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Profiling variants for MX and VISU

PrintFactory includes two color management engines, MX and VISU.  MX is based on GMG’s MX4 color management technology and VISU is the latest fully integrated ICC based color management engine.

This document explains the different profile variances or color mapping methodologies in MX and VISU as well as all advanced tools to adjust profiles to suit customer requirements. e.g. Chroma boosting, purify colors,…

Printer Media Mode variants

The PMM variants offer predefined gamut mapping and black generation settings made in either an MX or VISU created PMM.  They work differently depending on the printer/media combination. Below is a list of the available variants.

Below are the default variants explained together with all advanced profile adjustment options.

1. Default VISU variants

VISU ICC  based printer profiles have following default variants available in Calibrator:

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Perceptual

Perceptual conversion is the best color reproduction on a specific media with a specific printer, i.e. stand alone.   It is a full compression of all colors with a neutral grey. It is a full normalization color space (standard) conversion to the printer color space. Where the normalisation space is bigger than the printer gamut it will be compressed (preserving detail) and where it is smaller it will be expanded.

Visual Match

Visual Match conversion is best used in commercial work when matching color accross various media and different machines and matching to Color proofs.  It is absolute colorimetric in the middle (up to about 80%) and becoming more perceptual – starts to compress colors –  when moving towards the outside of the gamut.

Colorimetric

Paper relative colorimetric conversion will clip all out of gamut colors and match them to the closest point on the gamut, without any color compression.  All colors within the gamut remain untouched and color accurate.  There is no gradation on out of gamut colors.  This is a conversion from the normalization color space (standard) to the printer color space.

Proofing

Proofing is an absolute conversion based on the maximum color gamut of the machine.

1.1. Custom VISU variants

VISU profiles allow for more advanced conversions and profile amendments:

  • Further rendering intents
  • Black generation options
  • Profile size
  • Color boosting
  • Viewing conditions
  • Optical Brightener compensation
  • Purify primary and secondary colours

How to create and use the advanced options of a custom VISU variant.

2. MX Variants

Default CMYK

This is GMG’s automatic analysis of the printer gamut and a use of a perceptual and colorimetric conversion depending on reference and printer gamut size.

Reduced Black

This would be used typically on high end single pass press’s where the heads are very expensive and it is not economical to replace a damaged black head but quality output is required immediately until it can be replaced – moves much of the K data to the CMY plates).

EcoSave

This is a more aggressive GCR type ink saving where more CMY data is moved to the K plate where possible adding typically 3-5% more ink saving.  This requires a strong K pigmentation.

Validation Print

This is a numbers only transformation for when a certification of the print output is required such as in the case for PSD (Process Standard Digital from Fogra). Note that it may not mean that the printer/ink/media combination will pass defined delta E tolerances for this process.

Pure Magenta Yellow

This will purify any Magenta and Yellow only data in the file and thus will use the printers pure M & Y inks to render as opposed to simulating for example ISO Coated v2 (ECI) rendition of the same Magenta & Yellow ink values.

Pure Cyan, Magenta, Yellow Gradations

This will purify any gradations of C,M,Y contained in the file and use only the corresponding printer inks to render, again, as opposed to simulating for example

ISO Coated v2 (ECI) rendition of the same Cyan, Magenta & Yellow gradations.

Default RGB

This will output RGB data only and create a auto gamut map to the printers colour space and create an Adobe RGB to Printer CMYK MX profile (which takes longer to calculate than normal CMYK MX’s) which is typically used for Fine Art/Giclee or Photographic printing purposes.

EcoSave RGB

Same as default RGB but making more use of the printer’s K channel to render shadow or neutral areas.

Reduced Black RGB

The reverse of EcoSave RGB.

 

Updated on May 19, 2022

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