This article covers Transitions, the first calibration step in the EasyMedia Wizard. This process is optional and only necessary when using light inks, such as light cyan, light magenta, or light black.
Good to know
The Transitions step optimizes the blending of light and dark inks to ensure smooth tonal transitions. EasyMedia automatically suggests optimal parameters to simplify calibration.
After setting up your project in EasyMedia, you have two options to start the Transitions process: printing and measuring a target or loading an existing measurement file.
Option 1 to Start a Transition
Print and Measure a target
If you choose to print and measure a target from scratch, follow these steps:
- First, select your spectrophotometer device.
- Choose light and dark ink targets for measurement. For more details, please refer to your device technote.
- Click "Next".
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The subsequent interface allows you to select the target print settings (loading, quality, scale, etc.).
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You can also configure advanced printing settings using the Printer and Media buttons (as in the Print Module > Printer and Media tabs).
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Below, you can set "Ink Clipping" values for each ink and globally.
Good to know
The "Ink Clipping" option helps prevent unwanted bleed before printing a test pattern, functioning similarly in transitions, linear applications, and ink limits. This option is particularly useful if you know that you cannot deposit a large amount of ink on your media. By setting a smaller global ink limit, you can effectively avoid dirtying your printer.
- Click "Print".
- Then click "Next" once the printing is finished.
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Set up the spectrophotometer by clicking the "Setup..." button. This opens another window.
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The available setup options and the measurement process depend on the model of spectrophotometer being used. For more details, please refer to the corresponding technote. If you cannot find a technote, refer to this example of a Barbieri spectro setup.
- Click "OK" to apply changes, if any, and close the window.
- Click "Start".
- Then click "Next" once the measurement is finished.
Option 2 to Start a Transition
Load an existing measurement file
As the name suggests, "Load an existing measurement file" allows you to load a measurement file from different sources:
- Load last measurement file
- Load a file in project's directory
- Load another file
- Import from current transition file (.ppi files)
Once loaded, you will see some details from the file and a checkbox below. Enabling the checkbox will save the measurement file in the EasyMedia project directory.
Verify Spectral Density
Once the measurements for the light and dark ink targets are complete, the interface will display a two-dimensional graph showing ink density versus percentage:
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Manual intervention is generally not required at this step.
- Vertical Axis (Y): Represents spectral density, expressed as a percentage.
- Horizontal Axis (X): Represents ink percentage, expressed as a percentage.
- Pmax: Indicates the maximum ink percentage on the horizontal axis.
- Dmax: Indicates the maximum spectral density on the vertical axis.
- Data Points: Each point on the graph represents a measurement taken from a printed target. A standard target with 21 patches will result in 21 data points. Separate curves are displayed for light and dark inks, reflecting differences in density. Navigation buttons, "Next" and "Previous" allows you to view light or dark ink curves.
Good to know
The software automatically applies a limitation to the dark inks, clipping them at 95% by default. This provides a margin for subsequent linearization adjustments. The software also automatically determines an appropriate limitation for light inks. These values are displayed within the interface.
Verify Transition Curve
Clicking the "Next" button will show the following transition curve:
In "Graph" mode, you can view the distribution of light and dark inks according to the density:
This is the distribution of light and dark inks according to the density. The values are visible by clicking on the curve.
In "Numbers" mode, you can directly see the values of the dark and light inks and change them:
In this example, we can see that the light ink is utilized until a density of 36% and the dark ink starts to be utilized until 6%.
You can adjust these transition curves values manually to minimize the overlap between light and dark ink application:
Light Ink Replacement in High Densities
This area optimizes color management by applying Gray Component Replacement (GCR) or compensation for light inks. You can select one of the options (None, Weak, Normal, Strong, or Custom) to adjust ink usage during color transitions in high-density areas.
For example, by selecting the "Strong" option, you can significantly reduce light ink application in darker regions, effectively minimizing the risk of over-inking and enhancing print quality, while the other options allow for varying degrees of light ink usage.
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Recent advancements in printing technology have improved ink efficiency, making stronger compensation options more effective for achieving the best results. Therefore, when using the "Light Ink Replacement in High Densities," it is important to choose the right compensation level based on your printer and printing needs. Experienced operators may need to conduct some testing to find the optimal setting.
Next Step
Once you have finished checking and/or modifying the transition values, click "Next."
The module will ask if you want to test the settings you just adjusted. If you choose to do so, the printing/measurement settings will appear again.
After printing, the wizard will ask if the test results were satisfactory. If so, you can proceed to linearization.