Epson - colours 'settling' after a few days?

[Si]

I've noticed that prints from my Epson RX425 seem rather magenta when first
out of the printer, but this seems to 'settle down' after a day or so - any
one else noticed this?

Si.

 

[Zitty]

I've noticed that prints from my Epson RX425 seem rather magenta when
first out of the printer, but this seems to 'settle down' after a day or
so - any one else noticed this?

Si.

Yes, I sneaked into your house when you went out and looked at your prints,
and when I returned a few days later there was a lot less magenta cast on
them. Oh, and by the way, your daughter is nice... and tight.

 

[Si]

Yes, I sneaked into your house when you went out and looked at your
prints, and when I returned a few days later there was a lot less magenta
cast on them. Oh, and by the way, your daughter is nice... and tight.

Yeah, 'cept I haven't got one, twat.

 

[bmoag]

As inks dry their reflective properties change and the appearance of the
image changes. In my experience Canon inks are more susceptible to this
effect than Epson and I dimly recall this even being mentioned in the
otherwise useless instruction sheets that came with the Canon printer.
There should not be color shifts like what you describe.
An overly magenta cast to a print can be the result of misuse of color
management. If you are using Photshop, or any color managed program, and do
not have your color management settings correct, or if you do not make the
correct selections in the Epson printer driver, you will get a magenta
print. Properly made Epson prints should look color correct, depending on
your color management skills, out of the printer.
Another possibility is that you are viewing the prints under differing
ambient lighting conditions. The effects of ambient lighting on print
viewing can be enormous and often have to be considered in setting up one's
color managed work-flow. The ambient lighting can have a big impact on how
you calibrate your monitor as well as your initial evaluation of the image
coming out of the printer.

 

[Si]

As inks dry their reflective properties change and the appearance of the
image changes. In my experience Canon inks are more susceptible to this
effect than Epson and I dimly recall this even being mentioned in the
otherwise useless instruction sheets that came with the Canon printer.
There should not be color shifts like what you describe.
An overly magenta cast to a print can be the result of misuse of color
management. If you are using Photshop, or any color managed program, and
do not have your color management settings correct, or if you do not make
the correct selections in the Epson printer driver, you will get a magenta
print. Properly made Epson prints should look color correct, depending on
your color management skills, out of the printer.
Another possibility is that you are viewing the prints under differing
ambient lighting conditions. The effects of ambient lighting on print
viewing can be enormous and often have to be considered in setting up
one's color managed work-flow. The ambient lighting can have a big impact
on how you calibrate your monitor as well as your initial evaluation of
the image coming out of the printer.

Thanks for the response.

My problem is that I've just reprinted a photo that I first printed a week
ago. The first print is a perfect match for screen, it's been stored in an
envelope for a week, in my desk, and still matches the screen.

I've not changed paper (it's from the same box of 100 sheets) or ink, but
there seems to definitely be a difference.

Si.

 

[Zitty]

Yeah, 'cept I haven't got one, twat.

It was probably your wife then. Or your dog.

 

[measekite]

THIS IS FUNNY

It was probably your wife then. Or your dog.

 

[Arthur Entlich]

Does make you wonder what "Zitty" thought he was "up" to?

Now, to get back to the issue at "hand" (which is probably also the
closest thing "Zitty" has gotten to a female, anyway) Yes, I have seen
this color change quite commonly with some glossy films and papers. A
similar phenomena occurs with some wet darkroom color papers. Not sure
the exact cause, but I'm guessing it has something to do with how light
reflects off the dyes while they are still wet.

Art

 

[Arthur Entlich]

There are two potentially different issues here.

1) a change in the print over time, where colors alter as the print
dries or ages

2) Two prints differing when compared to on another printed a week apart
on the same equipment, having nothing to do with the image changing from
"aging".

In the first case, there are two possibilities I can think of.

1) the image is being printed too magenta, and it just so happens the
magenta is highly fugitive and fades rapidly in the beginning

or 2) the magenta ink changes its reflective index as it dries, and give
a false result in the beginning


In the second case, the problem may, depending on which printer you are
using, be that your light cyan ink has either run out, or the head is
clogged, causing the magenta to over power the image since some of the
cyan is missing.

Art

 

[Si]

There are two potentially different issues here.

2) Two prints differing when compared to on another printed a week apart
on the same equipment, having nothing to do with the image changing from
"aging".

In the second case, the problem may, depending on which printer you are
using, be that your light cyan ink has either run out, or the head is
clogged, causing the magenta to over power the image since some of the
cyan is missing.

Art

This may be the case Art, although no evidence of ink running out (banding
and the like) has occured...

It's such a dramatic shift that something is up.

I'm using an RX425 - which has occasionally failed to give me accurate ink
level warnings in the past - I'll run a test print and see what I get.

Si.

 

[Si]

In the second case, the problem may, depending on which printer you are

using, be that your light cyan ink has either run out, or the head is
clogged, causing the magenta to over power the image since some of the
cyan is missing.

Art

Cheers Art, seems there was a partial block - but yellow.

Si.

 

[Arthur Entlich]

That would have been my second choice. Usually the image goes more blue
with a yellow failure, but most people cannot easily distinguish the
difference between magenta and blue color cast (in the wet darkroom as
well as with inkjet).

Glad you have tracked it down.

Art