I’ve read on various forums that many people feel MonacoProfiler is superior to ProfileMaker 5 in the richness of shadows. Examining the perceptual mapping of near blacks to device RGB values in PM5 profiles, I see that Lab colors with luminosities approaching absolute black seem to be mapped to device RGB values significantly higher than those that produce the darkest black. The mapping seems like it is not reaching for the deepest possible blacks. Is PM5 trying too hard to maintain color (or neutrality) in these extreme shadow regions; where it’s possible that neither the human eye nor the Eye One can actually see the resulting colors with a high degree of accuracy? Could mapping the near blacks to darker device RGB values result in richer looking shadows without any real loss of perceived color?
Classic and chromaplus map the near blacks to the appropriate device RGB values for achieving the darkest black. It’s the colorful mapping that isn’t mapping to the darkest device black, yet in all other respects the colorful mapping looks superior to the others for my needs.
In photoshop, I can convert from AdobeRGB to the printer profile and then select near blacks and scale the values down with a lot of control, but this would be a royal pain in production. It needs to be done in the profile itself.
I don’t see how to achieve that level of control in the profile editor. Whether I try gradations or selective color, I can’t seem to isolate the mapping changes to a defined area of the near blacks without also affecting color mappings throughout the gamut.
Are there other ways to go about this?
Is i1Profiler going to address this type of issue?
Although it’s a great profile editor, I don’t think the PM editor can be used for this level of precision. Hopefully i1Profiler will improve on this process, because I can’t think of a perfect solution for you right now.
There’s a little more information on this in a post from a few years ago:
[one.imports.literateforums.com/t/profilemaker-5-gammut-mapping/542/1)
Thanks for the link. I’d actually already read those posts with great interest.
It’s not a huge deal. The colorful mapping is by far the best for my needs. It just bugs me knowing my blacks on every paper are between 1 and 2 Lab Luminosity levels lighter than the darkest possible black the inking/paper combination can deliver. I don’t think there’s any perceived color to be gained down there, so it seems to me that the profile should drive the mapping of near blacks, and certainly absolute black, to the darkest possible values. Unless there’s something I’m not understanding.
I’m anxious to see how the i1Profiler mappings handle this.