How to Create a New Paper Profile

  1. Open the Workbench application.
  2. Select Paper Profile in the datatypes list and create a new one (File > New).
  3. Select a Media (this needs to be preconfigured).
  4. Enter the name for the Paper Profile.
  5. Select Print Density Chart from the context menu. Choose the Media and Pagesetup you are creating the Paper Profile for and click OK.
  6. After a short time (allow the print to stabilise), select Measure Patches and choose your online Densitometer or Spectrophotometer device. After measurement is complete click OK (see below for manual entry procedure).
  7. Select the dots for use for each colour. Do this manually or by using the Sift and Sort option (recommended for Novice users).
  8. Save the Paper Profile.
  9. Go to the Workbench and select your Media. Choose Paper Profile under the Colour Correction panel and select the profile you have just created.
  10. Save the Media.
  11. Go to the Paper Profile and select Configure Ink Limit Chart. Choose your combination of inks for use and press OK.
  12. Select Print Inklimit Chart from the toolbar.
  13. Select the Media and Pagesetup you are calibrating and click OK.
  14. Once the chart has printed, it is a good idea to get the print immediately to see where the inks are dry and where they are wet.
  15. For each of the ink limits, determine the point the mix of inks produce a good, neutral colour and are clearly defined. The patches should not bleed or mottle and the colours of the two inks combined should maintain the colour that the two inks make, ie, Magenta and Yellow produces a red colour – make sure this stays red. Some inks and papers tend to move towards orange at the upper end and this will cause problems when measuring ICC charts.
  16. Determine the point the colours produce good, balanced results. With modern printers this is relatively easy but some older models produce strange results so the whole scale needs assessing.
  17. Look along the paper and tilt it to see the light reflecting off the surface. On a glossy, coated media the light should reflect well. If patches appear dull where the light is absorbed, this would probably be the ink limit point. If this is too low, reassess the patches selected. The single colours should not require adjustment. If they do, the Paper Profile patches probably need reassessment.
  18. Once values have been selected, enter each limit in the Ink Limit section of the Paper Profile and Save.

With a large number of inks, greater combinations of mixing can be tested. However, this can cause problems. If, for example, you have 8 inks and you check all combinations of ink in the 3-ink limit, you will end up with 56 rows of patches, making the ink limit chart nearly 1 metre for the one ink combination. It is a good idea to take the printer offline and check the size of the job with Job Info before printing.

Manual Entry Procedure

If you do not have a supported online Spectrophotometer or Densitometer you can still create a Paper Profile, provided you can read the densities. Ideally you need to read both the visual and real densities of all patches, as the assessment of which to select is based on both.

Once done, enter the values by selecting the first patch on each colour, enter the density and press Enter. This will automatically move to the next patch. Make sure the patch sort order is set to Patch Number.

Where a patch has both real and visual densities (anything except Black), make sure you select the D value to enter the real density and the V value to enter the visual. Pressing Enter will move to the next in the same group. All Visuals can be entered first and then all Real Densities.

Values can also be imported from a text file. Choose Measure Patches and select from text file from the list of supported devices. This will display a file chooser window, allowing you to locate and select a file to read into the Paper Profile. The file format is CMYK, space delimited.

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