So I've finally gotten some crafters to 50 and I'm looking at making materials for my master books, but I was just wondering if this was working as intended.

I have CRP at 294 craftsmanship making Spruce Lumber (difficulty 97) and I can effectively complete it in one step with Careful Synth II.

I have ALC at 297 craftsmanship making Growth Formula Delta (also difficulty 97) but Careful Synth II only gives me 48 progress, meaning I have to CSII three times in order to complete the recipe. It screws up my rotation at the moment, and while I don't have the craftsmanship required to make the actual master book items yet, I'm worried that I won't HQ them whatsoever.

Is this intended? Am I supposed to be gaining less than half the value of progress on ALC than I am on CRP? Is difficulty even factored into progress?