VUTEk Advisory Bulletin VAB-93 Revision C February 2004

Workflow for creating ICC Profiles Using the ColorBurst RIP (7.31) “ColorCatch” and the PC An ICC Profile can help maximize the color and tonal reproduction of images RIPped with the ColorBurst Software and printed on a VUTEk Printer. It is advised that an Output ICC Profile be created for each combination of ink, number of colors used when printing (4, 6 or 8), media, and model of printer. To accomplish this, the ability of the media to hold ink and the density of the ink throughout the tonal scale must be defined. This is achieved through the Linearization process. Linearization will allow you to standardize your color output by equalizing the steps between specified ink densities. You can use the Linearization settings to create consistent output and match output from multiple printers of the same type (all using the same ink, media, and settings). There are three major phases to this process. •

Linearize ColorBurst for the combination of Ink and Media.

•

Determine the amount of Ink the Media can hold.

•

Create a Profile using the ICC Profile creation software.

The PC software provided with ColorBurst is ColorCatch. A Macintosh version of this software, ChromaCapture, is also provided with ColorBurst. Both versions Support the following Spectrophotometers: GretagMacbeth SpectroScan, GretagMacbeth Eye-One, and X-Rite DTP-41.

Creating an ICC Profile Linearization Note: It is important that the printer is set up properly to run the material you will be profiling. This includes the platen and post heat temperatures, carriage height, bi-directional and step settings, and that all jets are firing.

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To initiate the linearization process, perform the following: Step

Action

1

Load a Setup environment. When creating a Linearization file, you will need to print a file using “raw” ink data. a.

On the main menu bar of ColorBurst, select Printer SetupJSelect Printer Setup.

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Step

Action b.

In the c:\cbvutek_72\Profiling tools & Docs\Icc Profile Creations Setup Env folder, open the folder for your printer and select the setup file for your printer and the numbers of colors (4, 6, 8) named “Setup (printer name).env” (Figure 1 on page 2). This will set all the options necessary for Linearization. Note: The Printer Setup files, Setup.env, will turn OFF the following options: ICC Profile and Linearization functions, and set the Color Adjustment and Ink Balance menus to the defaults.

Figure 1.

Setup (printer name).env

Step

Action

2

Print the linearization target. a.

Go to File/Open and choose the folder (C:\cbvutek_72\Profiling Tools & Docs\Linearization and Profiling Targets). Inside this folder, there are several different targets.

b.

Choose the Lin target file that corresponds to the type of spectrophotometer you will be using (Figure 2 on page 3 and Figure 3 on page 3). Note: The scaling and rotation for the Target files must remain at 100%. These files are formatted for specific spectrophotometers.

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Figure 2.

Lin Chroma Cap CMYK XY.tif

Figure 3.

Lin Chroma Cap CMYK Strip.tif

Step

Action c.

Click the START button in the file information box to print the target to a RTL file. The file will be printed with 100% of your CMYK primaries. By printing out at 100% ink, ColorBurst will be able to determine a printer's maximum ink density. The Linearization function is only concerned with the four solid inks, and not the light inks. Note: Be sure the printer temperature settings are correct for the material.

3

Launch the data capture applications (VUTEk ColorCatch). a.

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Launch the VUTEk ColorCatch applications form the shortcut icon on the desktop.

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Step

Action b.

Verify the default path where the data files will be saved and change it if necessary. To change the default path, select the Browse button next to the path location, in the EditJPreferences menu (Figure 4). Note: The data file should be saved to the Output Profile folder for the printer type you are using in the ColorBurst installed folder. For example: C:\CBVutek_72\Profile\output\3360.

Figure 4.

Path Selection

Step

Action c.

Select New Job from the file menu or use the shortcut keys, CTRL-N.

d.

In the Create Job window, enter a name into the Job Name field (Figure 5 on page 5). This file will be saved into the default folder.

e.

Select the DeviceJInterface, and set the Mode to Reflective. Note: Always leave Illuminant at D50. Print Conditions fields are not used.

f.

