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Perfect colour on my Epson 3800 but not on the lab's Fuji Frontier


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<p>I work with a combination of Capture 1 Pro, Breezebrowser Pro and Photoshop CS5. I print on an Epson 3800 using Epson inks. I have a pc running Windows 7 Pro 64 bit with an EIZO Colour Edge CG241 monitor and I use Canon 1D series cameras. <br>

I have very good colour management from camera to computer to screen and to print. However if I take my files to my local pro lab for printing on their Fuji Frontier the colour is not the same. Sometimes the colours look a bit "muddy" and today my latest efforts shot against a grey background have a definite blue looking background to them (they've just had a major service done to the machine).<br>

I have spoken to the assistant in the lab about this and she says their machine is properly calibrated and serviced at the correct intervals and always produces colours faithfully for other customers.<br>

I suspect the problem could be solved by the lab giving me a copy of their profile and me embedding it in any files I take to them. I know of print companies who do this. Is this likely to be the case here or can any of you suggest an alternative solution? Thanks a lot.</p>

 

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<p>The lab has to provide the profile AND they have to use it and define what rendering intent they will force on the conversions and whether they support Black Point Compensation. A lack of any of the above means the lab isn't fully color managed and you're out of luck. Just supplying a profile for soft proofing but not allowing you to use it to convert the data is a sign you've got a lab that's just trying to make you think they fully implement color management. They don't. If so, find a lab that does correctly and fully support color management. </p>

Author “Color Management for Photographers" & "Photoshop CC Color Management" (pluralsight.com)

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<p>Also don’t forget the fact that not all printers are capable reproducing all colors properly. In my personal experience I don’t seem to have gamut issues w/ my Epson 3800.</p>

<p>However, I once saw two identical images (same photographer, same size prints) exhibited of a Yosemite meadow w/ a lot of green. One was printed on Lightjet the other on an Epson. The Epson had beautiful vibrant greens, but the mighty Lightjet example showing sick looking bottle green. When I used to send out my files converted to Calypso Imaging’s excellent profiles I used to have a hell of a time matching greens. No more!</p>

<p>Just for the record the late Calypso Imaging had a 100% closed loop color management w/ profiles for all types of paper.</p>

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<p>The gamut of the Epson is significantly larger than the Lightjet and similar chromagenic printers. But the soft proof should help here (especially on a wide gamut display system). </p>

Author “Color Management for Photographers" & "Photoshop CC Color Management" (pluralsight.com)

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<p>Embedding sRGB only helps when the lab demands this and it illustrates they have no true color management path for their customers. These devices do not output sRGB (only an emissive display can do this). None of these devices behave anything like sRGB!</p>

Author “Color Management for Photographers" & "Photoshop CC Color Management" (pluralsight.com)

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<blockquote>

<p>Embedding sRGB only helps when the lab demands this and it illustrates they have no true color management path for their customers. These devices do not output sRGB (only an emissive display can do this). None of these devices behave anything like sRGB!</p>

</blockquote>

<p>the way the frontier's software is written, it makes assumptions about image files, one of which is that they are in the sRGB color space.</p>

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<p>Some Frontier's front ends expect sRGB. And some don't. That doesn't change the fact that they do no output sRGB and that one can send output ready data to these devices using an ICC profile. I've built them, I've used them. </p>

Author “Color Management for Photographers" & "Photoshop CC Color Management" (pluralsight.com)

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<p>Check out this thread:</p>

<p>http://www.photo.net/digital-darkroom-forum/00akjt</p>

<p>...for an alternative color profile called PhotoGamutRGB that might work.</p>

<p>I've also posted a before and after sample minilab print that assumes sRGB but doesn't quite translate all colors like certain sRGB greens that don't produce a match. </p>

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