Epson SC-P800, Windows, CaptureOne, printing settings reset after each print

[kislotniq]

Hi all!

Tools:
CaptureOne 12
Windows 10
Epson SC-P800

I've got myself into a printing stage of a photography, but the technical side of the experience seems to be totally unpolished.
First of all, every time I go File > Print in CaptureOne, I have to dial in all the settings like margins, paper type etc. (this can be automated by saving a template in the printing window, but still I have to select a template every time).
Second, after I hit Print Settings button, printer driver window pops up and I have to dial in all the settings every time by hand:
 - paper type
 - paper size
 - no color correction
 - DPI
 - etc. etc.

If I want to print another shot, I have to go through all the printing configuration once again, all this clicking around totally distracts me from what I do.
I'd like to hit the Print button and it just do what I'd expect - use last settings.

Do you guys know if that's a problem of CaptureOne, Windows or the SC-P800 drivers?
Is there a better way to print, maybe with a third-party solution?

[Justin]

I can highly recommend Qimage. All of your settings can be saved and recalled with ease.

[Mark D Segal]

Same with Lightroom and the Epson driver - can all be saved as presets.

But Capture One should do likewise I would think. I use Capture One for certain purposes, but not the Print module so I'm not sure. Have you checked the manual? It does have material on using Templates in the print section. Does that help?

[Wayne Fox]

Once you have it setup the first time, just save it as a template in the Capture One dialog box.  Next time pick that template and everything is set.

[Mark D Segal]

Good one Wayne, that's what I thought. (The Capture One manual of course isn't a masterpiece of clarity so one would need to use the Print module to know exactly what their Template customization really does.)

[kislotniq]

Once you have it setup the first time, just save it as a template in the Capture One dialog box.  Next time pick that template and everything is set.

Thanks Wayne, but, unfortunately, saving the template only captures the settings that are immediately available in this printing dialogue, it does not save the printing settings (image attached).
I'd also expect the template to save/restore the print settings, but they're back to default even after I choose the template in CO print dialogue.
So I'm a bit confused if that's a bug in the print drivers or CO or maybe I'm doing something wrong.

[kislotniq]

I can highly recommend Qimage. All of your settings can be saved and recalled with ease.

Thanks for the suggestion, Justin!
I've checked out the Qimage site http://www.ddisoftware.com/qimage-u/ but it looks so 90s that I'm a bit hesitant installing this kind of software onto my machine.
I'm not talking about the design, just the fact that they don't have https enabled in 2019 is a big red flag.
But if it's the only option, I might give it a try...

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

Thanks for the suggestion, Justin!
I've checked out the Qimage site http://www.ddisoftware.com/qimage-u/ but it looks so 90s that I'm a bit hesitant installing this kind of software onto my machine.
I'm not talking about the design, just the fact that they don't have https enabled in 2019 is a big red flag.
But if it's the only option, I might give it a try...

Hi,

Try this version then:
https://www.binartem.com/qimageone/

The Qimage Ultimate version you looked at has more features, like e.g. Raw processing and support for drone images that you may not need. Qimage One was created to provide a solution on both Windows and Mac platforms, and focuses on only the printing features.

Qimage has been around for more than 2 decades, and has delivered superior print results since day one. It is very reasonably priced, and can manage any printer model/brand that has a driver for your Operating System. It is not artificially crippled so you'd have to buy a new version if you switch printer model or even brand, like with some of its competition. One application serves all printers.

Cheers,
Bart

[nirpat89]

Thanks Wayne, but, unfortunately, saving the template only captures the settings that are immediately available in this printing dialogue, it does not save the printing settings (image attached).
I'd also expect the template to save/restore the print settings, but they're back to default even after I choose the template in CO print dialogue.
So I'm a bit confused if that's a bug in the print drivers or CO or maybe I'm doing something wrong.

You should be able to create and save your own named settings in the Epson driver that can be recalled any time. I doubt if the template in Capture One (no personal experience with it but based on Photoshop usage) can save both the application related settings and the printer specific settings. So, the sequence would be to first load the saved template in Capture One and then open the printer driver and move from the default settings by selecting the previously saved ones.

:Niranjan.

[Wayne Fox]

Thanks Wayne, but, unfortunately, saving the template only captures the settings that are immediately available in this printing dialogue, it does not save the printing settings (image attached).

Aren’t those settings stored in the Windows setting popup in that dialog?  Can’t you save those settings and have them available in that popup menu to select in the future?

