epson colorbase printer profiler

[abaazov]

has anyone used this new utility? is it worthwhile?
amnon

[neil snape]

Oh yah, this is what Epson should have always had but didn't.
It can do two things, one calibrate the printers for OEM papers bringing the machines to a finer tolerance of spec for which the canned profiles are made for,
and two calibrate for third party media for which custom profiles can be made or shared from the paper manufacturer.
It doesn't make a profile, it only brings the printer to an expected condition of printing. If multiple printers are all brought to this standard then a lot closer inter printer or even inter model (4800 to 9800 for ex) can be had.

Have fun with it, it's great.
I've got HP DJ's which have Automatic calibration done with built in hardware so it's just a tad easier. Yet if you have a spectro go for it!:p

[Paul Sumi]

One FYI: evidently this is on the Epson Europe website but not Epson U.S.  I have heard, but not tested, that this utility does not work with the U.S. version of the printer driver.  Looks like we Yanks got short-changed again.

Paul

[Mark D Segal]

I don't believe Epson short-changes "Yanks" at all - why should they - it is their most important export market. I've over-heard the "inside-scoop" on this kind of thing - in relation to previous printer models. Epson is a huge diverse corporation with Epson America playing a considerable role in what gets released to the US market. What I've heard is that if Epson America is not fully satisfied with this or that feature's performance they can either delay the product's entry to the US market until it is fixed, or they can require a change in spec for the US market. Or perhaps some aspect of the printer driver they customized for the US market on this basis makes that utility incompatible. One can't be sure - the only point of my post is that if one digs far enough a technical reason will be found that has nothing to do with shortchanging US consumers.

[Paul Sumi]

Hi MarkDS,

I don't know what the real reason is for not making this available to the U.S. market.  It just sounds like a re-run of what happened when the European version of the 2200 came with a Gray Balancer utility and the U.S. version did not.

On that occasion Michael wrote in his review of the 2200:

"I made some enquiries to try and understand why this was the case, and here — unofficially — is what I’ve heard. Apparently Epson U.S. decided to leave the Gray Balancer out because it is a very complex software package that users were likely to have difficulty with. (The PDF manual is 220 pages long!) Also, the printed target isn’t all that robust and if not handled gently will likely be in tatters pretty quickly. All of this would mean that Epson might have found itself with a lot of support calls."

"Now, why Epson U.K., Epson Germany, et al feel that their customers are more competent that does Epson U.S. is a mystery. Maybe the same marketing executives that think that PC users don’t deserve to get Profiles made this decision."

I'm not saying the current situation is the same.  Rather than continue speculating I've emailed Epson U.S. to see if they will shed some light on the matter and hopefully I will get an answer.

Paul

[Schewe]

I don't know what the real reason is for not making this available to the U.S. market.  It just sounds like a re-run of what happened when the European version of the 2200 came with a Gray Balancer utility and the U.S. version did not.

Gray Balancer was (and still is) an example of very bad software engineering that essentially added a virus to the print driver of the 2100 in a feeble attempt to linearize the driver. Colorbase is another example. It was originally designed for site that had multiple printers and needed a method of bringing all the printers into alignment with regards to color output. However, the software itself is buggy and still does not take the place of producing custom profiles-which if you have a spectro-needed to use Colorbase anyway-why wouldn't you build a custom profile?

The 4800/7800/9800 printers that ship in the US (can't speak to outside of the US) come linearized from the factory. The US drivers can install additional high-quality profiles for the printers made in the US (not sure if they are available outside of the US) and the whole color experience of printing on the 4800/7800/9800 series of printers is considerably improved, out of the box. But, none of this really takes the place of a custom profile for specific ink/paper/printer combination.

If you are a commercial output printer that wants to bring all their machines into line, Colorbase might be something that would be useful but for general use, the problems outweigh the benefits-which is why Epson US decided not include it.

[Paul Sumi]

Colorbase might be something that would be useful but for general use, the problems outweigh the benefits-which is why Epson US decided not include it.

Hi Schewe,

Thanks for your reply.  I've got the R2400 which is not linearized (unlike its bigger siblings). The benefit of linearization is attractive to me which is why colorbase is of interest.

Best,

Paul

[Mark D Segal]

Thanks for the explanation Jeff - underscores with the missing detail what I was getting at above - these decisions are not random discrimination against a market area - there are technical reasons.

[Paul Sumi]

Epson U.S.'s reply to my query is non-committal:

"At this time we do not have any information on whether this utility will be available for the North American version of the Stylus Photo R2400.  If this utility is made available it will be posted on the download page for the Stylus Photo 2400 at http://support.epson.com.  However, I have passed your suggestion on to the appropriate department for review and it may be listed as an option in the future."

[neil snape]

Could it be that Epson uses the sparse Euro countries to be guinea pigs?
As Jeff said the bigger models (I wasn't sure about the 4800) are linearised so it's a bit redundant for the bigger printers other than for what I mentioned above.

[Schewe]

The US and Euro markets are separately run by individual marketing companies essentially controlled by Epson/Seiko Japan. However, the US market is a major driving force. So, if Epson US doesn't want to do something, it has the independence to reject a product or software-just as Epson UK or Europe could do. Reading anything sinister in something being offered in one market and not another is really tea leaf reading that prolly bares no relationship to reality.

That said, Colorbase requires the user already have a spectrophotometer such as an Eye-One or X-Rite PULSE. I believe it also requires a UV cutoff filter. But, if you have the spectro, odds are you already have the tools for making custom profiles anyway-which would be a better solution than using software to "edit" the printer's firmware-which is what you must do.

Colorbase is a solution for commercial printers, not regular consumers. Get a custom profile for the 2400/4800/7800/9800 printers and you'll be far better off. And please, no more "conspiracy theories"...the black helicopters will be coming...

[Paul Sumi]

Colorbase is a solution for commercial printers, not regular consumers. Get a custom profile for the 2400/4800/7800/9800 printers and you'll be far better off. And please, no more "conspiracy theories"...the black helicopters will be coming...

Thanks for the background on Colorbase, which puts it into perspective.  But you can't blame a guy for wanting something desirable that is not available to him.

Given that firmware modification is part of what Colorbase does, I'm guessing that Epson U.S. didn't want to deal with a potential flood of repairs when users screw up their printers.    

Paul

[Paul Sumi]

FWIW, here's an article on Rob Galbraith's site regarding Colorbase:

http://robgalbraith.com/bins/content_page....cid=7-7887-8035

And here's the FAQ referenced by the article:

http://esupport.epson-europe.com/FAQList....1&T=209

Paul