efi ColorProofXT ColorManager or MonicoProfiler Platinum

[kmick612]

Hello all. I am new to a company and want to create and modify ICC profiles. We have an Epson 9800 and are using efi ColorProof XF 3.0 as our rip, but they didn't purchase Color Manager. We have MonicoProfiler Gold, which as far as I can tell could only works for printers using up to 4 colors of ink. I need to upgrade either the MonicoProfiler to Platinum or add-on Color Manager for efi ColorProof XF. I would like to get your opinions on which way I should go. I don't have experience with either one of them. Thanks in advance for your help.

[meddington]

We have an Epson 9800 and are using efi ColorProof XF 3.0 as our rip, but they didn't purchase Color Manager. We have MonicoProfiler Gold, which as far as I can tell could only works for printers using up to 4 colors of ink.

The Epson 9800 can/should be profiled as a 4 color device (assuming you're using it as such rather than an RGB device). No need to have multicolor profiling options to utilize the "light" ink cartridges. Monaco gold makes excellent profiles.

[comholt]

I will second meddington's advice. You should also upgrade to a more recent version of the software, version 3.0 is a few years out of date. You can upgrade to 3.1.8 at no charge or 4.0 (lots of improvements) for $599. If you want any help will calibrating/profiling the 9800 or taking care of the upgrade, let me know.

Clark Omholt
Spectraflow
clark@spectraflow.com
415-382-8681

[kmick612]

Thanks for the reply guys! It is very helpful. Thanks Clark, I will keep that in mind! Have a great weekend.

[Ian Mackenzie]

Color Manager simply provides ease of use. Monaco and Profilemaker, etc., all produce good profiles. If you use something like Monaco, you need to manually print the appropriate target using the correct settings in XF, build the profile using the correct settings in Monaco, use the Profile Connector program in XF to link the profile to the calibration file and place the files into the appropriate final folder. XF color Manager does all this automatically. Wizard driven, all you really have to do is start the process and hang on for the ride. Accept all the defaults and you will get good results. The toughest thing you need to do is come up with a name for the file.

You can get just as good of a result using Monaco or others, but you need to know what you are doing.

[Mike Strickler]

All three solutions produce excellent results. The last time I bothered to check such things, the order of accuracy of proof-reference (GRACoL) match on the 1617-patch IT8.7/4 target was

1. Profilemaker 5
2. EFI Color Manager
3. Monaco Profiler

The results were all outstanding and the differences too slight to worry about. Obviously, the standalone apps can do other things, such profiling scanners, cameras, and monitors, editing profiles, etc. I second Ian's remarks on ease of use with Colorproof XF, with PM5 a distant second and Monaco bringing up the rear. And yes, you really should upgrade to v. 4.0: I's a revolutionary leap forward.

Please feel free to contact me off-list if you need further assistance.

Best regards,

Mike Strickler
MSP Graphic Services
Certified Implementer, EFI Proofing Products
www@mspgraphics.com

[Mike Strickler]

Ah--just realized one can edit one's posts later for spelling, etc. Very nice.