nice to see you on here eye4clr.
eye4clr is the man!
Aw shucks. Thanks.
Why not just set your RIP to use the embedded profile? Why worry about input profiles?
Because most rips won't see embedded profiles in all file types. Usually they'll only recognize embedded profiles in tiffs only. This leaves all your other file types to default to the configured input profiles in the rip. Or worse yet, it may leave the other file types to default to some random input profile that jacks the color.
I just had this happen with a color client I'd recently made some profiles for. I set them up with proper Quicksets in Onyx to run the custom medias I'd setup. They called a week later saying the color was all off and the canned profiles were giving better results. This is about the worst thing you could say to the guy that setup the custom profiles! I dropped everything and gave them a visit to find they had their inputs set to use embedded profiles in the default Quickset. They had forgotten (or were ignoring) my instructions to simply run jobs through the Quickset for the medias I'd setup. All we had to do was run the job through the right workflow and they were back on track and using 25-35% less ink.
well here is what i dont understand
my sp300v is CYMK
i love working with rgb, i tried finding an rgb profile in signlabs but i cant find one.
You pose a perfectly logical point. It doesn't make sense that you can have an rgb file output correctly on a CMYK printer. This was the mantra for years. RGB is for web only and all print work should be designed as CMYK. No exceptions!
Then along came broad implementation of ICC profiles. They're used all through your workflow whether you know it (or use it) or not. These ICC profiles are a tool to communicate color through the steps of your workflow. They allow color to be accurately maintained by referencing the superficial RGB or CMYK references to color to another (behind the scenes) color space call LAB. This all happens within tables in the ICC profiles without you having to bother with the details.
So it really is very simple once you know the mechanics. Say you have your happy sRGB Working Space file. You can use this for the web straight away with no conversion. But when it comes time to print, something, somewhere has to "map" those colors to CMYK. Not just any old random CMYK, but CMYK values for your printer/RIP/media/setting combination. This is usually the role your RIP plays with the media profile. Know that an ICC profile is one part of the larger package of a media profile. The ICC maps the color within the rigid parameters of the ink set, resolution, printer settings, and media combination defined in the media profile. From a strict color geek perspective, you can't deviate from any of these settings without the color accuracy suffering.
So, one of your RIP's jobs is to convert your sRGB file to custom CMYK values to output your color accurately for you system. Good responsible media manufacturers offer profiles for their most popular medias, in the most popular rips, for the most popular printers. If you're using something that's old, obscure, or a system that doesn't use icc profiles, the manufacturer will not likely have a media profile for you. I know nothing about Signlab. But I don't think it implements an ICC workflow very well or at all. I'm sure there is someone here who can better answer this specifically.
As far as liking RGB, carry on. You're actually a little bit better off compared to working in CMYK. But you can get excellent color from either if you've got your workflow setup correctly. Most people tend to feel more comfortable with RGB or CMYK. So work with whatever makes your more efficient and effective.
