| » Forum Index » Problems and solutions » Topic: Print colour management |
|
Posted on 21/12/08 12:39:18 PM |
|
chris berry
Overhead Overlord Posts: 724 Reply  |
Print colour management
Hi all Colour balanced a shot - looks great on screen, looks dull and flat and a bit magenta in print. Printed a simalr shot a few days ago and printed fine. Not sure what's changed. However, I know there is a way of adjusting your monitor to match your printer, so you get a better idea of what the print will look like. Does anyone know where I can find these settings, or even how to remedy this print! Also, cyan ink is low on the printer. Don't know if this makes a difference. Thanks for any help. Chris |
Posted on 21/12/08 12:52:12 PM |
|
maiden
Golden Gif Gagster Posts: 471 Reply  |
Re: Print colour management
I use a Spyder2 Monitor Calibrator but I still get print problems. Even though I set it to RGB1989 or whatever it's called and let Photoshop decide colours - the printer is not calibrated to print the colors as they appear (Corrected) on my monitor - I wish someone could explain this stuff to me as they only way to ensure camera->monitor->printer calibration is by getting them professionally profiled. |
Posted on 21/12/08 2:40:51 PM |
|
Nick Curtain
Model Master Posts: 1768 Reply  |
Re: Print colour management
Chris You are experiencing one of the biggest issues facing digital photographers and one that leaves people scratching their heads in absolute frustration. Martin Evening's book - Photoshop for photographers explains colour management in great detail and is worth a read, but be prepared to be mind blown. I gave up printing at home. My old Epsom 1290 did a reasonable print, but there was always a magenta cast whatever settings I used., i.e. perceptual / relative colormetric etc etc. In Martin's book he advised to turn off the colour settings and let PS manage the colours. Tried that and ended up with Cyan cast prints instead. I have an NEC 20WGX2 monitor and it's superb. I've never calibrated it as the standard SRGB factory settings are excellent. My portrait / wedding colleague and I have just started using DS Colourlab in Manchester and what we get back is of excellent colour and print quality. An 8X12 in print is about 40p and you just cannot print for that cost at home. We just upload the files using standard sRGB IEC 61966-2.1. and what we see is what we get. Many people argue that Adobe 1998 is better, but I find the other preferable. It's down to personal choice I suppose. The later Epsom printers are excellent, but when you've paid a few hundred for the machine and bought the paper and inks, the cost becomes prohibitive. The lab we use had prints on our doormat Tuesday morning from a Sunday lunchtime upload. If you are printing at home, then a nozel check is essential on a regular basis, particularly if the printer is left unused for any period of time. Nick |
Posted on 21/12/08 5:41:36 PM |
|
vibeke
Kreative Kiwi Posts: 2166 Reply  |
Re: Print colour management
I too struggle with printing, and Have been reading up on it lately. Making some progress but still have a long way to go. I use a Spyder for calibrating my monitor, doesn't do a good job on the laptop though. a couple of things I that might help. Let Photoshop manage colour, and select the correct (nearest colour profile for the paper and printer you are using. Also check 'Out of Gamut Colors' shift/cntr/Y, that will explain why some colors you see on screen just doesn't print. You can also tick the Out of Gamut in the Print screen.  _________________ Perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize. |
Posted on 22/12/08 11:06:53 AM |
|
chris berry
Overhead Overlord Posts: 724 Reply |
Re: Print colour management
Hi everyone Thanks for the responses. I have managed to remedy this by changing the cyan cartridge which was low but not exhausted. As soon as I put the new one in, problem was fixed. Of course, these are only happy snaps so colour doesn't have the be perfect, but the dullness has disappeared. Nick, I will check out DS Colour Lab as that sounds pretty unbeatable. Thanks again for everyone's help. Cheers Chris |
Posted on 22/12/08 1:16:21 PM |
|
dave.cox
Marquee Master Posts: 518 Reply  |
Re: Print colour management
Hi all, Vibeke, Maiden, I too use the spyder monitor calibration, and it works great for the monitor. It is however, only designed to calibrate the monitor, not the printer. The printer is a different device, and requires its own profile Just like the monitor, you can get variation from printer to printer, even when using the same brand. So what is the answer? What I have is another calibration package, that works in conjuction with the spyer calibration. The way that it works is this. First it will print a calibration sheet from your printer, and then you put it on the scanner, and scan the print out back in. This allows the software to "see" what colors the printer is actually printing. From this, it can create a color profile for the printer to use. Chris, If you had to replace the cyan cartridge, I assume that you actually had to replace the cyan print head. Your ink cartridges are probably red, green and blue, where you have print heads that are cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. If you had to replace the cyan cartridge, you really should go ahead and replace the rest of the print heads, are you are going to have additional problems in the very near future. (I just went through this myself). The Cyan usually gets used the most, and is commonly the first one to start showing problems, but the others are probably not far behind. Happy Holidays everyone.  |
Posted on 22/12/08 4:36:27 PM |
|
chris berry
Overhead Overlord Posts: 724 Reply |
Re: Print colour management
Thanks Dave. My printer uses 6 colour cartridges: cyan, light cyan, magenta, light magenta, yellow and black. Yellow will be the next to go, but so far so good! Have a great Christmas. Chris |
Posted on 22/12/08 5:50:35 PM |
|
vibeke
Kreative Kiwi Posts: 2166 Reply |
Re: Print colour management
thanks Dave, I realise that calibrating the monitor is only the first step, but until you have the monitor right, it isn't worth while trying to get the printer right. _________________ Perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize. |
Posted on 22/12/08 6:55:27 PM |
|
maiden
Golden Gif Gagster Posts: 471 Reply |
Re: Print colour management
That's my thinking, Vibeke. If the monitor isn't calibrated then what you're seeing isn't true so how can you expect the printer to print what you see - but even though my Monitor is calibrated (according to Spyder2) and I've created profiles from the very simplistic printer calibration that came with the Spyder but still no joy with getting good colour representation. |
Posted on 22/12/08 8:30:27 PM |
|
Paul 2007 thru 2010
Lego Legend Posts: 361 Reply |
Re: Print colour management
Part of my job is to create icc profiles for our own media and media we sell. We use a Gretag McBeth Eye-One device. It can calibrate monitors and it'll scan the colour test patches produced by your printer. It can be a very tedious job trying to calibrate a printer especially if you are using rip software. There are so many things to get right. Single ink limit, total ink limit, linearisation before you can even start to create an icc profile. Every test print you do needs to dry for a hour minimum. I HATE DOING IT! |