Click OK. Note: After clicking OK, the job name becomes a sub-folder in the default folder. Note: Refer to “Trouble Shooting ColorCatch for PC Users” on page 20 for information on changing the default folder path or a Failed to Create Job error message. Note: X-Rite DTP-41 users go to step 4. GretagMacbeth SpectroScan users go to step 5.

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Figure 5.

Create Job Window

Step

Action

4

For the X-Rite DTP-41, load and measure the target. a.

Select the Choose a Target pull down menu and in the “Target name” field, select ColorBurst Strip Lin for the DTP-41 (Figure 6).

b.

Click Connect, the software will auto-sense the Baud Rate and then initialize and calibrate the Spectrophotometer. In the lower left corner the text line will show the progress. Note: Refer to (“Trouble Shooting ColorCatch for PC Users” on page 20) if you are having problems connection to the device.

Figure 6. ColorCatch Operating Menu

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Step

Action c.

Insert the Cyan strip on the printed target, into the DTP-41 up to the black line near the Number 1. Press the “Black” Button on the DTP-41 to read the strip (Figure 7 on page 6). The strip should automatically be pulled in through the reader. You may need to give the strip a small push to start. The strip should travel straight through the device. If it is not moving straight, gently move the target strip in a straight line.

d.

Repeat step C for the Magenta, Yellow, and Black strips.

e.

When complete, a message box will appear indicating “Target Saved”. Click OK. The data file is saved to the Default Folder. Note: The “Position” or “Calibrate” button on the DTP-41 should not be needed.

f.

Skip to step 6.

Figure 7.

Setting the Linearization Target

Step

Action

5

For the GretagMacbeth SpectroScan, load and measure the target. a.

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Select the Choose a Target pull down menu and in the “Target name” field, select ColorBurst Strip XY Lin (Figure 8 on page 7).

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Figure 8. ColorBurst XY Lin Selection

Step

Action b.

Click Connect, the software will initialize a connection with the XY table, check the Baud Rate, and perform a Calibration. When finished it will display a message that Calibration Succeeded. Click Ok.

c.

Position the XY tables read head. • Place the printed Profile Target onto the SpectroScan XY Table. • Press the Pad Hold button on the table. • Select Position on the ColorCatch software. • The Robot Configuration Menu will appear(Figure 9 on page 7). Note: Do not change any settings in the Robot Configuration menu.

Figure 9.

Robot Configuration Menu

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Step

Action

• Using the “arrow” buttons on the XY table, position the cross hairs on the read head over the black cross hairs in the upper left corner of the target. • When the cross hair is in the position, press Enter on the XY table (Figure 10). • Repeat for the top right and bottom right corners. Figure 10. XY Table

Step

Action d.

Select OK on the Robot Configuration Menu (Figure 9 on page 7).

e.

Select the Start button in the ColorCatch menu (Figure 6 on page 5). The SpectroScan will now start to read the target patch automatically.

f.

When complete, a message box appears stating Target Saved. Click OK. The data filed is saved to the Default Folder (i.e. CBVutek_72\lin folder.

6

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Load and Read the Lin file - Density Based Linearization. a.

In the ColorBurst Software, select the OptionsJLinearization menu (Figure 11 on page 9).

b.

Select Allow Linearization.

c.

Select Find and locate the .lin file that was created in step 4 or 5.

d.

This will load in the Original DMax (densities) from the .lin file.

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Figure 11.

Linearization Menu

Step

Action e.

Click Set Baseline Values and it will update your desired densities (Figure 12 on page 9). The Set Baseline Values button will reduce the original densities by 5% and will display new values under the original values in the desired row. Lower density values allow the color controls to compensate for small changes that may occur in the actual day-to-day printed densities.

Figure 12.

Linearization Options Dialog box

Step

Action f.

Optional, to move the .lin file to the default ColorBurst Lin folder select Copy.

g.

Select OK.

Note

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For information on Chroma Based Linearization see Addendum.

