i1Profiler miniature + small RGB printer targets: 10x15 cm, 13x18 cm, A5

[pharmacist]

reading a row:

As you can see it works perfectly

reading a few rows:

 

[crenedecotret]

Thanks!! Below is the message that got me confused in i1profiler and then looking for other solutions. From your demo, it seems to only be a warning but I didn't want to take any chances. I printed out your target yesterday evening and will scan it in tonight. fingers are crossed I also messed around with cropping in photoshop to make another target but I didn't print it out. It works pretty well and I had fun doing it

 

[pharmacist]

I use this trick all the time with i1Profiler. How could I otherwise compres as much patches on a single sheet of paper, that otherwise is not possible with the standard setting. Define a virtual larger paper size and use photoshop to compress and squeeze the patches into a more convenient format/layout. My target for printable PVC-ID cards (credit card size) is also done with PS. For patch generating I do not use the i1Profiler "smart patch generator", but rather on the much more advanced ArgyllCMS targen command and convert this into cgat compatible format to be loaded and saved as a pxf-file. ArgyllCMS targen command is way superior in patch distribution/sampling than i1Profiler and I can exactly define the amount of grey steps for a given patch count, not possible with i1Profiler "smart" patch generator. It also distributes more evenly in the RGB color space than i1Profiler (-g argument) so all the sampling points will avoid each other maximally. i1Profiler has a particular way of distributing in which only at given patch counts the sampling points are evenly spread in the RGB color space and sometimes gives zero grey/neutral patches with some patch counts. A very good universal target is the built-in TC9.18 Gretag MacBeth target that is based on RGB 9x9x9 and also grey/neutral steps similar to the one of SpyderPrint Enhanced Grey target. This special patch layout cannot be generated with the standard patch generator with 918 patches.

 

[crenedecotret]

Time to report back

I scanned in the patches from your targets and also the ones I created myself with my "pkpatches" tool that uses targen in the background. The result is pretty good. And I completely agree the patch generator is nonsense in i1profiler. add one patch too many and you loose most of your grayscale.

Comparing on iccview.de. The i1studio/CM profile I had for the same paper seems to have a bit more gamut than the i1profiler and seems to dig a bit deeper in the blacks but I think that's mostly interpolated rather than from actual measurements. Both i1profiler profiles are practically identical and extend a bit more in the greens, blues and yellows/oranges.

Looking at the soft proofs on different tests images, I can visually see that the color gradations are much smoother with the I1P profile than with the i1studio but again, not quite as much shadow detail.

Using perceptual changes things a lot for the i1profiler profile. The perceptual intent in i1 profiler is vastly superior than the one in i1studio. Using the perceptual intent allows the shadow details that were a bit lacking in relative colorimetric and gives better results than the i1studio profile in either intent. Overall the colors appear much closer to the original than the i1studio and more neutral for monochrome images.

I'm keeping the i1profiler profile

The only thing I haven't done is export my measurements to ArgyllCMS but I don't bother much anymore. ArgyllCMS gives slightly more neutral profiles for relative colorimetric but I've never really liked it's perceptual intent. I feel I1profiler gives me two GOOD options I can choose from when printing my images. Monitor profiles are a different story. ArgyllCMS is way better there..

 

[pharmacist]

If you have license for i1Profiler: what you can do for more neutral profiles is in the profile settings (after you have scanned the patches):

Set neutralize grays at 50% (normally at 0 %), which will enhance neutrality significantly.

 

[pharmacist]

Just to say my 572 patch target is also generated with the pkpatches tool like you did thus similar results as expected with the targen command as engine.

 

[crenedecotret]

If you have license for i1Profiler: what you can do for more neutral profiles is in the profile settings (after you have scanned the patches):

View attachment 18262

Set neutralize grays at 50% (normally at 0 %), which will enhance neutrality significantly.

These are the same settings I typically use but with a few changes
- The table size I set to Maximum quality. I don't know if this actually helps or not
- ICC... I use version 2. This is probably not an issue nowadays.

The top section affects the perceptual intent only which is probably why it's so much better than i1studio. I've never tried the "colorful" intent, apparently it's similar to what was available in the old profilemaker 5.

 

[pharmacist]

A small update: I have made targets not only for 10x15 cm, but now also for 13x18 cm (using 3 sheets) and a A4 version. In the 13x18 cm targets you can clearly see (because of the patch distribution) the 64 grey steps included in this i1Profiler target that otherwise is not possible using the standard "smart" target generator of i1Profiler when choosing 572 patches (it will only generate about 18 grey steps). By having 64 grey steps with only 572 patches it produces superior grey separation with this amount of patch count, not possible using the smart patch generator of i1profiler (thanks to power of the patch distribution of ArgyllCMS).

Left: patch layout for 10x15 cm (4 sheets), middle: layout for 13x18 cm (3 sheets, notice the grey steps in row 9, 18, 27 and 36) and right: layout for A4 (210x297 mm).

The targets are based on the i1Pro1 legacy layout, but are compatible for both the i1Pro1 (original Gretag Macbeth Eye One) and the i1Pro2. The PXWF workflow files are device specific: choose the i1pro1 for the older Eye One spectro and i1Pro2 for the newer X-Rite i1Pro2.

 

[pharmacist]

A slightly improved version with 576 patches so the there are no dummy patches in the 13x18 cm version (last image). A slight rearrangement for the 10x15 cm photo card target: 12x12 per sheet (12x12x4=576 patches) instead of 11x13 and 12x16 per sheet for the 13x18 cm photo card target (12x16x3=576 patches). The A4 is changed to
24x24 patches (24x24x1=576 patches).

target (gif) files are compatible to both the i1pro1 and the i1Pro2. The pxwf files are device specific: choose the right file for your device in i1Profiler.

Note: to stretch the printed area to the maximum extent of your paper size: choose borderless printing setting: NO Expansion (retain size setting). This mostly important for those using the i1Pro1 (older Gretag Macbethe Eye One version) that needs about 8.5-9 mm patch height for scanning, due to the width of the scanning gap of their device in order to avoid scanning the colors above the scanned row and would otherwise compromise the measured colors.

 

[df11]

reading a row:

View attachment 18257

As you can see it works perfectly



reading a few rows:

Could you tell me where you got the 3D model from? I have a friend who could print a stand like that for me. I’ve searched online but, unfortunately, haven’t been able to find it. I’ve only ever made my own rollers for P800 and 3880 printer paper rolls.
Many thanks.