I need some help getting my photos to print correctly. I calibrated my monitor and laptop using Spyder2. Things look fine on them, but when I print to my HP 7310 the colors are really out of whack. I am letting PS manages the color profile and set the printer to application manages color. What am I missing?
I have tried printing to an HP 7550 on occasion - while it's not the 7310, my experiences may parallel yours. It seems that most HP consumer grade printers are set up to print sRGB. To get colors right on the 7550, I had to convert the image to sRGB, turn off PS's color management, then make a slight color tweak (I added a notch of yellow, I think) in their print dialog box to come close to the calibrated monitor colors. I'm sure there are other ways to do it, but this worked.
I would need more information about what it means that the colors are really out of wack. Are they dark and muddy looking? If that is the case then you are likely double profiling and need to configure the way you are printing from photoshop. What version of PS are you using? The whole issue of color management does get quite complicated but you have done the first step by calibrating the monitor. The next step is to get a proper profile for your printer/paper combination. You can start by getting this from the paper manufacturer online for your printer. Not all printers will be profiled but most of the popular printers are included.
Sid, I will outline my workflow step by step using Photoshop CS and a Epson 1400 for you.
To make good prints YOU MUST have the ICC profile of the paper you intend to print on installed on your computer. I tend to use a lot of Ilford paper so if I do not have the profile, I go to the manufacturers website and download it to my desktop. Once it's on your desktop, highlight it, right click it and select install from the menu. This will install the profile into Windows Colour Management folder, the one Photoshop use's. Beware that the profile names on the download bear little resemblance to the actual paper name so make a note of it at this point.
Your paper's ICC profile is NOT "Spyder 2" or "R1900" those are working colour space profiles and irrelevant for printing.
Once you have downloadload the ICC paper profile and installed it, proceed as follows;
On a BLANK Photoshop screen ie no images, file browers or any other windows open with Photoshop go to View>Proof Setup>Custom.
Set the Rendering Intent To "Relative Colormatic" and tick the "Black Point Compensation" box. Now save this profile with a name you can relate to time and again, ie "Ilford Pearl Paper".
Open the image you want to print. Click on View>Proof Setup and select the paper you intend to print on from the dropdown menu.
Click on View>Gamut Warning. Any colours that are out of the paper/printer's range will now be flashing in this view. Use Hue/Saturation to adjust your image until nothing or very little is flashing. Your adjusted image is now within the range that the paper/printer can accuratly produce.
Click on View and un-tick "Soft Proof.
Click on File and "Print with Preview".
In your Epson printer driver;
Source = Document.
Print Space = THE PAPER PROFILE YOU USED DURING THE SOFT PROOFING STAGE.
Intent = Relative Colormatic.
TICK "Black Point Compensation".
Click on "Print".
Click on "Advanced".
Media = The closet choice there is in respect of the paper you intend to print on, ie if you intend to print on glossy paper then tick Epson Glossy.
Tick "ICM" and in "Color Management" make sure you tick "OFF".
Click "Print".
I can stress enough the importance of having the ICC profiles for the paper you intend to print on installed on your computer. As with all software, if you put crap info in, you will get crap out.
Also if your printer has a native resolution of 720ppi, so to avoid jagged edges you will need to halve (360ppi for A4 prints) or double it for best results. 180ppi works well for A3 print as it's a sub divison of 720ppi.
I appreciate that this is not the hardware you are using but maybe it will point you in the right direction.
Thanks Simon. I think my printer really is not up to the task of great photo reproduction. It is an all-in-one, master of none type. After lots of calibration and profiles it is still off most of the time. I decided to send my prints to an online lab and they come back almost perfect. In the future I may invest in an Epson.
Printer Calibration
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