ABW Profile Target Printing Instructions and Custom Profile Order Form ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Overview Getting a custom profile made is easy, but it does require following instructions carefully. Please read this document carefully and ask me (madmanchan2000@yahoo.com) if you have any questions. I suggest that you print out this sheet, use the checklists to make sure you've completed all steps, fill out the form (step 7), and include it when you mail me the profile targets. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Step 1. First, download the profile target ZIP file: http://people.csail.mit.edu/ericchan/photos/tmp/ABWProfileTargetLetter.zip ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Step 2. Next, unzip the downloaded ZIP file. It contains a single profile target image in the TIFF file format: ABWProfileTargetLetter.tif ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Step 3. Print the profile target image on a single sheet of letter-sized, A4, or larger sheet paper. You will need to print the profile target image from a software application that allows you to disable color management entirely. Recent versions of Photoshop (such as CS through CS4) are fine. However, do NOT print the profile target image from Lightroom. Once you have your custom profile, you can use it to print images from any color-managed application of your choice, including Lightroom. However, you cannot print this profile target image correctly from Lightroom. The rest of these instructions assume that you will be printing the profile target image from Photoshop. Before printing the profile target image (complete this checklist): ___ When opening the target files, Photoshop may ask you about a Missing Profile. If so, check the option "Leave as is (don't color manage)" and click OK. ___ Important! Do not resize the targets in any way. The resolution of the target files is 360 pixels/inch. This is intentional. ___ Important! Make sure Photoshop is configured to print in Portrait (not Landscape) orientation. To do this, choose "Page Setup..." from the File menu. ___ Important! Disable color management when printing from Photoshop. To do this, in Photoshop's Print dialog box (or for Photoshop CS2, the "Print With Preview" dialog box), set Photoshop's Color Handling popup menu to No Color Management. This will disable (i.e., gray out) the Printer Profile and Rendering Intent popup menus. That's ok. ___ Important! Set the Epson printer driver's Color mode to Advanced B&W Photo. Then, in the Advanced settings, set the Tone menu to Dark (instead of the default setting of Darker). ___ Important! Choose the correct Media Type for your paper. ___ Choose your desired quality/resolution (e.g., 1440 or 2880 dpi). ___ Choose your other desired driver settings (e.g., High Speed on/off, etc.). ___ Disable Borderless printing in the driver settings. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Step 4. After printing the profile target image (complete this checklist): ___ Check the edges of the printed target sheet to make sure that none of the gray patches are cut off. Refer to the on-screen image in Photoshop if in doubt. The colors/tones will not match (in fact, they may be very different) but the layout should match. ___ Check the printed targets for artifacts (e.g., due to clogged nozzles). If the printouts are defective, the profiles created from them will suffer. Be sure your printer is working properly by performing nozzle cleaning and/or head alignment if necessary. ___ Do not scratch scratch or scuff the surface of the paper. ___ Do not write anywhere on the paper. ___ Do not tape or glue anything to the paper. ___ Do not fold, roll, or wrinkle the paper in any way. Doing so may lead to less accurate measurements. It is best to ship the targets flat (e.g., in a flat envelope or box). ___ For your own records, be sure to write down your printer driver settings (or better yet, save the settings as a preset, if your printer driver offers that option) so that you can recall them later when printing using the profile. This is very important, because the profile will only give you accurate color and tones when using the exact same driver settings as used when printing the target. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Step 5. If you are sending targets for multiple papers, be sure to indicate which paper is which (please indicate this on a separate sheet of plain paper; do not write on the printed target itself). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Step 6. Package the paper(s) carefully (e.g., in a sturdy envelope or box). I do NOT recommend using a mailing tube, because a tube requires rolling up the papers, and the resulting curl may decrease measurement accuracy. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Step 7. Fill out the following order form, then copy and paste it into an email sent to me at madmanchan2000@yahoo.com. I will then email you my mailing address and also send you a PayPal invoice. Printer model name: Paper name(s): ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Here are three examples of completed order forms. Example 1: Printer model name: Epson 3800 Number of profiles: 2 Paper name(s): Ilford Gold Fibre Silk, Epson Velvet Fine Art Example 2: Printer model name: Canon iPF 5100 Number of profiles: 1 Paper name(s): Red River Arctic Polar Luster Example 3: Printer model name: HP B9180 Number of profiles: 1 Paper name(s): HP Smooth Fine Art ---------------------------------------------------------------------- That's it! Once I receive the profile target images and payment, I will create the profile and email it to you within 24 hours. Do not hesitate to contact me if you have questions. Eric