Color problems with printing.

[mrsteven]

Can anyone help me ? I work with Photoshop 7 and I am trying to print documents with my new photo printer. At the moment I am trying to print my scanned in coloured drawings and paintings... but the colours I am getting on paper look nothing like those on the screen.

I have tried adjusting the mode from 'RGB' to 'CMYK', and I have adjusted the proof setup (under custom)from 'Working RGB' to 'Working CMYK SWOP' to Color 'Match RGB' to 'SRGB IEC61966' etc...

Any help would be really appreciated.

Thanks for your time !

 

[MarcusStringer]

First of all....Make sure you screen is colour calibrated
Second select a profile in photoshop under edit/colour settings (do this for RGB and CMYK) if you just doing this for yourself then I would convert picture to RGB (because you printer is RGB) if you are doing this for proffessional print then CMYK.
In your print window there should be, somewhere, a spot to select a profile. change it to whatever profile photoshop is using.
That should work

Marcus

http://www.midlandtypesetters.com.au

 

[barehug]

Yup, home printers are RGB.
Also many photo printers come with a black cartridge and a colour cartridge; but many you will probably have to get a PHOTO cartridge(It will fit in the colour cartridge slot) for photo quality printing.
Check the printers manual for details.

Moe: It could have been a real ugly situation, but luckily I managed to shoot him in the spine.

 

[mrsteven]

Thanks for the help guys but I am still having the same problems.

Maybe I should firstly point out that I am using a 'Lexmark P706' photo printer and I have a color cartridge and photo cartridge installed. As I undertsand... color cartidges take Cyan Magenta and Yellow ink....I hope so because those are the colors I have in my inket refill kit, which I havn't used yet. I should also point out that I am using Photoshop 6 not 7, though I doubt that makes a much of a difference.

I did as Marcus suggested, under the edit profile I brought up color settings, I have them set to.

WORKING SPACES
RGB: Adobe RGB 1998
CMYK: SWPOP (Coated), 20%, GCR, Medium
Gray: Gray Gamma 2.2
Spot: Dot Gain 20%

COLOR MANAGEMENT POLICIES
RGB: Convert to Working RGB
CMYK: Convert to Working CMYK
GRAY: Off

Under Image/mode menu I have my image set to RGB Color.

Now.... everything used to be fine untill I started messing around with color settings, which is why I don't think this is a problem with my printer.

Under View menu and proof setup it is usially set to working CMYK, should I change this to RGB ? If you click on custom you have the options of:

Working CMYK - SWOP(Coated), 20%, GCR, Medium
Working RGB - Adobe RGB (1998)
ColorMatch RGB
sRGB IEC61966-2.1

I have tried all of these.

I was having this problem a few weeks ago when I first bought the printer and I stayed up all night changing the settings untill I got satisfactory results. However I've had a recent upheavel in my life and now that have I come back to my PC, I have forgotten what settings they should be at. Thats why I reckon it's my settings and not the printer.

Other than that I've been trying to print TIFF'S and JPEG'S, and both are coming out a dull greenish colour, and the more I keep trying the more ink I am losing.

Thanks for your help guys.

 

[kiddpete]

Does PS have a profile for your printer and paper? If it does, and you're using it, have you turned off color matching in your printer driver. If it doesn't, have you set your printer driver to use the right profile.

Let me get one more thing straight. You're worried about color matching, and you plan to use an ink refill kit? Sounds like an oxymoron to me.

 

[barehug]

Have you tried cleaning the cartridge heads(check the manual for info)?

Have you tried printing from any other software eg: a pic in a word document? If the colours are still off, the I think the problem may lie in your printer.

I very rarely print from home,(just the odd text doc) so my knowledge of Inkjet printers is minimal.

I did do a little research on your printer model and apparently the cartridges that come with the printer are for 'moderate use' which I assume means that they have less ink in them than the standard retail cartridges.

Hope someone can spread light on your problems

Barehug

Moe: It could have been a real ugly situation, but luckily I managed to shoot him in the spine.

 

[mrsteven]

Let me get one more thing straight. You're worried about color matching, and you plan to use an ink refill kit? Sounds like an oxymoron to me.

I've used them before on my old printer and they worked fine....fully compatible kiddpete.

 

[MarcusStringer]

Yeah, if all of your profiles match.
ie. photoshop, printer etc and you are still getting a different result when printed then I'm guessing it is something with your printer.
You'll just have to bite the bullet and keep trying different settings on your printer untill you find something that works

Marcus

http://www.midlandtypesetters.com.au

 

[mscallisto]

A few more tips:

If you are using paper of not the same brand as your printer make sure is has settings for your printer before you buy it. Example: Epson printer with Kodak paper that has specific settings for that Epson printer works fine but another brand paper that looks the same may not for many reasons, absorbtion rate for one.

Most quality paper comes with "settings" instructions and you need to make these settings.

Another is as Barehug suggests is do a nozzle clean found usually in the printer properties or utilities. A clogged black cartridge nozzle can make color prints look horrible.

 

[barehug]

Also maybe replacing the colour cartridge with a Black cartridge, so have a black and a photo cartridge.

As I understand it, the photo cartridge makes black by mixing all the colours together, is this right.

Or you say 'stuff it!' and send it to a printers! *LOL*

Moe: It could have been a real ugly situation, but luckily I managed to shoot him in the spine.

 

[mrsteven]

Thanks for the help guys but I fixed the problem. Sounds stupid but the cartridge heads where dirty. I did clean them before I even posted on here though. The manual says that if you get broken lines on the test print, then that indicates that they need cleaning. Well I did that and the lines where not broken, indicating the heads where clean. I did it again a couple of times, and still the colors where coming out crap. I did it another few times after that, about 6 times in all, and now it's printing nice colours.

Thanks again fellas... or ladies just (incase any of you here are)!

 

[mscallisto]

I did it another few times after that, about 6 times in all, and now it's printing nice colours"

This usually happens to me if a printer sits idle for a few weeks.

I have also seen a print test look great, no lines, then discovered the test pattern for the black was missing altogether.

Make it standard practice to clean often.