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Step

Action

7

Save the Printer Setup File. a.

On the main menu bar of ColorBurst, select Printer SetupJSave Printer Setup; locate the proper folder and name the file. Do Not pick the Select Printer Setup menu. You should name the Printer Setup file according to the machine type, material and number of colors being printed. (i.e. XYZ Material_3360_4C.env).

b.

Click Save.

Determine the Ink Limit To determine the amount of ink the media can hold: Step

Action

1

Determine the proper ink load for the material. a.

Open the “Vutek Media Ink Limit Test Files 1-3.eps” file located in the C:\cbvutek_72\testfiles folder (Figure 13). Note: Check the Temperature, Step Size and Bi-directional settings are correct for the material.

Figure 13.

Vutek Media Ink Limit Test Files 1-3.eps

Step

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Action b.

Select Start to RIP the target into a single RTL file.

c.

Print them on the material to be profiled.

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Step

Action Note: Check the Temperature, Step Size, and Bi-directional settings are correct for the material.

2

On the Test File 1.eps image (Figure 14), look for the darkest patch that is uniformly dry, does not bleed out into the white, does not show any dry banding or ink puddles, and has a solid fill with no material showing through (pinholes). On some materials you can see a difference in the shine or Gloss of the ink between the dry and wet areas. Note: Look for the highest level of ink that does not show any bleeding of the black into the red or yellow areas.

Figure 14. Vutek Media Ink Limit Test File 1.eps

Step 3

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Action Select the Color Adjustments from the Options menu (Figure 15 on page 12).

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Step

Action The Color Adjustments Dialog box will open up to the “Adjustments tab”.

Figure 15.

Color Adjustment Dialog Box

To create a profile: Step

Action a.

In the Color Adjustments Dialog box, click on the Ink Limits tab.

b.

Click on the Enable Ink Limiting check box and enter the total ink limit established in Step 2, in the “Total ink limit %” field. All other features in this menu should be left at the defaults.

c. 4

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Click OK. Re-save the Printer Setup File.

a.

On the main menu bar of ColorBurst, select Printer SetupJSave Printer Setup, and select the printer setup file that you named in step 7 of the linearization procedure. Click Save.

b.

Click OK to overwrite the existing file.

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Building the ICC Profile To build the ICC profile, perform the following: Step

Action

1

Print the ICC Profile patch targets. a.

Open, RIP, and Print the ICC Profile patch targets. • The Eye-One and the DTP 41 use the “Strip CMYK Profile Strip 1.tif” file. There are 4 targets that must be printed and read (Page 14) (Figure 16). • The GretagMacbeth Spectroscan uses the “XY CMYK Profile Page 1.tif” file. There are 2 targets that must be printed and read (Page 1 and 2) (Figure 17 on page 14). Note: Do not scale the patches. They are formatted to be used with specific spectrophotometers. There will be several files to print since the ColorBurst Profiler uses readings from over 1248 patches to get the best reading of a printer, ink, and media combinations total gamut.

Figure 16.

Strip CMYK Profile

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Figure 17.

XY CMYK Profile

Step

Action

2

Read the printer targets. a.

If the VUTEk ColorCatch application is still open, select the Target name for your device (i.e. for the DTP-41, “Strip CMYK Profile” or for the SpectroScan, “XY CMYK Profile”) (Figure 6 on page 5).

b.

If the ColorCatch is not open, launch ColorCatch and select FileJOpen Job.

c.

From the Select Job Dialog box, highlight the proper job and click OK.

3

Select the type of target to be measured (Figure 6 on page 5). a.

Click on the Target Name pull down menu and select (i.e. for the DTP41, “Strip CMYK Profile” or for the SpectroScan, “XY CMYK Profile”) (Figure 6 on page 5). Note: For the X-Rite DTP-41 go to step 4. For the GretagMacbeth SpectroScan to step 5.

4

For the X-Rite DTP-41, read in the Profile Target Patches. a.

