Is this Epson's suggestion correct?

[Chrisssssss.........]

I have a new C86 Epson printer to replace my older Epson 880.
I print a mixture of text and photos (newsletters) but all graphics tend to
print with a blue tinge.
I phoned Epson for guidance. They said that I should be using their photo
editing software (instead of my own preferred prog) which would produce a
better printing colour. Surely this can't be right. I asked about changing
their "advanced" colour settings, but Epson's man said he wasn't qualified
to advise me.
He then suggested that it was because I was not using SP2 with Windows XP
(but I do have SP2).
I just got the impression that Epson's man had no idea what he was talking
about.

I'm using the same computer, ink and paper as before when I used the 880
with no problems.

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks Chrissss......

 

[Ed Ruf]

He then suggested that it was because I was not using SP2 with Windows XP
(but I do have SP2).
I just got the impression that Epson's man had no idea what he was talking
about.

Color management was broken by SP2 for many printer drivers. Go to the
ePson website and get the latest driver.

 

[Arthur Entlich]

I would tend to agree that the Epson tech guy was at his limit of
knowledge in the areas you were asking about.

I own a number of Epson printers, and some are more "accurate" in terms
of output than others, and it seems to be the luck of the draw. Color
management is a very complex concept. In a closed system like most
people have at home, it is hard to point a finger and state that one
particular piece of equipment is responsible. Maybe your monitor is
off, but happened to be "as off" as you previous printer was. Maybe the
inks aren't accurate, or the paper type.

The issue with SP2 is that if yo are using it, you should make sure yo
are suing Epson's most recent driver, because some printers had major
problems with color balance, and in particular ink density, were altered
on the original XP driver, and with SP2 a new driver needed to be
written to adjust for that.

Try adding Yellow, or remove blue in the driver sliders and see if that
helps at all.

Art

 

[Safetymom123]

The difference between your two printers is that the 880 uses dye ink and
the C86 uses pigmented inks. They will appear different because of the inks
used. I also agree about downloading and installing the latest driver for
the C86.