this update there is a new tool called “Piezography ICC Tool.” If you have a version of i1Profiler that is licensed to make RGB ICCs for printing, this tool will enable you to do just that but for Piezography using more than 256 grey steps.
The reason for publishing this workflow is to enable an alternative profiling and calibration option for people who do not have access to Google because they are in restricted countries (China, Russia, etc).
The second reason for publishing this workflow is that this tool enables color-managed printing from Photoshop and Lightroom for the first time in many years (actually for the first time since Photoshop CS3).
The third reason for publishing this workflow is to enable consistent contrast matching between matte and gloss papers for labs who desire a closer match to existing workflows that their clients are used to. This process is not exactly “linear” but uses xRite’s contrast control algorithms to match the screen contrast to print contrast whether that is for a gloss paper or matte paper. This workflow can speed the time-to-print for professional labs who have a lot of proofing and work on their hands. It also maintains the smooth tonal transitions of Piezography and is better than the rather clunky contrast matching curve found in QTR-Create-ICC droplet.
This tool is *BETA and is not fully documented with screenshots yet. I’m releasing it to this small group so I can polish it over time and eventually release it in a multi-language format (for those countries blocked from Google) with screenshots included in the deluxe manual.
I hope it proves useful,
all the best,
Walker
ps: Requirements include a compatible xRite spectrophotometer, and i1Profiler Print RGB ICC license. We do not support either parts so if you are unsure of your license, please call xRite.
Just receive a BAD BAD news in China, the Commerce Dept just officially banded all VPN usage in China. Even though I will be able to use it secretly by using Stealth VPN, but it seems this time the China government is serious about it.
So, your new tool in China will be very important.
FYI - The 1.2 download includes an invalid file name (at least on Windows) for the new tool in the zip file, but luckily WinZip is smart enough to substitute a valid filename character so the mal-named file will be extracted. See the attachments for the two errors that WinZip produces.
BTW, it would be nice if we had unique zip files for Windows and Mac. Every time I download a new version it appears I’m getting both file sets which is a lot of unnecessary schlepping of data. In general, I would also like to plead for not losing attention on the Windows platform :-). Windows stuff seems to be forever in “beta” with lacking completed docs etc. I know I’m in a minority but to be honest (and I think you might agree), Windows has been a more “printing friendly” platform for a long time. In any case, it would be a really great goal if IJM could concurrently release equal functionality (where technically possible) on both platforms in the future.
Thanks Walker
Interesting. What I do not fully understand is how you print the targets/charts from Adobe Color Printer Utility. I guess you use the QuadTone driver but which combination of curves do you use? Do you combine curves according to your taste and make the ICC profile based on this? Could you include screenshots of the process here?
Best, Markus
I’ve been thinking about this ICC approach and how it might be used on a PC. Wouldn’t it be possible to do something like the following on a PC:
Create the ICC using the procedure and tool you've provided.
Edit image (in Gray Gamma 2.2 working space) to taste, even using the ICC to soft-proof (in Photoshop or even Lightroom).
Save TIF file (no resizing or output sharpening).
Use either Qimage or Lightroom to open the TIF, then Print-To-File (Qimage) or Export (Lightroom) to a new TIF, specifying the ICC you created to be used for the conversion from the working space, desired output image size, desired resolution, output sharpening, etc.
Print the "baked" TIF file with QTRGui and your chosen curves and blending.
The beauty of this approach is that you can take advantage of the advanced resampling and output sharpening features in Qimage or Lightroom and at the same time leverage the ICC on the PC. The downside is that you have to keep track of the extra TIF files and there are more intermediate steps.
