The ideal procedure to create profiles

[Gregory C]

I'd like to begin creating my own profiles. Does anyone have suggestions regarding the ideal procedure for this?

I have considered printing a colour card and taking photos of it using the film that I want to profile. What kind of a colour card would be best for this purpose? What colours and scales of grey would be on the card? Does Lasersoft have an EPS or JPG copy of such a card that we could download and print?

If I want to print a 'neutral' grey within the colour cards, how would I produce the grey? Is it 50% Black?

I would summarise my current idea for the procedure as follows:

1. Design and print a colour card containing various colours and a grey-scale strip.
2. Take photographs of the colour card using the film which will be profiled. Take the photographs either in direct sunlight or with a flash light to ensure an approximate 'Sunlight' white balance. If possible, take multiple photos with different exposure stops to see the effects of the profile with varying amounts of light. (This might be hard to do with an APS automatic camera.)
3. Develop the film, place it in the scanner and perform a prescan of the colour card frames.
4. Choose an existing profile for the film. Turn on Expert mode. Turn on the Auto film base option.
5. Click on the 'neutral' grey area within the colour card to adjust the colour balance of the profile.

What else? Any suggestions? Is anyone else developing their own profiles?

I'm also wondering if it would be worthwhile to carry the colour card around with me, and using the first frame of the film to photograph the card before beginning the actual photo shoot. Would I be going too far with this?

With respect to the colour card photos; should I zoom into the colour card when I take the photo, or should I photograph the surroundings as well as the card as seen in the guitar/colour-card photos in the Expert Profile section of the SilverFast manual (I have read the manual; some sections more than once! )

regards
Gregory

[LSI_Support]

I'd like to begin creating my own profiles. Does anyone have suggestions regarding the ideal procedure for this?

LSI has not defined the ideal way.

I have considered printing a colour card and taking photos of it using the film that I want to profile. What kind of a colour card would be best for this purpose? What colours and scales of grey would be on the card? Does Lasersoft have an EPS or JPG copy of such a card that we could download and print?

This is considered a good approach.

If I want to print a 'neutral' grey within the colour cards, how would I produce the grey? Is it 50% Black?

This depends on the paper you use, the CMYK separation rule used (GCR or UCR), and the printer profile (if exist).

I would summarise my current idea for the procedure as follows:

1. Design and print a colour card containing various colours and a grey-scale strip.
2. Take photographs of the colour card using the film which will be profiled. Take the photographs either in direct sunlight or with a flash light to ensure an approximate 'Sunlight' white balance. If possible, take multiple photos with different exposure stops to see the effects of the profile with varying amounts of light. (This might be hard to do with an APS automatic camera.)
   
   the best would be a constant light source (studio).
   
3. Develop the film, place it in the scanner and perform a prescan of the colour card frames.
4. Choose an existing profile for the film. Turn on Expert mode. Turn on the Auto film base option.
5. Click on the 'neutral' grey area within the colour card to adjust the colour balance of the profile.

What else? Any suggestions? Is anyone else developing their own profiles?

The Negative profile that you create with SilverFast will only balance the RGB data (which you scan). In order to get it right on paper you may balance the dot gain by using the "cutsom dot gain", where you can define the curve manually and embed this info into the file when it is sent to a postscript printer. Save the file as EPS.

I'm also wondering if it would be worthwhile to carry the colour card around with me, and using the first frame of the film to photograph the card before beginning the actual photo shoot. Would I be going too far with this?

With respect to the colour card photos; should I zoom into the colour card when I take the photo, or should I photograph the surroundings as well as the card as seen in the guitar/colour-card photos in the Expert Profile section of the SilverFast manual (I have read the manual; some sections more than once! )

You should zoom in and only photograph the card.
Instead of a real photo you best photograph a calibration target.

regards
Gregory