You would first need to set your resolution (depending on the plugin you would set it on the imagesetter and the RIP or possibly just the RIP). Once you have set your resolution you would need to output an exposure sweep to get a proper exposure and density setting.
Below are some basic instructions for calibrating a Harlequin RIP:
Start the RIP. Go to RIP menu / Page Setup Manager and edit the page setup you would like to calibrate. While in the page setup change the page setup to positive by unchecking Negative and Mirrorprint. Click OK to exit the page setup and OK once more to exit the Page Setup Manager.
Go to Output / Print Calibration in the RIP menu. Every Harlequin RIP will have this feature as it is included as part of the RIP. It is not something that needs to be purchased separately. Select (or highlight) your page setup on the right hand side of the window. Enter the values for the exposure sweep at the bottom of the window. NOTE: You may need to change the exposure setting to a lower or higher value depending on your model imagesetter’s exposure range. Some imagesetters have an exposure range from 1-63 while others can output from 1-999. The steps are the amount of steps you would like the RIP to take between the exposure sweeps. If you output FROM 100 and TO 250 in STEPS of 50, you would get exposure targets at 100, 150, 200 and 250. Change the color space to MONOCHROME because you are calibrating an imagesetter (platesetter would be the same since it is a single color output device).
Once you have entered in a FROM, TO and STEP value, click ‘Print Exposure Sweep’. NOTE: It makes it easier if the exposure sweep needs to be output as a positive on the film which is why we unchecked Negative and Mirrorprint in the page setup (you may still get a negative depending on the imagesetter neg/mirror settings).
Using the densitometer: zero (0) the denistometer to air. When zeroing the densitometer to air, you will need to take the density reading without any film below the densitometer. NOTE: Measure from the same spot on the light table each time you take the readings to get a clear and accurate reading.
Using the densitometer: take the DMAX (density) readings and find the exposure that gives a DMAX between 3.8 and 4.2. Also make sure that the 50% dot does not read any greater than 60%. Once you have found the exposure setting that meets these criteria write down the exposure value.
Using the densitometer: change the densitometer to Dot (+). Zero (0) the densitometer to film. When zeroing to film, you will need to measure the dot reading with clear piece of film below the densitometer.
Next, you will need to take the dot percentage (screen values) readings from the exposure that had the best DMAX (between 3.8 and 4.2). Write down each of the values going from 0 to 100% on the target.
Go to Output / Calibration Manager and click ‘New’ to create a new calibration set. In the new calibration set check resolution and set the values to: 2400 x 2400 or 1200 x 1200 (depending on which resolution you are outputting at). Next, change Measurement to: Positive % Dot (default). Enter the dot percentage values and then OK out of the Calibration Manager window. NOTE: There are three rules when calibrating:
• The numbers must go from 0 to 100 because there is no way to print a dot outside of that range.
• The numbers must be monotonic - always increasing or decreasing in value. This means you can enter 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 but you cannot enter 0, 1, 3, 2, 4.
• No two numbers can be the same. This means you cannot enter 0, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4. The numbers would need to be changed to 0, .1, 1, 2, 3, 4.
Go to the RIP menu / Page Setup Manager and edit the page setup used to print the exposure sweep. Under the calibration section of the page setup select the newly created calibration. Enter the exposure from the selected exposure sheet into the page setup (in the upper right hand section). Click OK to exit the page setup and OK again to exit out of the Page Setup Manager.
Go to Output / Print Calibration and output a calibrated target using the same page setup. Check the values from the calibration using the densitometer. The values should not be off more than 1 to 2%. To change the RIP back to outputting negative and/or mirrorprint you will need to follow the last two steps listed below. In the Calibration Manager, edit the calibration set from ‘Uncalibrated’ and check ‘Using Negative Media’. In the Page Setup Manager, edit the page setup used to print the calibration and check Negative and Mirrorprint.
If your post was not referring to calibration can you be a bit more specific or as mentioned before send a screenshot of what you are trying to do.
