Custom ICC Profile

[spiffingprints]

Hi there, I am using Epson large formats and I have a question about using my custom ICC profiles. I would like to edit the profiles in the drivers but can't seem to work out how to do it. I can use my profiles in Photoshop but if I just want to right click and send something to print I am unable to use my profiles, the list seems to only contain the Epson defaults.

If anyone could walk me through the process I would be extremely grateful.

Thanks,
Ben

 

[Chasfinch]

you need software specific used to edit/make ICC profiles

 

[Ulrich]

hi

mellowyellow said it already: to modify (or create) icc-Profiles you will need special software, that is not cheap, look at basiccolor or printopen (Heidelberg) or others

Your Epson Printer i guess has more colours than only CMYK (=just 4 channels)?

What kind of custom ICC-profile do you have (4-channel CMYK?) and where is it placed on your workstation?

If you have a 4-channel custom profile, so what about a convertion from your photoshop CMYK-workingspace-profile into your custom-profile, i guess they are different...
(go to the menu third from the left and then third from bottom: "Change profile into" or somthing in that sense - sorry my Menu is in german language...), i would prefer Rendering Intent relativ colorimetric with blackpoint compensation by nearby gamuts, don´t use saturation or absolute, maybe perceptiv is better..)

I do not know, but i guess your 8- or 11-Channel Epson large Format-profile is in the maschine and the incoming CMYK-values (or do you send rgb?) will be converted there.


Another approach:

If you had build up your own customer icc-profiles with a target-file, try to modify a copy of it in your sense with graduation(?)-curves imn the direction you will go for...


May be this all is without sense for you, but we need more information about your aims and arms ;-)


Ulrich

 

[spiffingprints]

Thanks guys, I should have been clearer in my original message. I hadn't intended to say that I wanted to edit my ICC profile. I just wanted to use it but without using photoshop.

I use an Epson 7900 11 colour and a 7800 8 colour. The reason was that if I want to send multiple images to print at once I would do it with the standard Epson driver, drag over all of my images and right click and press print. Photoshop will take a chunk more time of opening each image up and sometimes I just need to print quickly. I was having difficulty finding my settings within the driver to select my custom ICC but I have found that if I make the custom profile the default in windows colour management I can then select to use the 'host profile' under ICM settings in the Epson driver.

Ulrich, are those pieces of software that you mentioned RIPs? I don't think I can justify the cost of a RIP program and I'm not even entirely sure I understand it's full functionality - I'm fairly new to the print world!

Thanks,
Ben

 

[Lorenzo lab guy]

Ben,
I don't think Photoshop alone will do what you are looking for. In our Photoshop to Epson setup a simple print command will repeat the last selected profile if you use 'Photoshop Manages Color. " But to be honest, I check every time. I do know a lot of folks use inexpensive RIP type software to manage this like Qimage ($70).

 

[Ulrich]

hi Ben

Ulrich, are those pieces of software that you mentioned RIPs?...
- I'm fairly new to the print world!

No, with that before mentioned software icc profiles can be build (and modified).

RIP´s (Raster(=screen)ImageProzessor´s) are changing incoming composite information about tone- values of the colour-channels of pixel-or vector-based (and others like shades, fonts and so on...) objekts at least into one-bit information correspondingly to the resolution of the output-device for each channel of the device.
In every printer, also in lowcost-printers, a RIP is build inside, but there is some more expensive RIP-software you will need, if you will control or influence exactly the convertion from RGB into CMYK, or CMYK to CMYK for proofing or determining different Angels for each separation in an AM(amplitude modulated)-screen and a lot of other special things which are important for industrial printing (offset, flexo, gravure...)

Ulrich

 

[spiffingprints]

Ben,
I do know a lot of folks use inexpensive RIP type software to manage this like Qimage ($70).

Thanks, I'll take a look at it. It certainly might be useful for when I need to print multiple images of varying sizes.

Ulrich, I figure the reason I don't know much about RIP's is because I don't need to know about them! I just use my large formats with the standard colours. Thanks for the info.

Thanks,
Ben

 

[pauly92]

Thanks, I'll take a look at it. It certainly might be useful for when I need to print multiple images of varying sizes.

Ulrich, I figure the reason I don't know much about RIP's is because I don't need to know about them! I just use my large formats with the standard colours. Thanks for the info.

Thanks,
Ben

I'm a big confused why you don't need to know about RIPs.

I think you should be using a RIP for what you're trying to do.

A RIP manages your printer(s) and your media profiles. You tell the rip what media is on your printer so it knows what icc profile to use, then open all the files you need to print, and press print.


Unless your confusing icc profile engines/programs that greats icc profiles from patch sets, i.e - i1 profiler & basiccolor,

 

[spiffingprints]

I'm a big confused why you don't need to know about RIPs.

I think you should be using a RIP for what you're trying to do.

A RIP manages your printer(s) and your media profiles. You tell the rip what media is on your printer so it knows what icc profile to use, then open all the files you need to print, and press print.


Unless your confusing icc profile engines/programs that greats icc profiles from patch sets, i.e - i1 profiler & basiccolor,

I have all of those options within the Epson printer driver. I have presets which controls the size, substrate, quality, and ICC profile so as far as I can see the only benefit would be to allow me to print varying sizes within the same run. Maybe I'm missing something? Can you recommend any low cost RIPS's that I should investigate pauly92?

 

[pauly92]

I have all of those options within the Epson printer driver. I have presets which controls the size, substrate, quality, and ICC profile so as far as I can see the only benefit would be to allow me to print varying sizes within the same run. Maybe I'm missing something? Can you recommend any low cost RIPS's that I should investigate pauly92?

RIPs allow you to use custom printer profiles like you're wanting to do. Isn't that what you're asking?

I dont know of any "Budget" rips. But a quick search of google

http://www.shiraz-software.com/store/

http://zedonet.com/en_shop_pfmac.phtml

https://sourceforge.net/projects/graporip/

 

[spiffingprints]

RIPs allow you to use custom printer profiles like you're wanting to do. Isn't that what you're asking?

It was what I was asking but I figured it out. I can use my custom ICC profiles with the windows colour management tool and the Epson driver. It wasn't apparent at first but I figured it out. I will have a look at those links so thanks for sharing.

 

[pauly92]

I dont know how good the epson drivers are to print with. But i use Onyx Thrive x12 for my large and grand format printers. I can load up as many images i want to print on it and send them to my printers. When i do that i choose what media is loaded and by doing that the rip will know the size & media profile to use.
You create your media by telling it the page sizes, creating or importing your profiles and linearisation data.