Insert strip (A) on target page 1 into the DTP-41 and press the button.

b.

Once the column is pulled through the device move on to the next column (B). Repeat steps a and b for all columns.

c.

Once a page is completed, the software will automatically move to the next target page. Note: Verify that the target is straight. You can adjust the target slightly as it moves through the DTP-41. If the target is not straight and/or you receive a bad reading(Figure 18 on page 15), re-read the column by selecting the column on the screen with the mouse and re-insert the column into the device.

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Figure 18.

Device Error Dialog Box

Step

Action d.

After completing all four pages, a message will appear “Target Saved”. Click OK. Note: PC ColorCatch will add the .cie extension to the job name (i.e. XYZ Material 4C.cie). Two files will be saved into the default path. The .cie file is used in the next step not the .cie.spectraldata file.

e. 5

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Skip to Step 8. For the GretagMacbeth SpectroScan, read in the profile target patches:

a.

Place the printed copy of the XY CMYK Profile - Page 1.tif onto the SpectroScan XY table.

b.

Press the “Pad Hold” button on the XY Table.

c.

Press the “Position” button in the ColorCatch software.

d.

The Robot Configuration menu will appear. Do not change any settings in this menu.

e.

Using the “arrow” buttons on the XY table, position the cross hairs on the read head over the black cross hairs in the upper left corner of the target.

f.

When the cross hair is in position press the “Enter” button on the XY table.

g.

Repeat for the top right and bottom right corners.

h.

Once the cross hair has been positioned on three corners, select the OK button on the Robot Configuration menu.

i.

Select Start on the main ColorCatch menu. The GretagMacbeth Spectroscan XY table will now start to read the target. When finished with Page 1, you will be prompted to attach Page 2 (Figure 19 on page 16). Click OK and attach page 2 of the GretagMacbeth Spectroscan XY Table.

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Figure 19.

Page Prompt Dialog Box

Step

Action j.

When the second page is finished, a message will appear “Target Saved”. Click OK. Note: PC ColorCatch will add the .cie extension to the job name (i.e. XYZ Material 4C.cie). Two files will be saved into the default path. The .cie file is used in the next step not the .cie.spectraldata file.

6

Create an ICC Profile using ColorBurst's Built-in ICC Profile software. a.

In ColorBurst, go to OptionsJICC Profile Options JBuild Profile Tab menu.

b.

Click Find then go to the folder where PC ColorCatch saved the measurements.

c.

Select your measurement file (it will end in .cie). Note: ColorBurst will only recognize .cie files. Note: Most profiles can be built with the Default settings. It is recommended that the Ink Limit and Black Controls be set to the following: Total Ink - 300% (between 200% - 320% depending on the material) Total Black Ink - 100% Black Starting Point - 20% Black Intensity - 65%, Color GCR - 0% Neutral GCR - 0% Note: For later reference the “Profile Descriptor” data entry line can be filled in with the information entered in the ink limit values; i.e. 300 100 20 60 0 0. This information will appear under the profile name in the Output Profile menu and when the profile is used in some other application such as PhotoShop.

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Step

Action d.

Select Build Profile and your profile will be generated and saved into the Output Profile folder. You could also select the Prompt for Output File Name box and give it a different name or location. Note: For a complete description of what each setting does, please refer to Table 1.

Figure 20.

ICC Profile Options

Table 1. ICC Profile Options - Build Profile Settings Description

Control

Description

Total Ink Limit

This setting will limit the total ink even further. It is probably the most frequently used feature in building profiles. If your patches come out a little wet choose a total ink limit of 300% for your first test. If it is still wet go to 250%, if it is still wet after that go to 200%. Remember, this is ink limiting on top of all the other ink limiting you have done. It tends to be much less dramatic than other ink limiting methods. This is the most often used feature.

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Control

Description

Total Black Ink

This setting will further limit your total black ink. If your prints are dark, you could use this feature to lighten them up a bit. It should be used sparingly.

