My profiles just suck.

[Ink stained Fingers]

I think one of the discussion points is the question whether the Epson profile is accurate in the first place, measured the same way as this Cone ink profile in discussion, I remember from a few cases when I was using original inks - Canon or Epson - that the OEM profiles deviated quite a lot from my own measurements, on Canon or Epson genuine papers - supplied with a new printer. And as long we don't have such profiles actually measured these comparisons wouldn't give much relevant information and I wouldn't draw any conclusions from them

 

[W. Fisher]

Fwiw, I was just looking at the GamutVision website and found it is now FREE since it is no longer being supported. ColorThink Pro 3 is $399. GamutVision may show a bit more detail inside the gamut than ColorThink, but I don't know. My rough look at GamutVision version 1.3.7 shows it for PC or needing Virtual PC on a Mac.

http://store.imatest.com/software/licenses/gamutvision.html#

I just got their email response on this freebie and the download link too (Scroll down on the above link for the download too.). Yep, price is free. Don't know what it used to be in price.

Note after all of the above:

Had some install issues with Windows 10. Some files in the toolbox folder would not install (Click ignore), and on launching, some DLL files were not allowing it to launch. I needed to download another file here http://www.gamutvision.com/packages/Imatest-lib.exe and run it (It will run as the old DOS in background and disappear.), then try the GamutVision installer again and it worked! When launched and you go to Register, you use email address free@gamutvision.com and password is imatest.

W. F.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Gamutvision for free - that's interesting information indeed

I came across an interesting Epson site

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/...?noteoid=98484&type=highlights&ref=r03074WE4Z

and I'm copying from there

" In most cases, these premium ICC profiles will provide more accurate color and black-and-white print quality than with the standard profiles already shipping with every printer."

Epson U.S. admits here that the generic profiles installed with the driver are not the best ones to start with.
I just didn't check whether they offer better profiles as well for other printers since I'm not using Epson papers.

 

[W. Fisher]

I went to some printer's school and found the Epson profiles for their glossier surfaces all had the exact same gamut profile in ColorThink. All of them overlapped identical. Even the same date stamps on each and total colors present. Only thing that differed were the paper surface designation that the driver shows, and if it needs a PK or MK black ink, but the gamuts were identical.

When they questioned the Epson rep, he admitted "They were good, but not great." Then some talk about the "Good enough" Japanese profiles being re-made in the US market. So maybe those in you link are the newer ones?

Still the issue of no two printers printing alike is another matter, but "Good enough" and maybe a newer "Better than good enough" is an improvement - of sorts.

Oh, GamutVision 1.3.7 is sort of crude against ColorThink Pro 3 in visible operation. Almost like some very old DOS program with color, circa 1990. They stopped the upgrades around Windows 7/Vista, but free and still working in Windows 10 is good for some. ColorThink told me theirs works with 10 although they don't mention it online (And it does.), but it still may be on an update route from current version 3.0.3 and supported hence the $399 price tag.

W. F.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Here is another interesting explanation about canned profiles - in about the middle of the article
from this location
http://www.imagescience.com.au/pages/Custom-Printer-Profiles.html

"The second reason is that canned profiles vary greatly in quality and are specifically designed to reduce customer complaint phone calls to paper company/inkjet printer company support lines."

So much for those profiles.......

 

[W. Fisher]

Yeah, sort of disturbing to see one Epson profile show 604,387 colors available, and the next profile for a different surface paper of theirs also shows 604,387 colors available too and same manufactured time stamp. Fishy?

Mine was with the Pictorico Gloss White Film where it went off the rails. The Factory supplied profile is huge, albeit it prints Bill's Ball wrong and even less density as above than my home-brew profile.

One a side note, one package of the Pictorico White Gloss Film had the coated surface locator notch in the wrong corner where the newer package is correct. First one flooded the back with wet and runny ink out of the printer. Wet finger test showed the sticky side with the carrier was on the back and they notched the pack wrong from the factory. I sent Mitsubishi, who makes the Pictorico stuff, an email saying "Someone screwed up," but they didn't respond either. At least with the newer box someone finally got it right. Oh well...

W.F.

 

[RogerB]

Mine was with the Pictorico Gloss White Film where it went off the rails. The Factory supplied profile is huge, albeit it prints Bill's Ball wrong and even less density as above than my home-brew profile.

W.F.

But the "factory supplied profile" is for Epson ink - not Cone ink.

 

[Walker Blackwell]

The new 2016 CCpro PK HD black ink has been finalized after many months (and a ton of fine-tuning) and is now in final QC. It will be backwards compatible with older printers and is showing very dark L* values indeed while maintaining translucency at lower amounts and more gloss at higher amounts (frankly less gloss diff than Epson OEM PK).

When we are done QC of all 2016 ink I will begin a re-profile for all x9xx series printers with ConeColorPro on the most popular papers using 3000 patch color sets and a new $$$$$,$$ spectrophotometer and workflow.

Then we'll profile the x8xx. This will take a while . . .

Expect good things on the color calibration front. Our canned profiles will be more finely tuned than the major paper companies (many of them I built ICCs for FYI).

Regarding color gamut volume this is really in the eye of the beholder. We make an encapsulated ink that is 70% less expensive and sell it in refill carts that don't waste the last 30% of the ink in the rubbish . . all while maintaining the vast majority of needed gamut used by artists. I guess I'm saying, the pudding is in the proof. Once you have a good profile, print some images (photos of yours that you like) and look at them to judge the ink on it's merits in the real world.

The new PK is certainly going to add shadow gamut and dMax . . .

-Walker
New R&D guy at InkjetMall (ConeColor, Piezography, etc)

 

[W. Fisher]

Walker, when will this magic elixir be available for sale? I suspect most who refill or are into the Piezo stuff already have a means to calibrate their gear.

W.F.

 

[Walker Blackwell]

It will be available my mid-july if not sooner.

On the Piezo calibration front, we're also going to be distributing Piezography Professional Edition (software, not our upcoming Pro ink) that will allow full linearization and intent tuning of the monochrome process for those with spectrophotometers.

regards,
Walker