Developing by Inspection

Target Generator

Make the target you actually need

Target Generator builds the measurement targets that calibration depends on: grayscale step targets for linearization, and QuadToneRIP ink separation images for custom curve creation. You choose the step count, the patch size, and the ink order, rather than working around a fixed target someone else made.

Free · macOS

Grayscale targets for linearization

Build a step target with the number of steps you need, with duplicate and randomized patches for better averaging.

  • Up to 256 steps, with 11, 16, 21, 51, 86, 128, and 256 best supported
  • Duplicate patches per step, for averaging several readings
  • Randomized patch order, so a reading error does not follow the tonal ramp
  • Patch height, width, separator, and margin set to suit your instrument
  • Writes a .ti2 reference file alongside the TIFF, so ArgyllCMS can decode randomized and duplicate patches

Randomized and duplicate patches matter more than they sound. Reading a target in tonal order means a drifting instrument drifts along with the ramp, and the error hides inside the curve you are trying to measure. Scattering the patches breaks that correlation.

Ink separation images for QuadToneRIP

A 21-step target specific to QuadToneRIP, where the red and blue values select which ink prints and the green value sets how much of it.

  • Any ink order, listed from most dense to least dense
  • Per-channel ink limits, rather than editing the standard images by hand
  • Color toning inks listed below the gray inks, densest dilution first
  • Saves gray and color separations separately, for ArgyllCMS reference files

QuadToneRIP has always included a set of standard ink separation images, but there was no way to print each row at a different ink limit or in a different order without editing those images by hand, or printing each row separately. This exists to remove that step.

Patch sizes by instrument

Different instruments need different patch geometry. Set the height, width, separator, and margin to suit yours before saving.

i1 Pro 1 and 2
The default patch sizes work as they are.
i1 Pro 3 and 3 Plus
Needs noticeably larger patches than the earlier revisions.
ColorMunki
One inch tall, a quarter to three-eighths of an inch wide, measured in ArgyllCMS.

Using the targets

Targets from here are measured and turned into curves by the QuadToneProfiler applications. Step-by-step instructions, including the settings for each measurement device, are in the documentation.