Asking in the LR forum because LR is where I'm struggling at the moment, but this issue involves the whole camera to print chain.
I'm new not just to LR but to pretty much everything involved here. However, I need to get really good colour matching between the object photographed and the print, and I'm struggling, as I said.
I'm working in a studio, using flash with a meter and a grey card to get the right exposure and WB. I'm using a Canon 5Dii, LR4.2 on an iMac and an Epson SP 9900 printer. My monitor has been calibrated but even so I don't find soft proofing helps much, I'm making lots of small (A4) prints instead.
So I put a print beside the target object and the colour is not very close, and I don't have much idea what to do to fix it.
Obviously, I'm not expecting detailed instructions here, but I'm hoping there might be something I can do, or maybe buy, that will help me get moving in the right direction. I'm using ICC printer/paper profiles from the paper maker and the appropriate lens and camera profiles in LR ("Camera faithful") but should I try to improve on these somehow? Or is it just about getting experience with the Develop module controls?
I really don't think there's anything wrong with the equipment or the way I'm using it, apart from lack of knowledge and experience. When I print general photography, not aiming at close colour matching, I'm very happy with the results. But how can I profile the whole system, in effect at least, to optimise colour matching in prints from studio shoots?