Where to find very strong GCR ?

[Dario]

Hello everyone,
I don't remember if the question has already been addressed elsewhere, but I'm looking for a generic ICC ISO profile (such as FOGRA39) with a strong GCR.

My printer colleague has tasted the sweet flavor of a photo with maximum black generation as you can do in Photoshop (see pic) and since then he always wants more.



Obviously if the Photoshop function was enough I would not be here asking.
The problem is it tends to change colors too much if they are far from neutral tones - I have been able to use it only on photographs with very little color areas so far, and only if client did not require particular color accuracy.

I found a couple of ICC profiles that are very interesting, but no one has a black generation so high - even though I was able to use one of them in many jobs with good results:

coated_FOGRA39_GCR_bas.icc
http://www.colormanagement.org/en/isoprofile.html

ISOcoated_VIGC_39L_220_v2.icc
https://www.vigc.be/download/vigc-icc-kleurprofielen/



Any advice to share?

 

[Ulrich]

Hi Dario

if you do not have a DLP-Tool like ALWAN cmyk-optimizer in which you can influence the GCR as you like, as in your Photoshop-Settings you had posted, it might help when you will set the LAB-values for solids and secondary colours from the FOGRA39 characterization-Data sets in Photoshop by „own “/User defined, or did you try it already?

(I guess not, because in your Screenshot ist SWOP to read...). Of course that would not be the same to create a Profile with only 9 stations compared with about 1400 and more in a real icc-profile, but may be it is worth one more try?
(Take care, the values above in my Screenshot are not the ones from FOGRA 39...)

On the basiccolor Site is also a Profile named ISO coated v2 sw, but that is better for use to change „coulored“, neutral Black into only k, when files in RGB come from Office-Software, so you will miss deep Black for your purpose.

Best

Ulrich

 

[Stephen Marsh]

The legacy custom CMYK max. K setting is good for comic book conversions and screenshots (perhaps with the trapping command) – but I would not use it for general photographic content.

The coated_FOGRA39_GCR_bas.icc is very good, it is just a little bit short of a “ink saving profile”… Why don’t you just work with that and see how it goes?



Stephen Marsh

 

[Dario]

The legacy custom CMYK max. K setting is good for comic book conversions and screenshots (perhaps with the trapping command) – but I would not use it for general photographic content.
The coated_FOGRA39_GCR_bas.icc is very good, it is just a little bit short of a “ink saving profile”… Why don’t you just work with that and see how it goes?
Stephen Marsh

It's not me, it's my pressman!
He'd like a very 'skeletal' color conversion - where possible - to avoid color shifting during print.
I may agree with him but I'm not able to find the way to suit his needs.

 

[Ulrich]

Serve him FM instead of AM. At least instable densities did not affect the increase so much as working with AM, so the process is more stable.

Let me guess: it must not cost anything?

is there really a permanent need for, then ask for that Service to build you a special profile from basiccolor (or other like IMPRESSED, they sell DLP-Profiles), i mean, it can not be soo expensive...

Best

Ulrich

 

[Ulrich]

Try this also, it is very simulare like the one from basiccolor:
https://www.industry.siemens.com/top...v2_310_GCR.zip

 

[Dario]

Serve him FM instead of AM. At least instable densities did not affect the increase so much as working with AM, so the process is more stable.
Let me guess: it must not cost anything?
is there really a permanent need for, then ask for that Service to build you a special profile from basiccolor (or other like IMPRESSED, they sell DLP-Profiles), i mean, it can not be soo expensive...
Best
Ulrich

Yeah, sadly to say but it's always a matter of "do what you can using Ø money"!!

Boss' policy.

 

[Dario]

Do you have some more info about software to make/modify color profiles?

 

[Ulrich]

Basiccolor offers a 14day-Demo:

https://www.basiccolor.de/basiccolor-print-5-en/

but as Steven Marsh said already, the already existing gcr-Profile from basiccolor is really good for Low Key photografic Images, wondering that your printer is not happy enough about that separation.

Or look for „Print Open“ from Heidelberger.

ALWANs CMYK-Optimizer allows you to create different DeviceLink-variations, for an example see attached screenshot