Epson R320 Print Quality

[Nameless One]

This is my first "photo" printer. I recently bought myself a fairly
nice digital camera (Fuji S7000) and naturally started printing some
of the "good ones". The Epson C62 cheapo I was using did a reasonably
good job. Printing from Corel Photo Paint 10, I would get a pretty
close approximation of what I saw on the screen to the paper.

Not so with the R320. In order to get the printed copy to look
correct, what I see on the screen has to be extremely dark. Small
changes in brightness, contrast, etc. seem to become very large
changes at the printer. It's basically a crap shoot trying to get
something that looks good.

This doesn't seem like it can possibly be normal, but like I said this
is my first photo printer so I don't really know, Do I need a
different software perhaps? Any suggestions?

Regards - Tony

 

[bmoag]

You are experiencing color management problems.
The purpose of color management is to try to assure a WYSIWYG experience on
your first print of a given image, that is to assure the print reasonably
corresponds to the monitor image in terms of color, contrast and
lightness/darkness.
Color management is fundamental to make color printing reliable rather than
a frustrating crap-shoot.
Corel PP 10 allows color management but it is not as straightforward as the
Adobe programs. For one thing Corel refuses to call AdobeRGB by its proper
name.
There is far more information about Adobe style color management on the WEB
but if you look there is probably adequate info for PP10.
For color management to work you need to calibrate the monitor and apply
the settings in the PP10 color management dropdown box: the profile you
select for your monitor will be the one created by your calibration device.
The Spyder calibration device is around $100 and well worth the investment
if you want high quality color prints.
You have to learn the basics of color spaces and gamuts. It is not that
difficult.
PP10's printing procedures for color management are a little
counterintuitve, and unnecessarily complex, but easily mastered with thought
and practice.
PP10 and the printer you have will allow you to create prints far superior
to what you can get from any commerical service. However you will have to
spend the time and effort learning to use the gear properly. I urge you to
persevere.

 

[CWatters]

Not so with the R320. In order to get the printed copy to look
correct, what I see on the screen has to be extremely dark.

Try checking you have the latest drivers from Epson.

 

[Ed Ruf]

This is my first "photo" printer. I recently bought myself a fairly
nice digital camera (Fuji S7000) and naturally started printing some
of the "good ones". The Epson C62 cheapo I was using did a reasonably
good job. Printing from Corel Photo Paint 10, I would get a pretty
close approximation of what I saw on the screen to the paper.

Not so with the R320. In order to get the printed copy to look
correct, what I see on the screen has to be extremely dark. Small
changes in brightness, contrast, etc. seem to become very large
changes at the printer. It's basically a crap shoot trying to get
something that looks good.

This doesn't seem like it can possibly be normal, but like I said this
is my first photo printer so I don't really know, Do I need a
different software perhaps? Any suggestions?

First,, especially if running XP with SP2, you need the updated
drivers from the Epson site.

 

[Nameless One]

I urge you to persevere.

Thank you for the great article. I will indeed invest in a
calibration device. You've added luminence to a picture that was only
shades of gray.

Regarding the drivers - the first thing I did was go to the download
site and get them. 11555 I believe was the number. After installing
them I didn't notice any change in the printed material or in the
version number that Windows reports, leading me to conclude that the
printer came with an up to date CD. I think the date on the carton
was December.

- Tony

 

[Ed Ruf]

Thank you for the great article. I will indeed invest in a
calibration device. You've added luminence to a picture that was only
shades of gray.

FWIW, before getting a Colorvision Spyder to calibrate my monitors I used
the free version of Wiziwig by Praxisoft, with reasonable results.
http://www.praxisoft.com/pages/products.wiziwyg.html

 

[Nameless One]

FWIW, before getting a Colorvision Spyder to calibrate my monitors I used
the free version of Wiziwig by Praxisoft, with reasonable results.
http://www.praxisoft.com/pages/products.wiziwyg.html

Thanks, Ed. I will look into that tonight.

- Tony

 

[Ed Ruf]

Thanks, Ed. I will look into that tonight.

Also, what paper and driver settings are you using? These can be quite
important.

 

[Chuck]

After fooling around with color printers and color calibration since the
days of the canon BJ620's
And after spending some time with the oddities of the Epson R300M --
1. Turn all color correction off.
2 Use SRGB color space as a starting point if you must select a color space.
3. The Epson printer driver has fairly fine color controls. With the color
controls enabled, brightness is usually set to +5 for many papers. Yellow
may also be set to +5.
4. A printer Gamma of 1.8 is usually a good starting point, as is epson
standard.
5. Download one or both of the reference targets at.
http://www.inkjetart.com/custom/
6. Make a backup of the ones that you will use.
7. Print a target without change and without color correction enabled.
8. Make any adjustments to the printer driver settings. Sometimes a
particuliar photo paper works better with an oddball paper setting in the
driver. Paper type settings are a crude way of controlling the amount of ink
applied, and often printing resolution.
9. Initially, set the monitor to settings that provide a reasonable image of
the target image.
10. There is a moncal file on the corel support website that will allow
grayscale setup. This usually results in a slightly dim display on an LCD
display when used to setup an accurate grayscale.
11. Changing drivers for the printer or display can result in oddities if
color correction was enabled before, during, and after the driver changes.
Turn color correction off, reboot, and then turn back on, followed by a
reboot. Worst case involves uninstalling the drivers, and reinstalling them.
12. When things look good in terms of getting the target images to print
properly, it's time to start playing with the camera images.
13. Cameras differ. With multiple cameras, you may end up adjusting the
cameras rather than the printer or the image software.
14. To an average person, the most accurate image in terms of color and
contrast is less desirable than the image with more vibrant color and higher
contrast.
15. No two people see color exactly the same.
16. It's possible to have color correction set and applied such that system,
driver, and application color correction settings result in results that are
far away from what was intended. (Ink runniing of the paper as it comes out
of the printer as an example)