HP Z3100 - DesignJet Color Inkjet Printer User manual

Technical Newsletter:
HP Advanced Profiling Solution
June 10th, 2007
Summary
The HP Advanced Profiling Solution (APS) powered by X-Rite is an
integrated solution for calibrating and profiling monitors, profiling
HP Designjet Z Photo Printer series and for validating and
optimizing ICC profiles.
A number of profiling solutions are available ranging from the in-the-
box HP Easy Profiling Solution (EPS), over optional software and
hardware bundles like APS, to high end stand-alone software
packages like X-Rite ProfileMaker, Monaco, or Heidelberg
PrintOpen. The features and price points of these solutions vary
widely, from very easy to use and included in the printer purchase price, to quite
sophisticated and expensive.
The HP Advanced Profiling Solution powered by X-Rite represents a reasonable
middle ground with respect to features and price. All solutions provide good
colorimetric accuracy, but especially the details of perceptual rendering intents can
and do vary. As usual, the best advice is to compare carefully and use the most
fitting tool for the job.
In the following pages we describe in detail the HP Advanced Profiling Solution
(page 2-5) and we provide a comparison to other profiling solutions (page 6).

What is the HP Advanced Profiling Solution (APS)?
The HP Advanced Profiling Solution (APS) powered by X-Rite is a software and
hardware package for generating ICC profiles, with a wizard style user interface.
It uses the HP Designjet Z Photo printer series’ Embedded Spectro-Photometer (ESP)
for printer profiling, and an in-the-box X-Rite Eye-One Display 2 colorimeter for
monitor profiling. Both Mac and Windows versions are available. APS is sold as a
software accessory by HP and/or bundled with certain versions of the HP
Designjet Z Photo printer series (region dependent). The figure below shows the
main user interface.
What does APS do?
HP APS calibrates and builds International Color Consortium (ICC1) compliant
color profiles for HP Designjet Z Photo Printer series and for any computer monitor.
ICC profiles describe the range of colors that a given device can capture or
produce, and how to obtain those colors. They are a fundamental element in
1www.icc.org

digital color management. A number of options are provided for monitor
calibration (white point, gamma, and luminance) and for Z series printer profiling
(chart size, profile size, gray axis style, and viewing light source). The printer
profiling parameters user interface is shown below.
The standard RGB driver print path can be profiled via an on-line workflow (with
integrated chart printing), and third party print paths (e.g. using a Raster Image
Processor) can be profiled via an off-line workflow (with separate printing and
measuring/profiling steps). APS also lets you validate your viewing environment
ambient lighting conditions, and lets you edit the HP Designjet Z Photo printer ICC
profiles it has created. The ambient light check user interface is shown below.

The printer profile editing user interface is shown below.
What does APS not do?
APS does not create ICC profiles for scanners, digital cameras, or other kinds of
input devices. It does not work with X-Rite Eye-One or other standalone
colorimeters or spectrophotometers for printer profiling.
While it has a number of parameters for monitor and printer profile creation, it
does not have the sophisticated separation or black generation, gamut mapping
style, and other controls that some profiling packages offer.
The list of supported viewing light sources is more limited (D50, D65) than some
other packages. It does not support software correction for optical brighteners.2It
generates RGB and CMYK printer profiles, but not multi-color or device link
profiles.3The included printer profile editor is a visual one (using a sample image)
for the perceptual rendering intent, and it uses a simple slider based user interface.
2The HP Designjet Z Photo Printer series embedded spectrophotometer has a built-in UV-cut filter,
which makes software correction for optical brighteners unnecessary and irrelevant.
3The fact that RGB or CMYK profiles are being used does not imply that only RGB or CMYK inks
are being used to print the targets. All inks present in the Z series (8 or 12 depending on the
model) will be used via the standard printer drivers. Third party RIPs typically do the same, but
details are RIP-dependent.

It does not allow low level editing of render tables or other ICC profile tags
(components).
Does APS guarantee a perfect match to monitor
(WYSIWYG4)?
No, it does not, and no profiling package does. A color match implies no
perceivable difference (or zero delta-E) between one medium (the monitor) and
another (the print), even when seen side by side. This is only achievable for some
colors (in the intersection of the two device gamuts) in lab conditions with the
strictest control of viewing environments, viewer adaptation, and other variables,
which makes it impractical for real world applications. General color gamut size
and shape differences between monitors and prints imply that there will always be
colors that can be reproduced on one device but not on the other, and vice versa –
obviously making a match impossible for those colors.
What APS can do, however, is to calibrate monitors and printers to a good
degree of accuracy and repeatability for each device, generating the
corresponding ICC profiles. These profiles can be used in application software
and color management systems in general, which can provide a good degree of
similarity between monitors and prints if configured correctly and used correctly (in
the appropriate viewing conditions, for instance). APS does provide an ambient
viewing light check using the included colorimeter, which can help determine if the
viewing conditions are appropriate.
What’s in the box?
The solution includes:
•HP Colorimeter, powered by Eye-One technology
−Calibrate and profile all of your monitors – LCD, CRT, and laptops
•Profiling Software, powered by X-Rite that includes:
−Printer profiling tool: RGB and CMYK print paths, online and offline
workflows
−Display calibration and profiling tool: set white point and gamma,
create profile
−Validation and Optimization tools: check viewing conditions, edit printer
profiles
4WYSIWYG:WhatYouSeeIsWhatYouGet

