Tweaking an output profile

Hi,

I’m new to this forum so forgive me if I’m messing with existing rules (I try not to :wink:).

I have a customer (a photographer) that would like their output profile to be a little less magenta or a little more yellow (both resulting in softer skin tones).

I’ve done the normal procedure (EIZO CG display set a 6500K, 2.2gamma 80cd), and created printer profiles with I1publish at D65 on the Epson 4900.
At most of our customer we see this slightly too reddish print.

Now for the real questions, is there a way we could tweak our profiles a little to get this result.

On the display it looks right.

We’re printing via the EFI eXpress RIP, which allows for some adjustments but the paperwhite goes colored very quickly (as soon as you go over 3% in any direction).

Thanks for any tips/advice.

Bartw,

Why did you use D65 as the profile viewing conditions white point in i1 Publish? When you choose the profile view conditions white point you’re basically optimizing the color to best be rendered in a lighting condition with D65 as the light source. I doubt you have this in place, although I can be wrong. I realize this seems logical since you calibrated your display using D65 as the display white point, however when building print profiles consider using D50 as the profile viewing conditions white point then compare the print to the screen using a light booth or high CRI light source such as a solux lamp. Along with making sure your ambient light is low ( under 32 lux ).

Don’t consider tweaking a profile, consider rebuilding the profile under different conditions. Tweaking or editing a profile is dangerous and is usually my absolute last resource.

One final thought, always audit your process to make sure you send Untagged raw RGB or CMYK data to the print device and make sure you choose the proper paper type and linearization file ( if available ) and that ICC color management is disabled in the RIP or printer driver. Often times this is the real issue.

Whenever I build a and apply an ICC workflow through a profile I built myself and the results are not what I expected, I audit my process - step by step. It’s easy to mess up and or misconfigure a setting or two. Thorough notes are also helpful.

EFI eXpress is an evolution of EFI Designer Edition, it works well. You just have to make sure it’s setup correctly.

Marc 8)

Marc’s advice is right on. I can’t resist adding a few links to some articles for further reading:

5000K on a monitor is the same as 5000K in a light booth
Monitor and Print matching

You might ask your customer how they know that it’s the output profile that needs to be changed? What’s he comparing it to that makes him think that the print is too magenta? People’s perception of color can be skewed rather easily, and you have to be careful that you or your customers are not basing decisions on a point of reference that might be incorrect. (For instance, they might be used to viewing images on a monitor that is off color, but they are used to the way it looks and thinks it is normal.)

There are times when we edit profiles, but in general we also see it as a method of last resort:
colorwiki.com/wiki/Editing_P … and_Profit