Digital Negative ICC Profile

[BobDavid]

I'm in the process of making my first batch of digital negatives on Inkpress Paper's transparency film. There isn't an ICC profile available for printing on an Epson SC P7000. I know I set the media to ultra premium luster and use PK ink. Other than that, any additional information is appreciated.

 

[koraks]

You don't need an ICC profile - in fact, it doesn't really make a whole lot of sense to use one.
ICC profiles are used to ensure that the colors as printed by the printer match what is encoded in the digital data sent to the printer. The profile compensates for optical density variations due to the inks and paper used, but also non-linearities in the ink delivery system (i.e. the head itself).

When you're printing digital negatives, the calibration is done between the digital input data (your image, e.g. in Photoshop or in a dedicated print tool like QTR) and the final print as made with the target process (e.g. cyanotype etc.). Hence, to a large extent, what happens in the inkjet printing step doesn't really matter, as long as it's consistent (i.e. every time you print the same thing, it comes out the same).

You could (and indeed, can) make an ICC profile for the calibrated workflow if that happens to be a full-color workflow. This is what e.g. Calvin Grier does for his alt. process pigment prints (carbon, printmaker's friend and previously gum). But in that case, what you profile is not the inkjet printer and the inkjet negative, but the 'virtual printer' consisting of the entire chain comprising the inkjet printer, the digital negative and the finished & dried alt. process print.

So long story short: stop looking because there's no need or even a realistic need for this, and that's why it doesn't exist.

 

[BobDavid]

You don't need an ICC profile - in fact, it doesn't really make a whole lot of sense to use one.
ICC profiles are used to ensure that the colors as printed by the printer match what is encoded in the digital data sent to the printer. The profile compensates for optical density variations due to the inks and paper used, but also non-linearities in the ink delivery system (i.e. the head itself).

When you're printing digital negatives, the calibration is done between the digital input data (your image, e.g. in Photoshop or in a dedicated print tool like QTR) and the final print as made with the target process (e.g. cyanotype etc.). Hence, to a large extent, what happens in the inkjet printing step doesn't really matter, as long as it's consistent (i.e. every time you print the same thing, it comes out the same).

You could (and indeed, can) make an ICC profile for the calibrated workflow if that happens to be a full-color workflow. This is what e.g. Calvin Grier does for his alt. process pigment prints (carbon, printmaker's friend and previously gum). But in that case, what you profile is not the inkjet printer and the inkjet negative, but the 'virtual printer' consisting of the entire chain comprising the inkjet printer, the digital negative and the finished & dried alt. process print.

So long story short: stop looking because there's no need or even a realistic need for this, and that's why it doesn't exist.

Thank you.

 

[djdister]

The folks at Bostick & Sullivan have suggestions for Look Up Tables (LUTs) for making digital negatives, see this https://www.bostick-sullivan.com/digital-negatives-lut/

 

[nmp]

I'm in the process of making my first batch of digital negatives on Inkpress Paper's transparency film. There isn't an ICC profile available for printing on an Epson SC P7000. I know I set the media to ultra premium luster and use PK ink. Other than that, any additional information is appreciated.

You can use any icc profile as long as you use the same for the whole process, i.e. icc profile for making the actual negative should match the one used when creating the correction curve. I would use the Epson Ultra Premium Luster paper profile for P7000 since you are already using that media type.

:Niranjan.

 

[Carnie Bob]

I use the P7000 to make digital negatives, I as well use luster setting and PK inks.. As Korak's mentions above you
need to calibrate your negative using quadtone rip, and a I one spectrometer. I print using Print Tool and in the future
Greg and I are going to try to avoid Quad tone rip and print tool but do this all through PS.

Spoiler alert - if you are not digitally alert, and do not have really good computer skills I would suggest you have someone make the profile for you.
I use a friend in NY who does this for me, once it is made and you have it in print tool you will never need to do again. For example my first
profile was made by Ron Reeder who visited me a couple of times and I used his curve for 10 years. I recently felt that I needed to make a new curve and had Greg Brophy make it for us. I now use his curve, the difference is initially Ron did not put in blocking colours, but Greg has done so. My negatives are green/yellow.

Once you have this linerizatin for the film you are using with PK inks, I have found that I can use the same curve for , my gum negs, my silver negs, my cyanotype negs. Initially I had the curve made from Pt Pd output using 100 step wedge input and then Greg reads the output print and use Boutwells system for bringing the output numbers to match the input numbers. Then remotely he jumps on my computer and loads the profile.

As you can see though I understand what they are doing , I personally am like a deer in the headlights with this part of photography and I pass the roll on to others more patient than I. In reality I have saved money by not doing it myself, just Gregs fee and shipping costs of sending the prints to him.