[Openicc] [Gimp-print-devel] [Printing-architecture] Colour

[Robert Krawitz]

   From: Michael Sweet <msweet at apple.com>
   Date: Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:51:17 -0800

   On Nov 13, 2009, at 4:04 PM, Robert Krawitz wrote:
   > ...
   > Gutenprint absolutely provides a true DeviceN color path (for Epson
   > printers, at any rate).  We just don't have a reasonable vehicle for
   > exposing it to end users.

   Right, as a "halftone module" Gutenprint actually offers much more than =
   most vendor solutions, however as a CUPS driver it has no way to expose =
   this since no RIP filter supports more than 4 channels.

Ayup, and that's a CUPS limitation, not a Gutenprint limitation.  That
needs to be fixed (and not by removing it from Gutenprint!).

Gutenprint is more than just a halftone module here; you can request
corrections (such as gamma and density) on DeviceN output.

   > I'm dubious of sRGB-only command sets for inkjet printers.  It
   > artificially restricts the available gamut, and doesn't work if you
   > use a medium other than that specified by the manufacturer.

   Like it or not, you're going to see more sRGB/AdobeRGB-only devices in =
   the future, even from Epson. Only the high-end printers will support a =
   DeviceN mode that can be used by third-parties...

Which as I pointed out earlier is irrelevant to the question of
whether DeviceN support should be available.  sRGB/AdobeRGB-only
devices really support a "DeviceN" that just happens to be the same as
one of the RGB spaces.  And I doubt Epson is going to remove DeviceN
input from the higher end devices, so there will still be a need for
DeviceN.

-- 
Robert Krawitz                                     <rlk at alum.mit.edu>

Tall Clubs International  --  http://www.tall.org/ or 1-888-IM-TALL-2
Member of the League for Programming Freedom  --  http://ProgFree.org
Project lead for Gutenprint   --    http://gimp-print.sourceforge.net

"Linux doesn't dictate how I work, I dictate how Linux works."
--Eric Crampton