Silverfast Ai Studio Profile Editor

[grandsire02]

I am trying for the first time to use the Printer Profile Editor (neutrality test chart) to check an existing profile and am having a problem determining precisely what is the neutral area in each of the 3 charts I've produced (highlight, midtone and shadow). Is there a colour checker available containing these 3 'neutrals' that I can buy?

[LSI_Morales]

Dear Grandsire02

The idea behind the Printer profile editor is to allow for minimal corrections in color deviations perceived by the person printing the job. Since the scanner, the computer and the screen see things in a different way than the human eye (even if they are calibrated), they might provide a very slight variation from what your eye and brain consider to be neutral, also what might appear neutral to you might not to another person.
So in this instance you are the one that pick what approaches to be neutral to your perception.

It is important to let the paper dry up to 30 hours before making this decision because the printing ink changes during this time until it is completely stable.

Cheers

[grandsire02]

Alejandro,

I understand the reasoning but it still leaves me with a problem - the hexagons have so little difference between them that firstly my brain cannot tell me which one is more neutral than the others, and secondly I'm not entirely clear what the definition of 'neutral' is in this context. Unfortunately as well, my mind seems to prefer working in absolutes rather than perceptions.

[LSI_Morales]

Dear grandsire02

I understand the reasoning but it still leaves me with a problem - the hexagons have so little difference between them that firstly my brain cannot tell me which one is more neutral than the others, and secondly I'm not entirely clear what the definition of 'neutral' is in this context.

Yeah, the difference is very subtle because the idea is to offer a very small variation from the neutral grey of the computer, If you open the profile editor is because you want to make adjustments to your profile, most likely what the profile gives as an absolute grey does not look like that to your eyes.

The definition of "neutral" in this context means an image without color bias (or color cast), this is usually measured in a greys.

Unfortunately as well, my mind seems to prefer working in absolutes rather than perceptions.

Well, your mind and the computer might have the numbers representing "neutrality".

After the calibration, the scanner profile and the printer profile have this "neutral" values which you have to take for granted. Although calibrations are also not 100% absolutes, they are approximations to that 100%. Deviations are always present(this is also mentioned in all standards). In that sense a calibration is an aproximation to the absolute neutrality with a very low deviation value (the lower the acurate).

So absolute value, 100% bias free is just a concept in your mind represented by the numbers into the computer system but not by the monitor, the scanner, the printer and the paper.

Probably using a Spectro photo meter you will be able to tell if a reproduction is completely true to its model (or at least very similar).

Cheers

[grandsire02]

Thank you for that lucid explanation to what is (for me at least) a complex subject!

[LSI_Morales]

Dear grandsire02

It can be complex indeed.

Cheers