i1Pro spot measurement

[Alan Goldhammer]

I'm not going to quote Paul's post above, but I think the fault directly lies with X-Rite.  Look, we have one guy writing ArgyllCMS and it runs on three systems and you can get the underlying code to compile and run on others (though no guarantee there) so I don't buy the argument that there is a difficulty here.  The underlying program should have been written so that it could be ported to both Win and Mac (I'm on Win7 and have never programmed for Mac computers so I cannot attest to whether there are any special difficulties here).  You will have system dependent issues that should be dealt with by the respective compilers as well as driver issues for the hardware.  My pet hobby horse over the past 18 months has been the true lack of difference between Mac and PCs with respect to the difference in output from the software and hardware that we use.  Has anyone ever seen any difference in a printed photograph from the same printer using output from a Mac and a PC providing you deal with the specific idiosyncrasies?  Last I saw, Photoshop/Lightroom behave the same on both systems.  As Paul notes, the Win installation base is far larger than the Mac base overall (I don't know if this is the case for LuLa members and if someone wants to set up a survey tool, that's fine with me as it might be an interesting data point).  Given this state of affairs, it is criminal for X-Rite to release software that is not fully vetted (we Win users are fond of bashing MSFT for the exact same thing).  As for me, I'm finally mastering ArgyllCMS and when my i1 comes in a week or so there is not a question of what I will be using for profiling. 

[Rhossydd]

Look, we have one guy writing ArgyllCMS

And what would be the reaction be if X-Rite had released i1 Profiler as a CLI program ? we're in the 21st century now.

As others have said, the underlying code isn't the problem here. The problem is the interface doesn't offer the functionality that's possible or expected and it's reliability isn't as good as it should be.

[Alan Goldhammer]

And what would be the reaction be if X-Rite had released i1 Profiler as a CLI program ? we're in the 21st century now.

As others have said, the underlying code isn't the problem here. The problem is the interface doesn't offer the functionality that's possible or expected and it's reliability isn't as good as it should be.

I'm not saying that anyone other than a one-man shop who is interested in developing a tool set should release a CLI program.  Clearly any commercial software is expected to be a 'windows' program (using the term generically).  I've written some Visuall C++ programs for my own edification and the UI is the least of the problems, getting the program code correct is what is critical.  When you use the term "reliability isn't as good as it should be" implies to me that it is the code that is the problem and not the UI.  Perhaps some more clarity is required. 

For monitor calibration using ArgyllCMS a GUI interface has been developed independently and does streamline things (though one still needs a solid working knowledge of what the tools do as developing a fine profile for the monitor is a multi-step process).  Profiling printers IMO is much more straight forward.  A CLI program is not for everybody but for those who want to invest the time in learning, it gives superior results.

[Rhossydd]

When you use the term "reliability isn't as good as it should be" implies to me that it is the code that is the problem and not the UI.  Perhaps some more clarity is required. 

The "reliability" issues I referred to have been mentioned before and I don't think are related to the underlying algorithm of profile building, but how data is passed to it and how the whole package installs and is used.

There are issues that seem primarily concerned with error checking that cause unreliability issues with i1Pr, eg failure to recognise CMYK data in a RGB workflow, failure to read dark charts,  plus there are also specific UI reliability issues, eg charts failing to display correctly, unwanted menu options eg RGB printer tag in a CMYK workflow. All things that should have been picked up and corrected in the beta phase of development.

[yannb]

Hello again,

Today I received the answer from X-Rite techsupport. Here it is:

'The i1Profiler Software is not capable to do single spot measurements and comparisons in LAB / LCH mode. The 'platform' for Spot Color Handling is the PANTONE Color Manger and we would expect, that it will be enhanced with more advanced functionality in future updates. However, details are not clear yet. For now, i can just suggest to continue using i1Share or MT5.'

Indeed, knock on wood.

Regards,
Yann