Roark 3000 Quadtone Workflow

Updated July 19, 2001

These two images were printed using the same cartridges

Below is the workflow provided by Paul Roark for making Variable Tone prints on an Epson 3000 printer. The MIS variable-mix inkset (VM-Quad) and the adjustment curves allow you to make prints that can be either warm-tone or cold-tone, like the ones above, or anything in between, or even a mix of tones. To see additional samples of the variable tone prints, go to Paul's web page.

Ink Positions -
The Quad version of the variable-mix inkset (VM-QUAD-SET) has different ink positions than the MIS original quadtone inks.

Black cartridge - dark-tone ink (VM-QUAD-4-K)
Cyan cartridge - mid-tone ink (VM-QUAD-4-C)
Magenta cartridge - light-tone ink (VM-QUAD-4-M)
Yellow cartridge - the toner ink (VM-QUAD-4-VM1)
The VM-Quad black ink is a new MIS ink and has a density the same as the MIS Double Density ink (ESCARC-4-DD) which is to be used only with the original MIS quadtone inks.

Workflow -

1.    Edit the image in grayscale mode and convert the mode to RGB only for printing and after saving the g/s file.

2.    Load and apply the desired Image Adjustment Curve. (Image, Adjust, Curves, Load, vmqxx, Load, OK) Note: vm3kxx refers to one of the curves listed below.
There are five curves for the 3000 printer. Download these curves.   It is a zip file   (2 kb). The zip file contains these curves. The curve files go in the Photoshop folder and work with both PC and Mac.

vm3k-c = Cold tone for 3000
vm3k-w = Warm tone curve for 3000
vm3k-mw = Medium warm tone for 3000
vm3k-nc = Neutral-cool tone for 3000
vm3k-nc2 = Second version of neutral tone curve
To expand the file you will need PKZip for PC's or Stuffit for Mac's. The curves are for Epson Archival Matte or Crane's Museo.
The image will turn nice bright colors, but these are false colors. The image is no longer WYSIWYG. This is for printing only, and should not be saved over the good g/s working file.
(Note that a Photoshop Action (macro) can program a function key to convert to RGB, call up and apply the desired adjustment curve/tone, and get the user into the print driver. That is, this can be a one-button procedure/workflow.)
Comments Regarding These Curves -

As with the 1160 curves, there is no curve called Dead Neutral, because that will change depending on the paper, how old warm-shifted the print is, and other factors. Use the yellow slider in the Epson driver to fine-tune the curves to get desired result.

The Neutral-Cool curve is several units cool, a compromise to account for the inevitable warm shift that will occur. This tone looks good against a cool-tone silver print, including selenium-toned Kodak Polymax Fine Art prints.

There are two Neutral-Cool curves. Each one optimizes the image at different places. It is commonly known, that the 3000 has a large dot and dither pattern. These artifacts show up at different places depending on how the curves are written. So the neutral curves, have been optimized at different places. If the artifacts show up in a critical place for a particular print with one of the curves, the other one might work perfectly.

The Medium Warm tone is really the nice, warm silver print tone of a warm Ilford or similar paper.

The Warm curve is very close to the Original MIS Quadtone color, which is very close to the classic platinum prints.

The Cold tone is for people who want lots of coolness. It looks great to many and has enough reserve of coolness to absorb substantial warming with time and stay on the cool side of neutral. The slider can be used to get downright bluish tones if desired. However, all of the tones of the pre-written curves are within the normal print range.

3.    Printer Setup -
The Epson driver is used to print this inkset. (File, Print)
The following printer setup is for the VM inks with an Epson 1160 on Epson Archival Matte paper.
(Note that my general Photoshop color settings (Edit, Color Settings) are the Photoshop 5 Default spaces.)
Epson driver dialog box settings:
Print: (Source space - sRGBIEC61966-2.1)(From Photoshop 5 default)
Print Space - Profile: Same As Source
Properties:

Media type - Photo Quality Ink Jet Paper
Ink - Color
Mode - Custom, push Advanced button
Print Quality - SuperFine 1440
Half toning - Error Diffusion
Color Management - Color Controls
Mode - Vivid
Do not check Video or ICM
Sliders - Leave at 0 to start.
The Yellow slider controls the toner. Use for fine-tuning only. More Yellow = cooler print; Less Yellow = warmer print. Leave all other sliders at 0.
After hitting OK to return to the Main tab, it might be useful to Save Settings as, for example, "VM-QUAD".
Be sure to let the print dry before judging the color or tones.
There is an excellent forum called Digital B&W, The Print. The forum discusses all digital technologies related to making monochrome prints from digital sources, including the MIS ink sets and workflows. If you are using MIS inks or plan on using them, this is a great place to find additional information and to contact current users.
If the above forum does not answer your questions, you an contact Paul Roark paul.roark@verizon.net, if necessary.

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