Luc -
Sorry for the delay. labor Day + getting ready for Print '09 (booth 4443).
My business partner, Mike DiCosola, wrote the reply below.
Luc,
ICEmaker is currently designed to optimize color separations from RGB to CMYK only. The expanded gamut results are based upon the fundamentally new approach ICE uses to create color on press. We have tested ICE with expanded gamut CMYK processes and get even better results than with standard offset inks, but for now ICE technology is focused on four-color process.
In an earlier post, you also asked about full control over the black generation settings in the separation. I understand your question and know how you might also feel initially about my answer as I have been in your shoes before ICE. The desire to have full control of the K channel is understandable using current separation methodology. Often automated systems get the black channel all wrong and without the ability to finely control K gen, you have no ability to ‘fix’ problems that are introduced by said automatic systems. As I said – been there, done that; but with ICE, everything changes.
The short answer is no, you do not have full control of the black generation levels. In a way, ICE might be viewed as even stiffer than Photoshop in this regard. But this is because ICE fundamentally changes how a separation is made and therefore the current knowledge base on how to set black does not even really apply. When we build a M3 Media map for you, the separation algorithm is set in stone, though we work with you to tweak the Media Map if the results can be improved upon after your first ICE run.
I can tell you that we have never needed to tweak the Media Map more than once and that I have never seen a single problem caused by the algorithms on any test.
I welcome you to take the ICE Challenge at
Chromaticity | Take the ICE Challenge to review the product yourself and see what it can do.
Regards – Mike DiCosola, VP of Technology, Chromaticity
