Creating Scanner Profiles

[jknott]

I've been using a Spyder2Pro for my screen for years, with stock printer profiles. The holy grail for me would be to scan a paint chip, sample it in 3dsmax, render, tweak for lightness, print and have it match the original sample. With varying device gamuts I gather that 100% accuracy might not be possible, but man would that make life simpler!

 

I just finished reading Jeff's chapter on color management in the 3DATS book and it was very well-done and helpful to me. Nice job Jeff, if you're reading this!

 

One question it left me with though...

 

Can any hardware print-profiler be used also to create a scanner profile? The reason I ask is that in the research I've been doing on the various hardware websites, they seem not to mention scanners as an option. It's always screen and printer. But, in reading Jeff's chapter, it seems to me that these profilers can be used with scanners as well.

 

Can anyone clarify?

 

Thanks,

Jason

[Jeff Mottle]

I've been using a Spyder2Pro for my screen for years, with stock printer profiles. The holy grail for me would be to scan a paint chip, sample it in 3dsmax, render, tweak for lightness, print and have it match the original sample. With varying device gamuts I gather that 100% accuracy might not be possible, but man would that make life simpler!

 

You need a sensor that can read reflected color values. The Spyder2Pro can only read emmisive surfaces (read: displays). I would reccomend the ColorMunki as it has good software for doing this and there is a 3ds max plugin to import the diffuse colors that it captures. The Xrite EyeOne Pro will do this too, but it's a lot more money and really meant for people that are really serious about all aspects of color management. Xrite just release their new software so it should be pretty good, but as I said, it's about 3 times the cost.

 

I just finished reading Jeff's chapter on color management in the 3DATS book and it was very well-done and helpful to me. Nice job Jeff, if you're reading this!

 

Thanks, glad you liked it. That was SO much more work than I had ever imagined, but it was still fun. I've not received a lot of feedback so happy to hear at least one person found it useful. I have a whole new respect for Brian who has written MUCH more than my measly 50 or so pages. It's an INSANE amount of work writing books.

 

Can any hardware print-profiler be used also to create a scanner profile? The reason I ask is that in the research I've been doing on the various hardware websites, they seem not to mention scanners as an option. It's always screen and printer. But, in reading Jeff's chapter, it seems to me that these profilers can be used with scanners as well.

 

To create a scanner profile, you just need software and a special scanner target. There are standardized targets like this one: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/692564-REG/LaserSoft_Imaging_LA1209_35mm_Kodachrome_IT8_Calibration.html or your software may allow you to print a custom target (like you would for a printer) which you measure using your calibration device and then scan. The software then uses the measured data and compares the scanned data and generates the profile. The ColorMunki software unfourtunately does not allow for scanner profiling. You'd have to move up to their new i1Publish software, but you have to use an i1Pro spectrophotometer. The total kit will run you about $1900. I do find it interesting too that all of the sites no longer mention scanner profiling though. I have a call into both XRITE and Datacolor to ask about this as I'm very curious myself. Will let you know what I find out.

[Jeff Mottle]

So found out something VERY interesting. I spoke to someone at XRITE and scanner profiling has been removed from their latest software (i1Publish) which is the first upgrade to their software in quite a few years. The old software (EyeOne Match) does allow for this to be done, so I'll be keeping that installed I guess. Apparently there are so few people that profile or use scanners that the decision was made not to include it. I've not heard back from Datacolor, but my assumption is that they too have removed this ability as well. I just recently purchased a high end Epson scanner as I've started doing some film photography again and needed to scan negatives and old prints. My scanner Epson V750 came with the SilverFast software which it seems is one of the only, if not the only, software available to do this now: http://www.silverfast.com/scanner-software/ The software comes with a target and you download a file with the color values for your batch of color targets. Will let you know when I hear back from DataColor, although I personally don't recommend using their products. I find them to be quite a bit less reliable and many others I've spoken to have reiterated the same thing. If you are serious about accurate color, stick with XRITE.

[Jeff Mottle]

Got a return call from DataColor as well and they confirmed they no longer support the creation of scanner profiles either.

[jknott]

Thanks for the info Jeff! It's odd to me that a desirable feature has been removed from these products, but I guess that just shows again what a unique breed we 3D folk are. I guess there must not be enough demand to warrant the development dollars.

 

I'll look into "a 3ds max plugin to import the diffuse colors that it captures" - maybe the ColorMunki will do what I need all by itself.

 

Have a great day