Printing Issues

[xphile200]

Ok so here’s my dilemma. I recently got a new computer and monitor, and for some reason my printout at home on my oldish Epson printer do not even come close to matching what I see on screen. I have tried to make various adjustments and pick different color profiles but honestly I'm not sure what I’m doing so I’m kinda just groping around in the dark and hoping that a setting I choose will make the printouts match the screen. So if anyone has some suggestions for what I can do to adjust my monitor or printer so that they are basically on the same page, that would be wonderful.</o:p>
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[Keyare]

What software are you doing your artwork in?

[xphile200]

I am using Photoshop and Illustrator for the most part, havent tried to print in other programs besides those

[Keyare]

PC? or Mac? How far out are the colours - could you describe it?

Have you tried using different settings in the print dialogue?

[xphile200]

I am using a PC, and the colors are pretty far off. for example im working on a project where the colors are golden and when i print i get more orange colors instead of yellows. Same with another project were i had alight yellowtype of color in the background and it printed out more red and peach than yellow. I have tried to make adjustments under the color management but i am only slightly able to get colors to print that match the screen.

[Keyare]

set your document to cmyk
make a page with boxes solid colours of cyan magenta and black, red (100%magenta, 100% yellow) green (100% yellow 100% cyan) and see if there is a SWOP setting on your printer. If they don't dome out solid then it's the printer driver. not the gd software.


If the colours dont look like cyan, yellow, magenta, red and green on the screen then it's the software/screen calibration


On your screen - does cyan look like this: http://ih2.com/images/c1.jpg





or like this: http://ih2.com/images/c2.jpg??



Post Edited (Keyare) : 6/9/2004 7:13:23 PM GMT

[xphile200]

alright, will do and ill let you know how it goes, thanks for your help.

[mikel]

Is your monitor calibrated? Using a colorimeter is the best method, but a manual (visual) calibration with Adobe Gamma is better than nothing.

As far as using the printer profile goes, make sure you're using the one for your exact paper type and the resolution you're choosing in the print driver. To get an idea how the print will look before printing, try selecting your printer profile under View/Proof Setup/Custom (in Photoshop). This will simulate how your image will appear in the printer gamut. You can then adjust the image to make any of the out-of-gamut colors print more to your liking. This method works pretty well if you have decent printer profiles.

When you print, make sure to use the same printer profile and select No Color Adjustment in the color management section of the printer driver.

Mike
www.independentcolor.com (http://www.independentcolor.com)

[PrintDriver]

Key, what are you using for your placed images that is STILL crashing my Safari. It's only you man. And I can see it fine in IE.

Mikel - What is wide format to you? Does a printer have to have a certain printhead resolution for your spectrometer to work?

PrintDriver is a large format digital print dude. His advice/opinions may not apply to the 4color/offset/web world of printing

[Keyare]

okay try it now.

[PrintDriver]

Works now Key. Whatever it was is gone.

PrintDriver is a large format digital print dude. His advice/opinions may not apply to the 4color/offset/web world of printing

[Keyare]

The funny thing is that those JPGs that crashed you had an ICC profile. Now they don't.

[PrintDriver]

Weird.

PrintDriver is a large format digital print dude. His advice/opinions may not apply to the 4color/offset/web world of printing

[mikel]

Sorry, I didn't get an alert when you responded to my post.

'Mikel - What is wide format to you? Does a printer have to have a certain printhead resolution for your spectrometer to work?'

Generally 13' width is considered wide format. The manufacturer makes the distinction and sometimes they put a printer in two categories (Epson 2200, for example).

Spectrophotometers work on any printer output regardless of the print technology.

Mike
www.independentcolor.com (http://www.independentcolor.com)