Printer issues

[gymkengym]

I am going crazy and broke buying ink & paper trying to get LR to print acceptable prints. They are all way to dark and casted. How come a simple windows gallery program can do an excellent job and LR can't. Any help would be appreciated. Maybe it's the clorspace setting in LR any quesses?

 

[wblink]

I am going crazy and broke buying ink & paper trying to get LR to print acceptable prints. They are all way to dark and casted. How come a simple windows gallery program can do an excellent job and LR can't. Any help would be appreciated. Maybe it's the clorspace setting in LR any quesses?

Hi,

Welcome.

Which printer do you use? And how? Did you try the possible solutions in this thread?
Most important for you is to mention your printer (or put it in your signature) so someone with the same configuration can help you.

 

[gymkengym]

I am printing w/ Epsom SP R19'' and have tried using managed by printer as well as using printer profiles. Thanks!

 

[Kiwigeoff]

Welcome, you are not the first to find difficulty with mastering the printing but most have their issues resolved.
Can you detail what you are doing from the time you enter the print module to when you hit the print key please.
To help us help you could you please take a moment to fill in your signature in the "userCP' that is found in the nav-bar at the top left of the page - thanks.

 

[Brad Snyder]

And maybe add your monitor calibration methods as well.

 

[gymkengym]

While in print module I set my print up as such, Print res. 36', set ICC profile to appropriate paper(usually prem glossy bstphto) I turn off color management in properties area, and use high print sharpening setting. I have also tried having the printer manage color and get pretty much the same result. I get very good prints when printing from the
windows gallery. I just downloaded a trial version of Qimage and have not had a chance to try it yet. I also plan to print to Jpeg and try to print from other programs.

If you see what step I am missing, I would be greatful

 

[Scott O]

Reading between the lines, prem glossy bstphto is not an icc profile. This is a printer setting made in the print dialog box. An icc profile is something you either download from the paper manufacturer or make yourself using additional equipment. And there is a specific place to set it in the Lightroom Print Module. There are books on this so it is a bit too complex to be explained here. If you search the forum for this topic you will probably get more info than you need. Also, don't mess with add on programs like QImage until you get the basics down pat.

 

[JeffL]

Just found this thread as I am having a similar problem. I calibrated my monitor with a Spyder 3pro, and am using an Epson stylus R18''. I have epson premium luster paper, and downloaded an using the premium luster icc profile. I turned off color management for my printer, and have tried printing with resolution on (3''-36'ppi) and both options for rendering intent. I am finding my prints flat, with poor color saturation and contrast.

Would appreciate any help
Thanks
Jeff

 

[Scott O]

Jeff: You may get differing opinions on this, but I have NEVER had good luck with the manufacturers canned profiles. Too many variables. I have used custom profiles from Cathy's Profiles in the past, but now I make my own using a ColorMunki. Much more satisfactory to me.

 

[Duncantho]

When printing from Lightroom (and not from other programs), the print dialog box for my Epson 22'' fails to provide the usual options such as paper type, color management, etc. Any suggestions?

 

[Kiwigeoff]

When printing from Lightroom (and not from other programs), the print dialog box for my Epson 22'' fails to provide the usual options such as paper type, color management, etc. Any suggestions?

Hi Duncan thanks for popping over and filling in your signature block.
It sounds to me like an OS issue, mmmmmm
Can you post up a screen shot of the printer dialog box please?

 

[Duncantho]

Hi Geoff.
Your Q about the print dialog box prompted me to check it more thoroughly. I clicked the disclosure triangle that I would not normally need to use. Up came the color management and other options, although crossed out. I'd read about this being a possible problem in 64-bit mode so relaunched Lightroom in 32 bits. Problem solved! Sounds like a bug somewhere though.
Thanks again for your help.

 

[gymkengym]

Just found this thread as I am having a similar problem. I calibrated my monitor with a Spyder 3pro, and am using an Epson stylus R18''. I have epson premium luster paper, and downloaded an using the premium luster icc profile. I turned off color management for my printer, and have tried printing with resolution on (3''-36'ppi) and both options for rendering intent. I am finding my prints flat, with poor color saturation and contrast.

Would appreciate any help
Thanks
Jeff

Jeff,

I tried this and it fixed my problem.

Gymken


Hi,

The problem

When printing RAW or TIFF files from LR2, you get a printer output that is much darker than it should be and that presents various color shifts.

I'm using an Epson Stylus Pro 38'' with the latest Windows driver (6.5' - which is rather old by the way). The workaround described below works for me under Windows XP SP3. It should also probably work with other systems/printers/drivers. Use at your own (minor) risk.

The "official" and recommended procedure for printing from LR is as follows:

1. Do not let the printer manage colors and select "Other..." from the profile dropdown list and select the ICC/ICM paper/printer profile that you want to use.
2. Click on Print... in LR which opens the Print Settings dialog.
3. Select the options you need and the paper you're using.
4. Disable the color management on the driver's side (in Epson's drivers, "Mode | Custom | No Color Adjustments").
5. Print

Unfortunately, this doesn't work for many of us and this produces a print that is dark and has color shifts as mentioned above. Note that the same image prints correctly from QImage or Photoshop CS3 (that is, the printer output corresponds to what you see on your calibrated display).

Note: If you decide to let the printer manage colors, you'll get even more problems.

Apparently, although color management has been (allegedly) disabled in the driver, there's something wrong between LR and the driver which makes that both LR and the driver are still trying to manage colors. In other words, the "No Color Adjustements" option of the driver doesn't seem to work with LR.

The workaround (found after hours of hair pulling and paper and expensive ink wasting):

In step #4,

1. Instead of selecting "No Color Adjustments", set Mode to "Custom | ICM"
2. Click Advanced...
3. Check "Show all profiles".
4. Select Driver ICM (Advanced)"
5. Set both the "Input profile" and the "Printer profile" fields to the very same profile that you specified in LR.

That is, if you specified Pro38 PGPP (Premium Glossy Photo Paper) in LR, then also select Pro38 PGPP in both "Input Profile" and "Printer Profile". This has actually the same effect as disabling color management in the driver (what "No Color Adjustements" should normally take care of).

That's it. When printing, you'll get exactly the same color results as when printing from QImage or Photoshop. No more dark prints. No more color shifts.

One might think that the bug is in the Epson driver but in that case, QImage would have the very same problem. So I tend to think that the bug is on the Lightroom side.

Note: Although Photoshop CS3 produces a correct printer output, it demonstrates the same problem as LR when using the "Match Print Color" option for soft proofing. But in that case, only the preview colors are wrong. The printer output is ok. Which also tends to demonstrate that Adobe has the problem, not Epson. Or maybe both...

Don't ask me why some users have the problem and others don't.

Hope this helps.



Patrick
LR 2.1 - PS CS3/CS4 - DxO 5 - Canon EOS 5D/4'D/G1'