[Tibor O]

Try Mirage 4.

In Capture One Pro make a TIFF process recipe for print. After finishing the Capture One Pro edit process the file with this recipe, then right click on an image and click Open with ... and choose Mirage 4.

Make your softproofing in Mirage 4, including final corrections for the ink / paper combination, make all settings and click print. Save these settings for future prints.

Of course, you can go directly from Capture One Pro to Mirage 4 using the Edith with ... command.

[Mark D Segal]

I think O/P should look at Wayne's questions just above to see whether that solves the issue. Failing which, another suggestion would be to print from Adobe Lightroom. Presets work for sure and it has very good print functionality, with lots of good, accessible technical advice available.

[kislotniq]

You should be able to create and save your own named settings in the Epson driver that can be recalled any time. I doubt if the template in Capture One (no personal experience with it but based on Photoshop usage) can save both the application related settings and the printer specific settings.

I can, indeed, save named settings in the printer driver dialogue, but this preset disappears next time I call the printer settings dialogue! So what I did was to export named settings to a file, and every time I need to adjust the printing settings - I import the file, but that's cumbersome and I guess that's a bug.

Try this version then:
https://www.binartem.com/qimageone/

Thanks! Will give it a try!

Aren’t those settings stored in the Windows setting popup in that dialog?  Can’t you save those settings and have them available in that popup menu to select in the future?

Yes, I can save the printer settings in a preset, but the preset disappears next time the printing settings dialogue is called, as a workaround I export/import a preset from a file, but that's not a straightforward action given Epson driver UI.

Try Mirage 4.

In Capture One Pro make a TIFF process recipe for print. After finishing the Capture One Pro edit process the file with this recipe, then right click on an image and click Open with ... and choose Mirage 4.

Thanks a lot, will try it too!

print from Adobe Lightroom

I'm not really willing to pay monthly fee for Lightroom just to use it's printing functionality =)

[Mark D Segal]

I'm not really willing to pay monthly fee for Lightroom just to use it's printing functionality =)

OK, that of course is a conversation between you and your wallet and only you know what you think is worthwhile for yourself. That said, let me just suggest that once you start using it, you may well find yourself using it for a lot more than printing, because its integrated workflow and quality of output can be so good. As well, there are people who really like this application for its print function alone because of its ease of use, reliability and the amount of time it therefore saves. Maybe it's an age thing, but at my age, time and stress are to be expended with great economy, even for a few bucks more or less. I mention these points just to give you some context for my suggestion.

[kislotniq]

That said, let me just suggest that once you start using it, you may well find yourself using it for a lot more than printing, because its integrated workflow and quality of output can be so good. As well, there are people who really like this application for its print function alone because of its ease of use, reliability and the amount of time it therefore saves.

Thanks Mark, maybe I've underestimated Lightroom's printing functionality. Will also give it a try over a weekend.

[nirpat89]

I can, indeed, save named settings in the printer driver dialogue, but this preset disappears next time I call the printer settings dialogue! So what I did was to export named settings to a file, and every time I need to adjust the printing settings - I import the file, but that's cumbersome and I guess that's a bug.

You jogged my memory....now I do remember having to do the exact same thing (export/import) on my P400 when I first got it.  I currently have a whole list of the presets permanently in the "Select Settings" drop-down and I just now created a test set and saved it and it seems to have stuck after closing the driver and opening it again.  Could it be that the bug got resolved in the later updates (I auto-update) in at least the P400.  Is yours the latest version?

:Niranjan

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

Thanks! Will give it a try!

Don't overlook the fact that Qimage, despite its modest price, produces the best output quality of all mentioned options.

It's thanks to the author of Qimage that the printing world became aware that the optimal settings for resampling to the printer driver's preferred/native PPI setting can be queried and automatically set without user intervention. Also, the use of superior resampling algorithms, halo-free output sharpening options, dithering to avoid posterization artifacts, easy nesting (saving paper by using an intelligent layout of multiple images on a page), and prevention of printer driver memory overflow, all help to efficiently create consistently high-quality output.

Cheers,
Bart

[Wayne Fox]

Yes, I can save the printer settings in a preset, but the preset disappears next time the printing settings dialogue is called

That preset disappearing in the dialog box you had a screenshot of would be a Windows issue.  There isn’t much point of saving a preset if that preset doesn’t remain as a choice the next time you print something.