Printer profiling options
•Supported printer profiling charts:
oHP Easy RGB 1.2 (45 patches), HP RGB 1.5 (288 patches), HP
TC9.18 RGB (1100 patches)
oHP Easy CMYK 1.2 (45 patches), HP CMYK 1.1 (323 patches), HP
ECI2002 CMYK Ref (1496 patches)
•Supported viewing illuminants: D50, D65
•Neutral axis style: Paper Colored Gray, Neutral Gray
•Black generation parameters (CMYK profiles only): Total Ink Coverage,
Black start, Max Black
Technical specifications
Ordering information
Q6695A HP Advanced Profiling Solution International
Q6701A HP Advanced Profiling Solution Japan and Asia Pacific
Recommended system requirements
Macintosh
A
pple Mac OS X 10.3.9 or above: Mac G5, 1 GB RAM, 2 GB
available hard disk
Windows Windows XP or 2000: Pentium IV, 3 GHz, 1 GB RAM, 2 GB
available hard disk
Other High-speed internet connection, 17” or larger color monitor with
1024 x 768 pixel resolution is recommended
Supported devices for monitor
profiling HP Colorimeter (provided)
Supported devices for printer
profiling HP Embedded Spectrophotometer (Designjet Z series)
Connectivity USB 2.0 (Win & Mac), TCP/IP

How does APS compare to other solutions?
In general, we distinguish a number of different profiling solutions for the HP
Designjet Z Photo printer series, which we will group into levels:
A. In the box: Every HP Designjet Z Photo printer series comes with a complete
printer calibration and profiling solution in the box, known as the HP Easy
Profiling Solution (EPS). It is accessed via the Color Center or Printer Utility,
and it uses the Z printers’ built-in spectrophotometer. As the name indicates,
this solution is aimed at maximum ease of use, and hence provides no
profiling parameters beyond the profile name. EPS generates RGB printer
profiles only for the Z2100 and Z3100 series, and CMYK printer profiles
only for the Z6100 series.
B. HP software accessory and/or bundle with some printer versions (region
dependent): The HP Advanced Profiling Solution powered by X-Rite is a
software and hardware bundle with a broader scope (monitor and printer
profiling, RGB and CMYK printer profiles, viewing condition measurement,
profile editing) and with more flexibility (different profiling charts, online
and offline flow, neutral axis style, etc.).
C. Profiling software bundled with or integrated in third party Raster Image
Processor (RIP) solutions, using the Z series’ embedded spectrophotometer
(ESP). The functionality and features are solution dependent.
D. Stand-alone profiling software packages such as GretagMacbeth (now X-
Rite) ProfileMaker, Monaco (now X-Rite) Profiler, Heidelberg PrintOpen, and
others. These packages may or may not work with the Z series’ embedded
spectrophotometer (ESP), but typically do support a variety of stand-alone
color measurement instruments. The functionality and features are solution
dependent, and range from very simple to very sophisticated.
Characterizing the performance of levels A and B is obviously easier than C and
D, mostly because the number of solutions in levels C and D are potentially quite
large. In what follows we will use just a few representative examples. The matrix
below summarizes the differences between EPS (level A) and APS (level B).

Table: Comparing Easy Profiling Solution (Color Center) and Advanced Profiling Solution features.

Colorimetric accuracy
Color profiles can be evaluated numerically with regards to color accuracy, which
is relevant e.g. for proofing applications. The figure below illustrates typical print-
and-measure color differences in delta-E (1 dE being the smallest perceivable
difference in theory) for the 46 colors represented in the FOGRA5color control
strip processed through the same ISO coated input profile and different HP
Designjet Z3100 Photo Printer output profiles generated with different profiling
packages, on HP Premium Instant Dry Satin paper, in ICC Absolute Colorimetric
mode.
Accuracy Results with Fogra Target (46 Color Patches)
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
EPS APS ProfileMaker V5 Monaco
Profiling Solution
DE76
Substrate
Mean
Max
Primary
Table: comparing typical print-and-measure color accuracy results for different profiling packages,
using the FOGRA color control strip and the HP Designjet Z3100 printer on HP Premium Instant Dry
Satin paper.
Perceptual rendering
For photographic applications, numerical color accuracy is less important than
what the final print looks like to an observer. Unfortunately this is a rather difficult
thing to measure quantitatively, because we have no access to directly measurable
quantities inside observers’ heads. The results can and do also depend on the type
5http://www.fogra.org/FOGRAisaninternationalorganizationwiththeobjectivetopromoteprint
engineeringanditsfuture‐orientedtechnologiesinthefieldsofresearch,developmentandapplication,
andtoenabletheprintingindustrytoutilizetheresultsofthisactivity

of images printed, the type of substrate (paper) being used, the viewing
environment that prints are seen in, the kind of application or use that prints are
meant for, and even who is doing the viewing, their psychological state, and
eventually personal preferences.6
Having said all that, we can provide a rough indication of observer preference for
a particular test image printed with the Z3100 on HP Hahnemühle Smooth Fine Art
paper. Obviously this can only be taken as indicating a trend for a particular
image, paper, and group of observers. As always, your mileage can vary. The
figure below illustrates the test image, made available on the internet by well-
known photographer and color management guru Bill Atkinson
(http://www.billatkinson.com/). As specifically established by Bill Atkinson in his
web site: “These files are offered in the spirit of one artist sharing brushes with
other artists. I hope you find them useful, but please understand that they come
with no support whatsoever. If you need help, ask a friend”
Figure: Bill Atkinson’s test image used for a perceptual print quality test (this is a reduced size
version, and converted from the original CIELAB color space to sRGB)
6OrastheancientRomanswouldhaveit:Degustibusetcoloribusnondisputandumest![Onecannot
argueaboutcolorsandtastes].