Monitor calibrated, prints still bad

[jay_odonnell]

I calibrated my monitor using Colorvision ColorPlus and that's the

default profile for Windows XP. My Nikon D70 is set to Adobe RGB and

Photoshop is set to use Adobe RGB as well. I have a Canon i960

printer that's set to ICM under printer properties. I'm using Canon

inks and paper. Prints are not usable. Colors are washed out,

tinted towards yellow and lacking reds. Portraits are the worst.

People look yellow and lack lips! What am I doing wrong?

[biju_s]

try

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/und-print-mgmt.shtml

[Ed_Ingold]

Calibrating you monitor only affects the way you see the image and subsequent corrections made in Photoshop. How do the images appear if printed without corrections?

 

If uncorrected images still print badly, your problem is with the printer or the way you are using it.

 

Make sure you use a profile specific for the printer and paper in Photoshop.

[ellis_vener_photography]

The problem is smewhere in your print driver or your selection of color management

method in the print driver. You are probably taking the corected iamge and then applying

the printer's profile -- double profiling the output. If yo uare in the Photoshop window

choose same as source not printer color management and make sure you turn off the

printer's color management too.

[jtk]

There's far too much emphasis on monitor calibration in these discussions...it hinders learning... if you can't specify color you can't correct color. Output has nothing to do with the looks of your monitor: an accurate monitor's main utility has to do with image appraisal (ie outside your camera) and visual color correction.

 

It sounds like you could get the color you want by adding Magenta and increasing contrast, adjusting brightness. Digital gurus/geeks won't approve, but wouldn't you like to get some nice prints right away? (learn digigeek details later,leisurely)

 

Red has Yellow in it, you're already too Yellow, therefore your correction should not be red. Add 5M and then try 10M . Play with contrast/brightness. Does that work?

 

There's probably a paper profile that will do the job perfectly, without those adjustments, in your Canon printer properties... assuming you're using a proper paper.

[sean_mcclain2]

Have you done a nozzle test? Without seeing your print it's hard to judge if this is a color space mismatch or possibly a clogged ink nozzle. Maybe I'm way off here. Maybe you already know this. But if you have a clogged nozzle you will get some wild color shifts. Sometimes the shifts come with relatively little other image degradation (i.e. no banding or lines). I use Epson printers, so I don't know if Canon has this test or not. But this is a test I perform before every printing session with my Epson printer.

[robert_martin5]

My dad had a problem with a Canon printer where it appeared to have a cyan mask over the entire print. The problem was due to the sponge in the printer being soaked with cyan ink. After he cleaned the sponge and replaced it, everything worked correct. This may not be your problem, but it does happen.

[ken_dobyns]

Unless you have a custom printer profile, you should not be using color management in

the print driver:

 

Use print with preview in Photoshop, check "show more options." and select Color

Management.

 

Choose the BJ Printer Profile 2000 for the print space.

 

In the Canon driver, select BJ Standard for color correction, and choose the correct paper

type.

 

Good luck,

Ken