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Author Topic: Please help  (Read 6963 times)

Kenphoto

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Please help
« on: March 16, 2016, 04:54:02 pm »

After many years of occasional printing, I've decided to get serious. Based on the discussions here I've purchased a Benq 2700 monitor and an Epson P600 printer and my first efforts are making me crazy. I have calibrated the monitor with the included software and the Spider 5. I am using the latest version of Lightroom. The image looks fine on the screen with Softproof enabled. When I do a print preview, the image looks very different. It is darker and the colours are off.
What am I doing wrong?
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Slobodan Blagojevic

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Re: Please help
« Reply #1 on: March 16, 2016, 04:57:24 pm »

You'd have to give us more details of your workflow... settings, screen shots, etc. For instance, what do you mean by "print preview"?

PeterAit

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Re: Please help
« Reply #2 on: March 16, 2016, 05:05:50 pm »

After many years of occasional printing, I've decided to get serious. Based on the discussions here I've purchased a Benq 2700 monitor and an Epson P600 printer and my first efforts are making me crazy. I have calibrated the monitor with the included software and the Spider 5. I am using the latest version of Lightroom. The image looks fine on the screen with Softproof enabled. When I do a print preview, the image looks very different. It is darker and the colours are off.
What am I doing wrong?

The most likely thing, as I know well from experience, is that you have both LR and the printer managing colors. It should be one or the other, not both. And preferably have LR manage colors.
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Kenphoto

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Re: Please help
« Reply #3 on: March 16, 2016, 05:09:48 pm »

I'm sorry, I'm too new at this to know how to answer your question. Which settings are you referring to? As far as the print preview, the Epson printer provides a preview option. The first print I made was equally terrible so I'm using the preview function to save paper.
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Kenphoto

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Re: Please help
« Reply #4 on: March 16, 2016, 05:12:41 pm »

The most likely thing, as I know well from experience, is that you have both LR and the printer managing colors. It should be one or the other, not both. And preferably have LR manage colors.
I checked that 😀  Lightroom is set to let the printer manage
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Slobodan Blagojevic

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Re: Please help
« Reply #5 on: March 16, 2016, 05:14:45 pm »

I'm sorry, I'm too new at this to know how to answer your question. Which settings are you referring to? As far as the print preview, the Epson printer provides a preview option. The first print I made was equally terrible so I'm using the preview function to save paper.

Settings in the LR and settings in the printer driver. Printer preview may not be properly color managed. For instance, I am attaching my LR settings and my Canon printer driver settings (only color matching):

Slobodan Blagojevic

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Re: Please help
« Reply #6 on: March 16, 2016, 05:22:14 pm »

Forgot to add: welcome to the forum!  :)

Kenphoto

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Re: Please help
« Reply #7 on: March 16, 2016, 05:42:45 pm »

Forgot to add: welcome to the forum!  :)
Thanks!  I'm tied up now, I should get back to my desktop tomorrow morning. The print preview looked very much like the print and nothing like the Lightroom soft proof.
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Kenphoto

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Re: Please help
« Reply #8 on: March 17, 2016, 12:32:11 pm »

While I try to find a way to shrink my screen prints down to a size so I can post them, can anyone suggest somewhere where I can learn the basics of printing to a printer in Lightroom? I have a couple of books and have taken a couple of online courses, but nothing has given me anything that helps with this problem. I am so frustrated, I just don't know where to turn next. Even what I thought were basics have turned into problems I just can't solve. I bought a couple of packages of Epson Ultra Premium Photo Paper Glossy. Epson doesn't have a profile for that paper for the P600!
Please forgive the rant!!

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Slobodan Blagojevic

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Re: Please help
« Reply #9 on: March 17, 2016, 12:36:59 pm »

The Digital Print: Preparing Images in Lightroom and Photoshop for Printing by our very own forum member and the expert on the topic, Jeff Schewe.

Slobodan Blagojevic

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Re: Please help
« Reply #10 on: March 17, 2016, 12:39:28 pm »

While I try to find a way to shrink my screen prints down to a size so I can post them...

If you are on a Mac, "command-shift-4" will generate a pointer, which, when dragged, will create a rectangle around an area you want to screenshot. There should be something similar on Windows.

