Subject: epson color profile downloading

[bernard_korites]

I have an Epson 2200 printer that I use with Windows. When printing,

I have been using the profile that came with the printer for enhanced

matte paper. I recently tried downloading an updated profile from the

Epson web site but ran into difficulties. After you click on

the "enhanced Matte" option, it asks where you want to store the

profile. I entered the path to where the other profiles are kept

C:\windows\system\color and gave it a name. It takes about 18 minutes

to download but the file doesn't appear in the dialog box for

selecting profiles. I suspect it has something to do with the fact

the download is a zip file, whatever that is. Has anyone done this

before?

[Ed_Ingold]

I keep a directory labeled "downloads" with a sub-directory for each manufacturer and product. In this case, I would download the file to a subdirectory "Epson/2200."

 

Since this is a ZIP file, you need to expand it and save it somewhere. The download directory is ok, or some TEMP directory. Then right-click on the *.icm or *.icc file and choose "install profile." In Win2K or WinXP, you can also manually store the profile in the directory called "c:\Windows (or Winnt)/System32/Color".

[frank_dzambic]

You don't know what a .zip file is??? Seriously????

 

A zip file is an archive. It's used to compress a big file into a much smaller one, or it can be used to group a bunch of files together into one file (with a .zip extension) for ease of downloading.

 

I don't remember now if Windows XP can automatically unzip a file or not. Try right clicking on it in Windows Explorer and see if any options come up. Otherwise, download a copy of WinZip, and use it to unzip your file.

[john_houghton]

Usually, profiles are put into c:\windows\system32\spool\drivers\color on WinXP. The zip file is a convenient way to distribute a collection of individual files within one manageable object called a zip archive. To unzip the files, you should be able to right click on the zip file in windows explorer and then select the option to extract the embedded files to a particular folder. On earlier versions of Windows, you may have to download a copy of Winzip or alternatively Aladdin Expander from Aladdin Systems to perform the extraction.

 

John

[bernard_korites]

Well guys, I want to thank you for your help. Here's what happened. I tried right clicking on the zip icon and came up with an option to open. I opened it and the thing launched Lotus Word Pro which showed only one cryptic word out of a 5.3mb file. So then I typed Winzip into my browser, got the Winzip web site and downloaded a trial version of WinZip. That worked. It unzipped the file and an Epson Wizard did the rest, installing the updated files on the right place.

Prob is, the new profiles are for 1440 dpi and up resolution, I generally print at 720 since text seems to come out better at the lower resolution and I generally print titles beneath my prints. But I tried it anyway. I should mention the reason I have been going through this is I am trying to get the ever-so-slight magenta cast out of my prints. I got rid of most of it by calibrating my monitor and using the resulting profile in PS.

 

The results with the new profiles? The slight magenta cast is back. Skies are purple again, not blue. So I guess I will stay with 720dpi and the old profile.

 

And yes Frank, after countless hours, man years actually, staring at a computer screen, this is the first time I have ever had to open a zip file!

 

Thanks again.

[john_houghton]

"I got rid of most of it by calibrating my monitor and using the resulting profile in PS. "

 

What do you mean? A monitor profile is not used explicitly in Photoshop. The monitor profile is loaded up at system startup and is applied system wide.

 

John

[bernard_korites]

John, you're correct. I'm getting a little muddled with all this. I used the profile in my Scan Dual IV software, not PS. Here's what I did:

 

-I calibrated my monitor using ColorVision ColorPlus. This generated a profile called "ColorPlusProfile" which was stored in c:\windows\system\color\colorplusprofile.

 

-In the Scan Dual IV Preferences dialog, I checked "Color Matching" ON, Output Colorspace = Monitor RGB. I also checked "Use Monitor Profile" ON, browsed for Colorplusprofile as above, opened it ("colorplusprofile" appeared in the dialog box, then I loaded it by clicking on the Load button.

 

Does that sound right?

[frank_dzambic]

I'm not familiar with the software you're using, but the part about setting your Output Colour Space to Monitor RGB doesn't sound right. I would think that should be either sRGB or AdobeRGB. Preferably the latter.

[beauh44]

Hi Bernard<P>

 

<I>Prob is, the new profiles are for 1440 dpi and up resolution, I generally print at 720</i><P>

 

These are two separate things. This is somewhat of an over-simplification but the 2200 prints in two "photographic" resolution modes: 1440 and 2880. It sounds like the new Epson profile supports the former but not the latter. Most people couldn't tell the difference in 100 years though - it's usually very subtle. <P>

 

The 720 you refer to is your <I>output</i> resolution and shouldn't affect colors at all, no matter which profile you use. Your prints will be rather small without interpolation at that resolution. You should be able to halve that and print at 360 dpi quite effectively and still get crisp text.<P>

 

<I>I got rid of most of it by calibrating my monitor and using the resulting profile in PS.</i><P>

 

John's right - Photoshop does not use the monitor profile - <I>Windows</i> does. Windows reads the monitor profile at startup and Photoshop is oblivious to it. Windows hands the ball off (so to speak) to Photoshop. You'll get all kinds of screwy results setting your output profile to your monitor's profile; you should set your output profile to the <I>paper profile</i> you use.<P>

 

I'm not familiar with your scanning software either, but what's the most important, as far as printing goes, is how you have <I>Photoshop</i> and its print settings configured.<P>

 

You might want to take a look at <a href="http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/und-print-mgmt.shtml">this link</a> and <a href="http://home.att.net/~arwomack01/#photoshop">this link</a> too for setting things up in Photoshop. Good luck!

[ethan hansen]

A bunch of miscellaneous points:

 

1: On Windows, you can install a profile (.icc or .icm file) by right clicking on it and selecting "Install Profile". This copies the profile to the correct directory. You can right click on an installed profile and select "Uninstall Profile". This does nothing. If you are updating an already existing profile you need to manually copy it to the correct directory. The right click install method will not overright an already existing profile, Windows confirmations to the contrary.

 

2: Do *not* use your monitor profile as a working space in Photoshop or as a destination for your scanner. Use a standard color space such as sRGB, Adobe RGB, or if you know your way around adjustment layers and high-bit editing, Pro Photo RGB.

 

3: Windows does not do squat with your monitor profile except write its name to an entry in the registry. The default monitor prfile is only a tag that color-savvy applications can query to get the correct profile. The color shift you see when Windows starts (assuming you use a hardware calibration system) up is the calibration loader writing the adjustment data to the video card LUTs. The profile sits on top of the calibration. It describes how the calibrated monitor behaves.

 

4: Photoshop displays nothing without your monitor profile. All image data are viewed through the filter of the monitor profile.

 

5: The various Epson output resolutions differ very slightly in color. There is a miniscule (i.e. a spectrophotometer can measure it but your eyes will ahve a really hard time) color shift between 2880 and 1440 dpi mode. Profiles made for one mode can be used in the other with only minor effects on accuracy. The 720 dpi mode is another matter. Here you will see distinctly different transitions in shadows and lighter midtones than in the other two modes. A profile made for 1440 or 2880 is not particularly well suited for 720 dpi output. (Note: This all refers to the printer output resolution, not the resolution of your source file).