Anytime I go to print something with photo paper, I make sure I select ColorSync color calibration in my Print Dialog box. If you Print photos from iPhoto I believe that this will happen automatically and, best yet, your photos may already be tagged with the appropriate profile for your camera. This ensures that what your camera thinks is green, what your screen thinks is green, and what your printer thinks is green are all the same color.
Recently I made a project in photoshop, stitching together various hi-rez web images, etc. Again when I went to print I picked Colorsync printer calibration and man did the colors come out great and spot-on!
A few years ago, before iPhoto came out, I'd try to manually color correct photos. I'd spend hours printing various versions only to achieve mediocre results. (Especially with grass! I have some prints where the lawn in front of the Eiffel Tower looks as if a nuclear bomb went off at the Louvre.) Then, once iPhoto came along, with full colorsync integration, I could click print once and a perfect print would come out the first time around! I was shocked and amazed... and am still impressed.
Granted, if your source material is out of whack, the printer will just print the out of whack image. But if it looks good on screen, it should be a no brainer to get it looking great on paper.
And for the record, I'm using a beige Epson Stylus 880. This is one step up from the 740 which was the first USB epson of the iMac era. It is not a photo printer, but using photo paper and a high DPI will get you very, very far.
I went through the same learning curve as you a while back. Color calibration involves two basic concepts: First, all your devices need to be calibrated (for example, your monitor needs to be calibrated because over time what you see on screen may not be what the computer "thinks" it is showing you). Second, all images generated (whether from a digital camera, a scanner etc..,) should have a color profile that tells each of the other calibrated devices how to handle the image.
I know this is a general response, but it should help send you on your way.
One other pitfall I ran into-- if you are using color profiles in Adobe Photoshop, make sure you turn off the colorsync-ing options on your printer, or vice versa, or else they battle with each other and the output is crap.
I can't describe this in more detail because I'm not smart and can not communicate well, but I hope this helps a bit.
From screen to print, unless I'm using PC standard gamma, I've found that ColorSync does not account for this and all my prints look dark unless I convert from a 1.8 Gamma profile to a 2.2 one.
I went through the same learning curve as you a while back. Color calibration involves two basic concepts: First, all your devices need to be calibrated (for example, your monitor needs to be calibrated because over time what you see on screen may not be what the computer "thinks" it is showing you). Second, all images generated (whether from a digital camera, a scanner etc..,) should have a color profile that tells each of the other calibrated devices how to handle the image.
I know this is a general response, but it should help send you on your way.
One other pitfall I ran into-- if you are using color profiles in Adobe Photoshop, make sure you turn off the colorsync-ing options on your printer, or vice versa, or else they battle with each other and the output is crap.
I can't describe this in more detail because I'm not smart and can not communicate well, but I hope this helps a bit.
talking about color profile for each device, does the printer get one and how do i check it? and how do i turn it on/off?
how about digital camera,
sorry for the questions, i am struggling with my new printer
Comments
I've used it extensively for printing photos and other art and have never had one problem.
thanks
Anytime I go to print something with photo paper, I make sure I select ColorSync color calibration in my Print Dialog box. If you Print photos from iPhoto I believe that this will happen automatically and, best yet, your photos may already be tagged with the appropriate profile for your camera. This ensures that what your camera thinks is green, what your screen thinks is green, and what your printer thinks is green are all the same color.
Recently I made a project in photoshop, stitching together various hi-rez web images, etc. Again when I went to print I picked Colorsync printer calibration and man did the colors come out great and spot-on!
A few years ago, before iPhoto came out, I'd try to manually color correct photos. I'd spend hours printing various versions only to achieve mediocre results. (Especially with grass! I have some prints where the lawn in front of the Eiffel Tower looks as if a nuclear bomb went off at the Louvre.) Then, once iPhoto came along, with full colorsync integration, I could click print once and a perfect print would come out the first time around! I was shocked and amazed... and am still impressed.
Granted, if your source material is out of whack, the printer will just print the out of whack image. But if it looks good on screen, it should be a no brainer to get it looking great on paper.
would surely try it out
I know this is a general response, but it should help send you on your way.
One other pitfall I ran into-- if you are using color profiles in Adobe Photoshop, make sure you turn off the colorsync-ing options on your printer, or vice versa, or else they battle with each other and the output is crap.
I can't describe this in more detail because I'm not smart and can not communicate well, but I hope this helps a bit.
I love it when color is spelt like that mmmmmmm.
Originally posted by AugustWest
I went through the same learning curve as you a while back. Color calibration involves two basic concepts: First, all your devices need to be calibrated (for example, your monitor needs to be calibrated because over time what you see on screen may not be what the computer "thinks" it is showing you). Second, all images generated (whether from a digital camera, a scanner etc..,) should have a color profile that tells each of the other calibrated devices how to handle the image.
I know this is a general response, but it should help send you on your way.
One other pitfall I ran into-- if you are using color profiles in Adobe Photoshop, make sure you turn off the colorsync-ing options on your printer, or vice versa, or else they battle with each other and the output is crap.
I can't describe this in more detail because I'm not smart and can not communicate well, but I hope this helps a bit.
talking about color profile for each device, does the printer get one and how do i check it? and how do i turn it on/off?
how about digital camera,
sorry for the questions, i am struggling with my new printer
Originally posted by PS5533
Topic: printing colour photos
I love it when color is spelt like that mmmmmmm.
That's UK english for you, kid.
Same goes to rumours, for instance.
Or also programme, instead of program.
Even harmonise is not written with a z.
You can have fun by switching your word processor to UK english, and check the differences.
Pierre