Kenphoto

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Re: Please help
« Reply #11 on: March 17, 2016, 01:09:48 pm »

If you are on a Mac, "command-shift-4" will generate a pointer, which, when dragged, will create a rectangle around an area you want to screenshot. There should be something similar on Windows.

Thanks I'm on windows so I'll see what I can find
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Slobodan Blagojevic

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Re: Please help
« Reply #12 on: March 17, 2016, 01:37:21 pm »

Thanks I'm on windows so I'll see what I can find

Kenphoto

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Re: Please help
« Reply #13 on: March 17, 2016, 03:43:27 pm »

Thanks Slobodan. Here are 3 of the setting windows, do you see anything obvious that I'm messing up?
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Slobodan Blagojevic

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Re: Please help
« Reply #14 on: March 17, 2016, 03:47:43 pm »

... do you see anything obvious that I'm messing up?

Of course... "Managed by Printer"

You let the printer manage colors, yet you say "Epson doesn't have a profile for that paper for the P600!," while apparently LR does. So why not let LR manager everything, from soft-proofing to printing?

Also, I am not familiar with Epson drivers. For instance, what other drop-down menus are available for choices "Color" "Mode" and "Advanced"?
« Last Edit: March 17, 2016, 03:59:11 pm by Slobodan Blagojevic »
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Kenphoto

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Re: Please help
« Reply #15 on: March 17, 2016, 04:37:46 pm »

Of course... "Managed by Printer"

You let the printer manage colors, yet you say "Epson doesn't have a profile for that paper for the P600!," while apparently LR does. So why not let LR manager everything, from soft-proofing to printing?

Also, I am not familiar with Epson drivers. For instance, what other drop-down menus are available for choices "Color" "Mode" and "Advanced"?

Thanks very much for your patience!
For the Soft Proof, LR is using the same partially correct profile as the printer... "Epson Premium Photo Paper Glossy"
The Color setting is basically color or Black and White

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Jager

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Re: Please help
« Reply #16 on: March 17, 2016, 04:48:39 pm »

Exactly as Slobodan says... you're messing up your color management by telling Lightroom the printer is managing colors; while at the same time you're telling the print driver that Lightroom is managing it.  It's a classic mistake and inevitably leads to poor results.

You have two ways you can go...

If you want to let the printer manage colors, leave your first dialog as it is ("Managed by Printer" under 'Color Management'); then in the subsequent printer dialog, go to COLOR MATCHING and select "Epson Color Controls").

Or, you can use the method preferred by most serious printers and use profiles.  In that case you'll need to go into that first LR dialog, and under 'Color Management' click on the up/down arrow mark just to the right of "Managed by Printer."  That will give you a drop-down of all your available profiles.  Select the appropriate one.  In your case it will probably be something like SC-P600 Series Premium Photo Paper Glossy.

Either method will give you pretty good results.  The second is more predicable and controllable, which is why it is generally preferred.

A couple other quick thoughts...

Soft-proofing implies use of a profile.  That means the second method.

If your prints are still too dark, it's probably because your monitor is set to a too-bright luminance level.

Welcome to the forum! 

Slobodan Blagojevic

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Re: Please help
« Reply #17 on: March 17, 2016, 04:50:38 pm »

Why don't you try to let LR manage the whole process?

I am also confused: you first say :"Epson doesn't have a profile for that paper for the P600!," then you say something that contradicts that: "the same partially correct profile as the printer... "Epson Premium Photo Paper Glossy."

Fernando García

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Re: Please help
« Reply #18 on: March 17, 2016, 04:56:08 pm »

Just like the other say:

The same profile you use for soft-proofing should be selected in the Lr Print dialog.

As for the Epson driver, if you are using a profile in LR, in Mode (J) you must choose "Off (No color adjustment)".

In the Media Type box, you don't "choose a profile" you choose the type of media that you`re going to print on.

You don't have to choose any profile in the Epson driver, you choose it in LR.

Hope it clarifies things.
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Kenphoto

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Re: Please help
« Reply #19 on: March 17, 2016, 05:07:01 pm »

Why don't you try to let LR manage the whole process?

I am also confused: you first say :"Epson doesn't have a profile for that paper for the P600!," then you say something that contradicts that: "the same partially correct profile as the printer... "Epson Premium Photo Paper Glossy."
I can't find a profile for the Ultra Premium paper. It says on the paper package to use the Premium profile if you don't have the Ultra Premium profile
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