Color setup help needed

[Larry Preuss]

I hope someone can help me with color settings. With early cataracts lending
a yellow cast to things I can often tell that something is not quite right
without knowing just how to correct it.

Today I have switched from an Epson printer to a Canon i960, and below are
my tools and present settings. I am not quite pleased with my first prints
and don't know if I have made obvious errors in setup. May I have
suggestions. I would welcome private discussion as well as group postings -
my email address is lpreuss at comcast dot net.

Mac OS 10.3.3
Photoshop 7.0
Color setting Adobe RGB (1998)
Pentax Optio S
Canon 1960 inkjet printer settings
Source space: sRGB IEC 61966-2.1
Print space profile: same as source
Print Color Options
Color correction: BJ Standard.
(Should I be using ColorSync here?)

Larry Preuss
Ann Arbor, MI

 

[bmoag]

It can take many tries, no matter how much you think you know about color
managment, to get a print you like from some images. This is not always a
technical issue, but an aesthetic one. Also most of us really take glorified
snapshots and do not have control over color balances and light reflections
in the original image that become troublingly apparent with these
sophisticated digital imaging products. I believe the Pentax Optio s is a
3mp P&S: you may be expecting too much once you input these images into
Photoshop. I have many images from my original Nikon Coolpix 3mp: few of
these really tolerate printing at a greater than 5x7 size.

I hope this is helpful:

If you have not done this try to calibrate your monitor using the Adobe
applet. External calibrators like the Spyder are more accurate but not
absolutely necessary. The profile for your monitor is what you should use to
view and manipulate your images as this will be translated to your working
color space, presumably AdobeRGB.

It is not clear if you are converting from the source space to Adobe RGB
when working on images in Photoshop: you should definitely do this. The
practical differences between sRGB and AdobeRGB are probably not as great as
they are made out to be but the object here is consistency in color
management.

If you do not trust your eyes then only do color correction by using the
grey dropper tools in the Photoshop levels or curves tools. The often
printed recommendation about correcting color using the grey dropper tool is
generally true IF your image has a reliable gray region to sample. If you
have color correction plugins that have worked for you in the past try
those. The Photoshop autocolor correction tool is unreliable.

Use the printer driver settings that uses Apple color management rather than
setting color parameters in the printer driver (realistically this is the
only reason to use an Apple rather than Wintel). Also with Windows ICM is a
far better choice for predictable results. If you spent the $ for Photoshop
use it to manage color. It does not always deliver the results you want but
at least it provides some consistency.

I have found that the Canon driver is more tolerant, that is to say probably
less sensitive, to minor color imbalances than are high end Epson printers,
making it easier to use overall. I use both the Canon 960 and an Epson 1280.

Like all printer drivers setting for the correct paper type in the driver is
also crucial: I wonder if this is not a source of your dissatisfaction. In
my experience if the correct choices are not made for glossy paper finishes
large areas of color are blocky and variegated with the 960. The Canon
printer excels, really excels, on matte finish papers, something Epson
printers seem to handle less well.

To my eyes the Canon colors at basic settings are somewhat less intense or
lighter than Epson prints but to some extent this may be the result of the
type of paper being used. I have a lot of Epson Glossy paper types and they
work well with the Canon Photo Paper Plus Glossy setting. My limited use of
Canon glossy papers gives me the impression they yield prints with higher
apparent contrast and saturation. One would expect the Canon printer is
tuned for use with Canon papers.

I presume you also have the printer driver set for the highest quality
setting (highest dpi): in my experience the 960 is disappointing at any
lower quality setting.

 

[stuff-it]

I hope someone can help me with color settings. With early cataracts lending
a yellow cast to things I can often tell that something is not quite right
without knowing just how to correct it.

Today I have switched from an Epson printer to a Canon i960, and below are
my tools and present settings. I am not quite pleased with my first prints
and don't know if I have made obvious errors in setup. May I have
suggestions. I would welcome private discussion as well as group postings -
my email address is lpreuss at comcast dot net.

Mac OS 10.3.3
Photoshop 7.0
Color setting Adobe RGB (1998)
Pentax Optio S
Canon 1960 inkjet printer settings
Source space: sRGB IEC 61966-2.1
Print space profile: same as source
Print Color Options
Color correction: BJ Standard.
(Should I be using ColorSync here?)

Larry Preuss
Ann Arbor, MI

Along with the previous reply, set your photoshop colorspace to srgb
as well. Or you can just use the PROOF setting and select MONITOR and
that will bring you down to earth.

I bet you notice your colors way over saturated for the most part on
anything you open with Adobe RGB selected and without the proofing
enabled for your monitor.

So I would suspect you are actually desaturating the picture and then
sending it to the printer that is using a diffrent color space..