Black Starting Point

This defines the starting point for where black ink should be used. Prior to the Black starting point, all Blacks are CMY builds. After the starting point, Black color Builds will be a combination of CMY and Black.

Black Intensity

This determines the rate at which black ink is added once the black starting point has been reached. For example: a black intensity of 30 is a very slow build for the black channel and a black of 70 is a much faster build. The default is set at 60 so if a deeper black is desired a setting of 90 or 100 is recommended.

Neutral GCR

Takes control of the NEUTRAL AXIS/GRAYS only. Over-rides the black starting point. The Higher the neutral GCR, the more quickly Black will be added and CMY will be removed. This should be used very sparingly as prints tend to speckle when you use it.

Color GCR

Has the same function as Neutral GCR, but will add Black and remove CMY in colors other than neutral. This should be used very sparingly as prints tend to speckle when you use it.

Step

Action

7

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Load the ICC Profile. a.

Load the ICC Profile into ColorBurst by going to the Options\ICC Profiles menu and select the General tab.

b.

Select Enable ICC profile color management.

c.

Select the Output Profiles tab and turn on the CMYK color Type by selecting the On/Off button. (Figure 21 on page 19).

d.

Select Find and locate the ICC Profile that was just created. Select OK.

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Figure 21.

ICC Profile Options Output Profiles

Step

Action

8

Re-save the Printer Setup file. a.

On the main menu bar of ColorBurst, select Printer SetupJSave Printer Setup and select the printer setup file that you named in step 7 of the linearization procedure. Click Save.

b.

Click OK to overwrite the existing Printer Setup File. The Profile is now complete and you should now be ready to print images on this material.

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Trouble Shooting ColorCatch for PC Users Changing the Default Path where Jobs are Saved Saving the Data to a Local Drive: Step

Action

1

From the Edit\Preferences menu, select Browse (Figure 22 on page 20).

2

Select drive and folder location to save the data.

3

Click OK.

Figure 22.

Saving to a Local Drive

Saving Data to a Network Drive: Step

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Action

1

Prior to setting the default path in ColorCatch the network drive must be mapped to a local drive letter on the PC where ColorCatch is installed (Figure 23 on page 21).

2

Form the Desktop left click My Network Places.

3

Click Map Network Drive.

4

Select the drive and folder you want to use.

5

Click Finish.

6

Open ColorCatch, select the Browse button from the EditJPreferences menu.

7

Select the drive and folder you want to use.

8

Click OK.

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Figure 23. Saving to a Network Drive

Naming a Job A unique name must be entered each time you start a new job. To re-enter the job name: Step

Action

1

If you enter a name in the Name Job field that already exists in the default folder, ColorCatch will prompt that it “Failed to create Job”.

2.

Click OK and enter a new name.

Communications Problems with the DTP-41 or Spectroscan No Device Found To Select the Device: Step

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Action

1.

Launch ColorCatch.

2.

From the menu bar, select EditJPreferencesJDevice (Figure 24 on page 22).

3.

From the Interface pull down menu select the correct COM port.

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Figure 24.

Device Menu

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Addendum: Using the Chroma based Linearization The Chroma Based Linearization can help to open the shadow detail and allow for a greater amount of ink to be used. The “Use chroma based linearization” checkbox is available when a LIN file that contains both ink density and L*a*b data is loaded. The PC ColorCatch software creates LIN files with both ink density and L*a*b data. When this box is checked, the L*a*b data in the LIN file is used to perform chroma based linearization; the ink density data in the LIN file will be ignored. When this box is not selected, the ink density data will be used for linearization and any L*a*b data is ignored. If the a LIN file containing L*a*b data has not been loaded, this checkbox will be greyed out and linearization will be based on ink density.

The Chroma Based Linearization can help to open the shadow detail and allow for a greater amount of ink to be used. (Chroma values will typically be in the range of 60-80 for CMK and 85-110 for Y, and will vary based on the ink set). Note: PressVu UV Customers Chroma Based Linearization should not use the PressVu UV.

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