First prints from Canon Pixma Pro9000

I printed a handful of images on my new printer, let it dry overnight and evaluated the prints

this morning. Overall, I'm very happy with the preservation of fine detail and tonal transitions -

but the colors seem off.

Here's some background: Images were edited on a calibrated Dell 2407FPW in CS3 and printed

on Ilford Galerie Classic Pearl paper. They were 16-bit TIFFs in Adobe RGB, sent off to the

printer using the canned Ilford profile for my printer/paper combo. Relative colormetric was the

rendering intent, black point compensation checked. Color management was turned off in the

printer dialog.

The problem is that the colors in the prints look pale and desaturated compared to the screen. I

experimented in Photoshop and found that a Hue/Saturation layer to -23 saturation matched

my screen to the print. There are no colors in my test images that are even close to being out of

gamut, as I've checked with soft proofing and gamut warning, so that's not the problem.

What am I doing wrong here? I'm no expert on printing, but I've followed the color

management rules pretty closely. Should I be using perceptual instead of relative colormetric?

Or do I need to simply bump up the saturation a given amount as part of my output process? Is

it a limitation of the inkset and paper? I was under the impression that dye inks were capable of

a larger gamut than pigments were.

Does anyone have similiar experiences? Thanks.

"I printed a handful of images on my new printer....Is it a limitation of the inkset and paper?

Knowing the printer make, model and inkset would be helpful.....

"I've followed the color management rules pretty closely. "

What are "color management rules"?

My bad...you've posted the model in your thread header. But, what are the "rules" you're following?

I assume you're printing directly out of PS. Are you using a profile for the paper + Canon ink? Without a paper + Canon ink profile, the printer will not lay down ink correctly. Generally, you should use "perceptual" for the rendering. This will allow PS to fit the colors into the available gamut better. But, final interpretation should be by the paper profile.

I've never used this printer so I'm unsure of the user interface. Does the printer allow you to select different paper types such as, "fine art, watercolor, smooth", etc.? If so, this is what will control the amount of ink the printer puts out for each type of paper. It's generally based upon how much dot gain (ink spread) is expected for each type of paper. This has to do with paper surface, coatings, etc.

The best way to test this is to waste paper....well, not really because you're learning something. I keep a notebook on papers. I test the papers using a test file consisting of a 24 step gray scale, solid square areas of black, medium gray, light gray, solid areas of RBG, and solid areas of CMY.

By changing paper types, you will change the amount of ink put down. You take the paper you're printing on, and print the test file using each of the paper type settings. One of the settings will give you the widest range of tones in the 24 gray scale steps - what you'll see is more separation in the last 3-4 steps towards black.

Then you need to evaluate the color areas on that print. Using a magnifier (I use a linen tester) - you look at each color to see if the colors are solid or if paper fibers are showing though. Also, you need to see whether the colors are solid and have no color cross contamination such as obvious speckling of another color.

When you find the print with the widest gray scale, best coverage, and cleanest colors that's the setting you need to use for that paper. When the paper profile is applied - you will get the widest gamut and best color reproduction.

You have to think of it as finding the baseline paper performance prior to printing anything at all. While it's time consuming - you only have to do it once for each type of paper you use. If you keep your notes on the paper, you just consult your notebook for the best setting for each type of paper you use.