New Pixma Pro-100 - Print colors all messed up

[Rob Monsipapa]

I really don't like getting new printers because it always messes up my print settings. Are there any good tutorials out there on setting up this printer to print accurate colors? I'm printing from CS6. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I've already calibrated my monitor and it was printing right on with my Canon 9000 MK II, now the Pro-100 is way off. HELP

Thanks

[arash_hazeghi]

just a guess but I think you have to turn off color management by your printer's driver. it must overriding the color profile sent from photoshop. in the print window make sure it says "photoshop manages colors" and also in the printer driver properties make sure "color management" is off

[Diane Miller]

But when you use Photoshop Manages Colors you have to be sure you put in the correct paper profile in the box for Printer Profile. Otherwise, for a start, try Printer Manages Colors and be sure to use a paper for which you have a built-in profile -- one that came with the printer. If that goes well, try Photoshop Manages Colors and, as Arash says, you do need to be sure you don't double-profile.

[Rob Monsipapa]

Got an interesting note from Canon. Would be good for other Mac OS 10.6.8 or higher users to know:

To turn off the color management, please ensure that you have allowed Photoshop to manage colors in the print menu of the program. In OS 10.6.8 and later, the color management for the printer will automatically be disabled when this has been done in Photoshop and the option would be grayed out.

So now there is something else going on and it's frustrating the **** out of me.

[Diane Miller]

Interesting. That doesn't happen with my Epson 3880 driver on a MacPro tower, OS 10.7.5, nor did it with 10.6. Just a Canon thing, apparently, and a good one. (Sounds like a dumb question, but have you confirmed that what they told you is correct -- that it is grayed out?) Tech support people (at least from Epson) have been known to give out some strange information sometimes.

Is there another place deeper in the driver where there is also a choice that could also need to be set? The Epson drivers drive me nuts in that regard.

Are you using a Canon paper that is supported in the printer driver's profiles? Using the wrong paper profile can give awful results.

Have you done a print head check? A clogged head can cause very strange colors.

[Rob Monsipapa]

Thanks Diane,
I looked for another driver option to uncheck and I'll be dammed if I can find one, it's driving me nuts... Ya, i did the typical print head check, no issues, I'm using the canon paper and the correct paper selection for the paper type used. I even checked to make sure I have the inks in the right locations, just incase I got dislexic at the time of ink tank installation... :-) Everything looks good and I'll bet it's going to be something really simple.

Here why I know it's off. A few weeks ago Imaging USA had a big event in Phoenix and Canon was there offering CPS members a free 13x19 print from one of their Pro-1 printers. I printed that exact same image off on my Pro 9000 MK II printer (which I just sold) and the two matched perfectly. Now i have the Pro-100 and the print has a very heavy magenta cast, the blues do not come out blue at all and the image over all is very dark... Still waiting on Canon to come back with more suggestions...

[Diane Miller]

Good way to know its off. And very frustrating. One other thing, if you haven't tried -- and you probably did -- is it still off (and equally so) if you use Printer Manages Colors? It makes me nervous that the OS is apparently messing with color settings, with "help" from PS.

I'd wonder about a bad ink cartridge -- not clogged one but an off color, but that would show on the print head check, assuming it prints a color pattern of some sort. While I was cooling my heels I'd make a test image with squares of various colors and see if they are all off or just some colors. Keep the colors in gamut -- really saturated ones can't print the way they look on the screen. Use PS's View > Proof Setup and Gamut warning if you're that advanced.

Keep us posted....