Profiling Printer - really necessary?

<p>I've just bought a new system including Dell U2410 and an Epson R2880.</p>

<p>The Dell is way off so i obviously need to calibrate that with Spyder 3 or similar, but are the supplied printer profiles so far out that I'd notice the difference if I went to the added expense of Spyder studio and profiled the printer? </p>

<p>I find that the profiles supplied by Red River Paper for their papers and Pixel Genius for Epson to be very good. Their papers also happen to be excellent unless your into some unique fine art papers.</p>

<p>You have to maintain a color-managed work flow and use profiles with your printer if you want to have good results the first time, every time. The alternative is endless trial and error, which is costly in both materials and time. Profiles are specific for a particular paper and model of printer.</p>

<p>The good news is the R2880 is a very popular printer, and its inks are used in other popular Epson printers. Consequently, most paper manufacturers have profiles which can be downloaded for free. These profiles seem to work very well, and there are only minor variations between printers, ink cartridges and paper lots. You can also purchase custom profiles for about $30.</p>

<p>The Epson supplied profiles with their papers are actually quite good. Id give them a try. There may be no reason for a custom profile.</p>

<p>I too have asked myself this question - in the meantime, while I make up my mind, manufacturers' profiles for Epson, Canson, Hahnemuele and Ilford papers have all worked well for me - so maybe that is the answer. Has anybody here moved from canned to custom profiles and noticed a significant improvement in the match between what they see on their monitor and what comes out of their printer?</p>

 

<p >Scroll down to the posted PDI skin test image in this thread...</p>

<p > </p>

<p >http://www.photo.net/beginner-photography-questions-forum/00WYPA</p>

 

<p > </p>

<p >which shows how close a match even my $70 Epson NX400 "All In One" can get just printing an AdobeRGB color space image, choosing No Color Management in Photoshop's print dialog box and choosing AdobeRGB and 1.8 gamma along with the correct paper type in Epson's driver.</p>

<p > </p>

<p >I can't see how Epson can emulate a synthetic color space so accurately with such a cheap printer.</p>

<p>I cannot answer your question directly as I don't have any photo printer, but a cheap Brother all-in-1. The bought an used Spyder3Print and did some profiling myself. The print colour changed from way off to almost identical (to my 24" calibrated IPS monitor). The truth is with Spyder3Print, you can choose any papers you like and still producing matched prints. If not, you will have to stick with whatever papers Epson profiles permit. OEM ink is expensive, doing your own profiling is the best way to waste the least amount of it in the long run (or let the labs do the printing).</p>

<blockquote>

<p>The truth is with Spyder3Print, you can choose any papers you like and still produce matched prints. If not, you will have to stick with whatever papers Epson profiles permit.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I don't think Alan is 100% correct in saying this. I would say that without doing your own printer profiling, or paying a service to do it, you can choose any paper you like, as long as the manufacturer of that paper also supplies an icc profile for the combination of your printer and the paper.</p>

<p>Tony, if you are referring to having custom profiles made, I would suggest doing it. There is a guy in Boston who does them relatively inexpensively (sorry, I'm not at home, and I don't remember his name). I think it was $15 for one type of paper. My experience is that his custom profiles are better than the manufacturer's profiles. Not leaps and bounds better, just better. I suggest having one custom profile done for one paper to see if you get better results than with the manufacturer's profles. Aftrer you spend all that money on a nice monitor, printer, and a Spyder, why not spend another $15 for the custom profile? </p>

<p>Tony, do a google search with these words: custom icc profiles eric</p>

<p>He charges $20 per profile.</p>

<p>on the other hand you also <a href="http://www.taospace.com/epson/">look here</a></p>