Another B&W query

[Jonathan Cross]

I have a Canon 9500 mk2 printer, and want to print monochrome on Ilford Gold Fibre Silk for which I have the ICC profile. I print from Lightroom Classic. The printer has photo black, matte black and grey cartridges. In LR I set it to use the ICC. If I go to the printer set up page I can set it to print monochrome, but I have been told that the ICC profile setting in LR overrides the printer setup page.  Is there anyway I can be sure the image is printed wthout using the colour cartridges?

Best wishes,
Jonathan

[Mark D Segal]

If you don't want Lightroom to manage colour, you set colour management (Lightroom Print Module in the Colour Management panel) to "Managed by Printer", which is usually the top option in the Profiles list). Then in the printer driver, which you access by the Printer or Print Settings button, set up the way you want the printer to manage.

[Jonathan Cross]

Yes, thanks, but if I set 'managed by printer' will the ICC profile for the paper still be used, or will it use one of the Canon profiles?  Does this also apply to Epson printers?

Best wishes,
Jonathan

[Garnick]

Yes, thanks, but if I set 'managed by printer' will the ICC profile for the paper still be used, or will it use one of the Canon profiles?  Does this also apply to Epson printers?

Best wishes,
Jonathan

Hi Johnathan,

The short answer is no.  To use ICC printing profiles you have to let the App. (Photoshop etc.) manage colours.  If you let the printer manage colours you will not be able to use ICC profiles, they are not available in that case.  However, if you are printing from Photoshop you can also use the Advanced B&W setting, in which case you will have to let the printer manage colours.  You will also have quite a variety of toning in ABW.  "Is there anyway I can be sure the image is printed without using the colour cartridges?"  And again the answer is no, with exceptions.  Although I'm not familiar with Canon printers, as far as I know the basic premise is the same with all three manufacturers.  They all include colour cartridges and those colours are use in almost all prints, at different degrees of course.  There is an app that has been mentioned in a recent thread that might be of help, and one that I use for certain images and looks.  That app is "Quad Tone Rip" which you can check here - http://www.quadtonerip.com/html/QTRoverview.html.  It might suit some some of your purposes.  The only way to insure that you are printing with neutral inks only is to use one of the Piezography ink sets.  You can also check those here -
https://international.inkjetmall.com/.  Of course you would have to make a major adjustment to your printer, which I doubt would suit your purpose.  Here's another site where you can gather more information about printing with "neutral" inks only- http://www.paulroark.com/.         

[Mark D Segal]

Yes, thanks, but if I set 'managed by printer' will the ICC profile for the paper still be used, or will it use one of the Canon profiles?  Does this also apply to Epson printers?

Best wishes,
Jonathan

If you let the printer manage colour, the ink laydown is guided by the Media Type you select in the printer driver.

You should not necessarily be concerned about whether the printer uses colours to print in monochrome. What matters is whether the end result comes out correctly. In that regard have a look at Reply #14 in this thread: Go to Reply 14

[Jonathan Cross]

Thanks Gary and Mark.  You have confirmed my thoughts, but I had to ask in case I had missed something.  Printing A3+ (13"x19") on Gold Fibre Silk using its profile for my Canon printer, I am quite pleased with the results.  As I have 2 or 3 images that I actually want to frame and put on a wall, it will be a choice between them and printing on Fotospeed Smooth Cotton 300gsm which is a matte paper.

Best wishes,

Jonathan

[unesco]

QTR is dedicated only top Epson printers, cannot be used with Canons.
In your driver you might have B&W option, which should minimise using color inks to decrease metamerism. The other option would be finding any RIP software suited fort your printer but I doubt you can find any that will allow you steering each ink channel independently like in QTR.

[enduser]

Mark is right that the media you choose affects the ink used. On my HP printer I choose a non-glossy paper at the printer and then it prints grey scale with no color added. It's remarkable what modern printers can do with only one black cartridge.