> >Just goes to show how easy it must be after all to make profiles ;-) > I'm not sure what you're saying here > making profiles is, indeed, relatively simple with the right equipment > the Printfix is an amateur level chart reader at best, that was my point. > It's amazing what some folk will sell as a solution in this industry.
Hi If you look at my original answer, you will see I say there are sound reasons why the eqpt to 'do it properly' costs a lot and also that the expertise to make a good job is not something that can just be picked up from a manual... I also say in the review that if you want a top notch job then you pay for the expertise > > Any scanner based chart reading is pretty severly flawed, unfortunately, > as Thomas (Pixl) writes very eloquently elsewhere in this thread. > > >I believe the latest PrintFIX update provides for improved calibration of > the > >scanner. > are you not concerned about the quality of that scanner? It depends on what you want to achieve and for what purpose. I have one very good profile on one particular paper on a 1290 that was made with a PrintFIX. For most of my work however I use a rip on a 9600 and get very good results - that I and clients/customers are happy with. > After 25 years as an advertising photographer I am very aware what > impression a good, and, perhaps, a less than good print will make. And > after 6 years in colour management I know how much a good profile can > contribute to print quality. That's why I use a rip (and other profiles) with my 9600 - first of all, I did not want to get the equipment needed to do the work myself, and secondly I was not looking to acquire the level of expertise I feel it would take to do the equipment justice - there are people like yourself who specialise in doing a far better job than I could manage in a reasonable time. > If you have a Printfix, I will offer you a free profile for a suitable > printer / ink and paper if you will use the Printfix to profile 2 > printers. One printer at your place, one [4000] at mine. You'll send me > charts for my spectro, I'll do the same for your Printfix. I'll want to > see your 2 prints of our testimage - and you can have copies of my 2. > That way we get a good comparison of printfix -v- Pro solution. Of > course printer settings are all important so it'll not be a totally > conclusive test but might give you a few ideas. That's a fine offer, but you and I know for certain that unless it's on a day where you have the flu and a particularly bad hangover, any profile you do will probably kick the sh*t out of a PrintFIX one. It certainly should do so. It would prove what we all know, that good kit and the expertise to use it will outperform the simple PrintFIX. I only use one PrintFIX profile with one paper on one printer. It meets my needs for the particular type of prints I'm doing on that printer. I'm not saying the profile could not be bettered, but the prints are good enough for what I need. If I needed a better printer profile I'd get one made and happily pay for it... > I just spent 7 days with US colour management guru Steve Upton, we > probably spent 20+ hours discussing ways in which we can improve the > making of profiles for inkjet printers. I'd love to be able to use a > 100 dollar device, it would have saved me the many thousands I've felt > it necessary to spend on various spectrophotometers and the worries I > have about carrying them around too. Yes, it would be great, but it ain't going to happen in the near future :-) > Maybe it's just me but I'd be unwilling to risk limiting the quality of > my printed work for the sake of a good profile. It's not just you ... that's partly why I don't use the PrintFIX for the vast majority of printing I do :-) However I do know people who are happy with its results. I'm not an apologist for the manufacturers and I'd repeat that I do not sell hardware/software or profiling services. Indeed, I've recommended getting 'proper' profiles made for the majority of professional clients who have asked about it... -- bye for now Keith Cooper Northlight Images Photography http://www.northlight-images.co.uk +44 (0)780 162 9397 =============================================================== GO TO http://www.prodig.org for ~ GUIDELINES ~ un/SUBSCRIBING ~ ITEMS for SALE
