A

Anonymous

Question

beautiful print on screen, terrible once printed

Forum|Forum|12 years ago
March 14, 2014
3 replies
26036 views

I have been struggling for many months now with inability to print any resemblance to what is on my screen. I have spent countless hours on the phone with both Epson and Abode. Epson had me, finally, print in Preview rather than Photoshop. The print was much closer than anything I have printed in Photoshop. Epson has been a bit helpful but Adobe puts me on hold to ask "an expert" about my questions for at least 80% of the hours I am on the phone with them. I follow Scott Kelby's books exclusively and find them to be fantastic but so far I have not been able to solve this problem with his instruction. I have correct paper profiles and am.

Photoshop CS6, Mac OXS 10.6.8, Epson 2880 printer. Please tell me what other information I need to provide to give what is needed to help me. Help. Please. Thanks.

K

This topic has been closed for replies.

gener7

Community Expert

One hint I got from Deke McClelland is to add a Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer starting with a Brightness value of 40 and a Contrast value of -40 before printing. It can be adjusted for best results.

It works best for those of us with consumer inkjets, canned profiles and sub $1000 monitors, but you might try and see if works for you.

Gene

P

paule3013028

Participant

I can feel your pain.

I bought an Epson Stylus Pro 3800 in 2011, after my Epson 2000P died from clogged nozzle. The 2000P produced beautiful prints. I could not get the 3800 to do the same. All I got were dull prints from stunning images. I had a photo store pro visit and help me to set up Photoshop and the printer profile. I used Color Munki to calibrate my monitor and made all the settings changes. No luck.

Has anyone ever printed great photos from the 3800 or is its color space just too narrow?

KR Seals

Community Expert

I make prints all the time with my 3880 that I'm very happy with. Here is an iPhone photo of a print I had in the San Diego Fair last summer. It's 16X38".

Is your monitor properly calibrated, including an appropriate brightness level?

Ken Seals - Nikon Z 9, Z 8, 14mm-800mm. Computer Win 11 Pro, I7-14700K, 64GB, RTX3070TI. Travel machine: 2021 MacBook Pro M1 MAX 64GB. All Adobe apps.

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paule3013028

Participant

Thanks, KR Seals, for getting back to me. I love your photo. The colors are vivid.

I have calibrated my Dell monitor many times, lately using Color Munki. The monitor is 6 years old.

The image that I want to print has appeared essentially the same every time that I've opened it in Photoshop (lately CS6) or Windows photo viewer. I've just upgraded the driver to 6.63. The result is always the same - a very flat, dull printed image.

Recently I am using View > Proof Colors (to avoid wasted paper) and the image on the monitor looks the same as what is printed.

I wonder: did you purchase a optimized printer profile and optimized paper profiles?

Best regards, Paul Edwards

Mylenium

Legend

Well, forgive me for being so straight up, but if your communication with Epson and Adobe support was as vague as this post, it's no wonder you couldn't get any help. Sorry, but you have not provided any solid technical info like what your print settings actually are, what color profiles you use, what images you are trying to print, what color tweaks you may have applied or for that matter what really the issue is with your prints. You know, "It doesn't look right." for all intents and purposes is utterly meaningless and useless. So by all means provide screenshots and the necessary info. You could simply have hopelessly mistweaked your monitor and everything be correct otherwise for instance.

Mylenium

A

Anonymous

Thank you for taking the time to reply. And yes, my question to this chat was begging for further instruction. Thank you for giving it. My times with Epson and Adobe were step by step, for many hours, and going through everything in this fashionthey did ascertain all of my settings, tweaks and trials. Sorry if I gave the impression that no hard information was disclosed to these help lines. Epson was very helpful and knowledgeable, while Adobe help was useless, as nobody, of the 7 reps I spoke with, knew anything more than me.

I will provide the info you suggested above. Forgive my naivete, please, we all have to start somewhere. AND please also pardon my long-windedness, as I am now afraid of giving too much information and boring all of you with my blather.

Since Epson finally did have me print through Preview and the results were far more acceptable, they and I assumed that the problem was within Photoshop, and possibly my own settings. Pardon me in advance for all of my shortcomings.

I was very comfortable with Photoshop CS2 and my film camera, F4. I have made the quantum leap to digital, D800 and CS6. I have been struggling for well over a year with all of it.

Photoshop CS6. Mac Snow Leopard OXS 10.6.8.

Presently I am working jpegs, no compression. as RAW is an entirely different dilemma.

Perfect on screen in accurate (to reality) color and contrast and saturation.

Printer version is: printing heavy purple tint in the blues

low contrast, rather grayed out

greens/yellows terribly unsaturated

general saturation/vibrance very blahhhhhh

I am in no way suggesting that you purchase Scott Kelby's Photoshop CS6 book. But I will tell you that I followed his formula, simply because I want to stay with one route and not deviate. I am happy with his instruction as it is very easy for the likes of me to follow. BUT, if you happen to have it on hand, I followed it exclusively and exactly from pages 353 to 378, all the settings, all the suggestions.

Color Settings: Working Space: Adobe RGB 1998

CMYK: US Web Coated (SWOP) v2

Gray: Dot Gain 20%

Spot: Dot Grain 20%

Color Management Policies: Convert to working RGB

Printer Setup: Epson 2880.

Photoshop Manages Color.

SRP2880 Premium Glossy

Normal Printing

Relative Colorimetric

Black Point Compensation

Print Settings: Premium Glossy Photo Paper

Color Settings, off

Print Quality, super fine -1440 dpi

High Speed, off

What color tweaks? Well, I cannot go back and look at history once the photo is saved but I can tell you that I used levels, hue saturation and vibrance a wee bit. I usualy use curves at Linear Contrast (RGB) and I use Unsharp Mask at settings of 120,1 and 3 (A,R,T) and then under Fade Unsharp Mask I simply click on Luminosity under drop down box, tho don't generally "fade".

The print I have been using as my test print for 8 months now, is of a flower of an extremely unusual color. Since I know the color of this flower in nature I am using this as my benchmark. On the screen it is the vivid and true sky-blue-hue, and background is vivid coastal Australian green. In print the flower is purple, the green (or yellow-green????????????) background is lacking in saturation and vibrance and the contrast is a bit milky. These have been, across the board, the consistent problems I have been having with anything I try to print. It is not just with this print.

Provide a screen shots????????????? Praytell, how to do. (Scott Kelby, help me!!!!!). I prefer not to disclose just how naive I am. I do take smashingly beautiful photos. I have the eya and I travel to very unusual places. But I am, admittedly, a techno-do-do. We can't all be perfect in every way. Sorry.

If I haven't scared you off with my (also) straight up reply, and the extra blather, I would love for your, or anyone else's, further help.

Techno-do-do.

K

G

gator soup

Inspiring

my test print for 8 months now, is of a flower of an extremely unusual color. Since I know the color of this flower in nature I am using this as my benchmark. On the screen it is the vivid and true sky-blue-hue, and background is vivid coastal Australian green

first it sounds like you may have OUT OF GAMUT COLORS that SOFT PROOFING (Photoshop View> Proof SetUp> Custom) may be able to help figure it out

i would start you off troubleshooting your workflow with a copy of the Getty-Photodisc Image PDI WHACKED RGB .JPG

and review the PHOTOSHOP MANAGES COLORS WORK FLOW basics...

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