Epson R2880 - Basic Question

[Saljf]

I recently purchased an Epson R2880 printer and can use a little friendly advice on where to begin the learning curve. Some background: I have several hundred photos taken on a trip to India with a Nikon D70 camera, many of which I want to print. I am not an experienced photographer (far from it). I do have some basic knowledge of Photoshop having used it for low-res product shots and web design. I found the LL forum when I was researching a printer to purchase and settled on the Epson based on reviews and discussions on this board.

I had never printed photos before. Prior to making this purchase  I made a few sample prints on a very cheap Canon MP150 someone had given me and I was blown away by the quality (8 1/2 x 11, Epson Ultra Premium Matte paper) and so assumed the 2880 would be far superior. My setup is a Windows Vista laptop running Adobe Lightroom. I setup the 2880, installed the Matte black cartridge, imported a photo, selected the proper paper, printed a photo and compared it to the Canon. Here is a scan showing a portion of each photo:



Canon on top, Epson on bottom.

This is the photo right from the camera, no editing except cropping the scan was done. The Canon matches what I see on screen very closely: the bright, saturated colors of the flowers, the washed-out leg of the cow, the color inside her ear, and spots of color in the road... The Epson version as you can see is darker, unsaturated and rather dull.

I realize that there is much to learn about using this printer and I'm not looking for someone to hold my hand and walk me through it step by step.  I'm just wondering if anyone can offer me some friendly advice as to where I should begin. I thought I would be beginning from where I was with the Canon (which was basically just "install the printer and print") but apparently there's much more to do first. The print documentation included with the printer is minimal and I haven't read through the electronic manual yet. I know I need to learn about profiles, calibration, etc. But I am eager to learn and willing to put as much time into this as necessary. But again, where to begin?

Thanks,
Sal

[Paul Sumi]

You've got a lot of ground to cover...  You're off to a good start using Lightroom.  Are you shooting RAW format?

This may be useful:

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/videos/camera-print.shtml

Paul

[Alan Goldhammer]

Sal,

You do need to read the Epson manual.  It's not too long and provides the settings you need to follow in managing the print driver.  In addition, download the Epson "Manage Color with Profiles" document from the site at:  http://files.support.epson.com/pdf/r2880_/r2880_mc.pdf  These will help get you started.  Clearly the Luminous Landscape tutorials will be helpful as well once you have read these basic documents.  The scan you posted indicates that something was wrong with the color managment part of your workflow (maybe you didn't assign a profile for the paper you were printing on or you double profiled, assigning a paper profile and asking that the printer manage the color).  The Manage Color with Profiles document has lightroom settings in the troubleshoot link.

You have purchased a fine printer (I have one) that should give you reliable color once you have the settings squared away.


Alan