You should get very prints nears to what you see on your monitor with
just basic settings. Depending on the paper I use, generally I would
have to give a little more ink intensity , just 2 or 3 at the most,
or compensate my photoshop levels by minus 15 or so which I do not
like doing as it will look darker on gamma calibrated monitors.

Make sure your adobe gamma correction is right on and also do the
"whitepoint" in the calibration as well.. Mine is neutral at the 9300k
setting. That alone will throw things off. Get out all dem blues..

just use basic settings and im sure you will be very happy. Dont waste
much time tweeking the printer drivers.. keep it simple and edit your
picture in photoshop, not the printer.

 

[Larry Preuss]

Along with the previous reply, set your photoshop colorspace to srgb
as well. Or you can just use the PROOF setting and select MONITOR and
that will bring you down to earth.

I bet you notice your colors way over saturated for the most part on
anything you open with Adobe RGB selected and without the proofing
enabled for your monitor.

So I would suspect you are actually desaturating the picture and then
sending it to the printer that is using a diffrent color space..

You should get very prints nears to what you see on your monitor with
just basic settings. Depending on the paper I use, generally I would
have to give a little more ink intensity , just 2 or 3 at the most,
or compensate my photoshop levels by minus 15 or so which I do not
like doing as it will look darker on gamma calibrated monitors.

Make sure your adobe gamma correction is right on and also do the
"whitepoint" in the calibration as well.. Mine is neutral at the 9300k
setting. That alone will throw things off. Get out all dem blues..

just use basic settings and im sure you will be very happy. Dont waste
much time tweeking the printer drivers.. keep it simple and edit your
picture in photoshop, not the printer.

I thank both of you for your help. I have used Adobe RGB for my PS color
setting because of advice when I had a CRT Mac. I now have a flat-panel
iMac. There is a setting labelled "Monitor RGB - iMac calibrated," and I
assume this would be preferred over either Apple RGB or sRGB. Am I correct?

The only calibrations available for this monitor are Brightness (I have gone
highest); gamma (I have selected 1.8, as being standard for a Mac); and
target white point. Between D50 and "native white point of this display" I
have selected the former, as it seems to acord better with the appearance of
my print. I am proofing in PS for Monitor RGB.

I had not selected the proper photo paper; I had it set for Glossy Photo
Paper rather than the proper Photo Paper Pro.

In my color correction I have chosen "none" rather than ColorSync. This
again seems to give me a true print. Am I missing the significance of the
ColorSync option?

I have the feeling I am almost there, as far as settings are concerned. The
asthetic aspect I can only tussle with on my own.

Larry

 

[stuff-it]

I thank both of you for your help. I have used Adobe RGB for my PS color
setting because of advice when I had a CRT Mac. I now have a flat-panel
iMac. There is a setting labelled "Monitor RGB - iMac calibrated," and I
assume this would be preferred over either Apple RGB or sRGB. Am I correct?

The only calibrations available for this monitor are Brightness (I have gone
highest); gamma (I have selected 1.8, as being standard for a Mac); and
target white point. Between D50 and "native white point of this display" I
have selected the former, as it seems to acord better with the appearance of
my print. I am proofing in PS for Monitor RGB.

I had not selected the proper photo paper; I had it set for Glossy Photo
Paper rather than the proper Photo Paper Pro.

In my color correction I have chosen "none" rather than ColorSync. This
again seems to give me a true print. Am I missing the significance of the
ColorSync option?

I have the feeling I am almost there, as far as settings are concerned. The
asthetic aspect I can only tussle with on my own.

Larry

Before you go any further, Have you done your Adobe Gamma that is
located in the control panel for windows, but I do not know where it
is located on Mac...

Its important to use the adobe calibration to set the gamma.

Since most cameras , scanners etc will use sRGB when they make their
images, It might be best to set your photoshop colorspace as sRGB as
well. Ive pulled my hair out messing with colorspace over the years
and you know what.... unless you are using CMYK for a service bureau,
I would just use sRGB all around...

Trust me, Ive spent weeks messing with it and the final output is no
diffrent for home printing.

I cant help you with the "colorsync" option as I never use anything
but defaults and I let photoshop do the work...

SO match up your PS and Printer with the same profile and give it a
whirl.. Its alot of experiementing but save yourself the paper and
hassle by getting the colorspace the same on your devices.. then let
photoshop do the rest.. There may just be colorcasting you arent
seeing.

Give a filter a try such as the other post suggests.. or how about
trying the built in 'variations' filter..
image/adjustments/variations... Just to be sure its not you. I am
fooled all the time by a slight cast I do not detect until its print
time.

Now, regardless, I always use color samples, to adjust black and white
with the info pallet and mid's with curves. 99 percent of the time no
matter how good an original photo looks, it always turns out better.