Epson Legacy Textured

[Chris Kern]

I just purchased a box of Epson's new(ish) Legacy Textured paper to try out, only to discover that the company doesn't offer an ICC profile that can be used for soft-proofing.

I spent well over an hour first in a chat session and then on the phone with two offshore support reps and, finally, on the phone with a U.S. professional printing rep; the latter checked with someone further up the food chain who confirmed that there indeed was no available profile.  I asked the U.S. rep if he could find out who actually manufactures the paper so I could see if there was a corresponding profile from that company—and after an extended delay, he came back on the line and told me the paper was custom-produced to Epson's spec so the manufacturer would not have an appropriate ICC profile.  He offered to escalate my request within the company in an attempt to determine whether one currently is in gestation, but he didn't sound optimistic and neither am I.

I realize that it's not very difficult or expensive to have a custom ICC profile made for my specific printer, and I'm not averse to doing that.  However, I've always been satisfied with Epson's generic profiles for its branded papers and, frankly, it astounds me that it would start shipping a new product without providing one.  Anyway, I wonder if one of the printing experts out there has been using this paper in a color-managed workflow and, if so, if there is a publicly accessible profile that works will.

[Mark D Segal]

What printer?

[Chris Kern]

What printer?

Oops, sorry.  I guess I'm a bit foggy after all that time on-hold.  It's a P800 and I'm driving it from MacOS.

[Mark D Segal]

Your Epson profile is attached

[Chris Kern]

Your Epson profile is attached

Many thanks, Mark.

Coincidentally, just a few minutes before I saw your reply, the Epson U.S. rep also sent me a copy of the profile.  Excellent service from both of you!

I'm about to make a couple of test prints.  I like the look of the surface—I don't often print on matte paper—but the proof (so to speak) is in the colors and, especially, the blacks.

By the way, any plan to include this product in a forthcoming review?  I'd be interested to read your comments about it.

[BradSmith]

I spent well over an hour first in a chat session and then on the phone with two offshore support reps and, finally, on the phone with a U.S. professional printing rep; the latter checked with someone further up the food chain who confirmed that there indeed was no available profile. 

The above quote from your original post highlights the amazing part of all this.  Epson DID HAVE the profile, but none of the people you talked to knew about it or could find it!!! 

Thank goodness that private sector corporations are so capable and efficient and their employees so competent.     End of Rant

[Mark D Segal]

By the way, any plan to include this product in a forthcoming review?  I'd be interested to read your comments about it.

Yes. Thanks.

[Chris Kern]

Thank goodness that private sector corporations are so capable and efficient and their employees so competent.

Frankly, I didn't expect much from my contacts with the two outsourced, offshore support reps, who appeared to be expecting inquiries about Epson's consumer printers rather than the photographic models.

But even though the profile apparently has not yet been publicly released, the U.S. professional printing rep should indeed have known about its existence.  It wasn't his fault that information wasn't immediately available to him, however, and I give him credit for continuing to pursue an answer and then contacting me again less than an hour after our initial call ended to provide a copy of the file.

(I sort of expected that Mark might have access to the profile when I posted my query after contacting Epson, but I didn't know whether he was subject to a nondisclosure agreement that would preclude him from sharing it.  As it turned out, his response and the Epson rep's arrived almost simultaneously.)

[Stephen Girimont]

How about a profile for the 7890??? Anyone know the back story as to why Epson isn't providing profiles for their own papers/printers that aren't THAT old?

[I.T. Supplies]

The Legacy line came out during the P series printers and they don't have the older versions on hand anymore to do the process; hence the reason they don't make profiles for older models.
You can get a custom profile so it will match your inkset better.

IT Supplies