R2400 w/ Aperture - Profiles Lost

[cooper8168]

Hi all - been about a year since I last posted. Wow!

 

<p>I've been having a problem with my print workflow that started about 6 months ago but has only

now gotten to the point that I really need to fix it.

 

<p>My equipment: Epson R2400 with stock inks, Aperture (latest version), iMac 2.33Ghz fully loaded

and updated. I typically print on Epson Premium Luster or Enhanced Matte (I change K cartridge

accordingly).

 

<p>Once upon a time, I had this workflow working perfectly. Prints were coming out <i>exactly</i>

as I wanted them to, really better than expected. Then something changed, but it wasn't hardware.

Somewhere along the line, I'm guessing in a software update, all my profiles changed. I typically do all

my adjustments in Aperture, then in the print dialogs do the following:

 

<p><MENU>

 

<LI type="square">In the 2400 settings, I turn color management off, and in the Print Settings, I select

my paper, switch to Advanced, and typically choose Best Photo or whatever quality I'm needing.

</MENU>

 

<p><MENU>

 

<LI type="square">Then in the Aperture print settings I choose the ColorSync profile that matches the

paper and

quality I selected in the above Print Settings window, keep Black Point Compression checked, and I'm

off. As I said - this has worked flawlessly up until recently.</MENU>

 

<p>The one thing I noticed that has changed is the available profiles in Aperture's ColorSync Profile

pulldown menu. It used to only show paper profiles specific to each paper and quality, ie. "SPR2400

PremLuster BstPhoto.icc". Now, it shows not only those specific profiles, but also more generic paper

profiles, such as "SPR2400 PremiumLuster", with no quality specification.

 

<p>The problem is this: When I now select the paper/quality-specific profile, as I used to do, the

prints come out all washed-out and flat. It even shows this in the preview window. It's slightly better

when I select these new generic paper profiles, but still not like what I had. This is true with both types

of paper I use.

 

<p>I've attempted all the usual fixes, such as trashing all my profiles and re-loading new ones from

Epson, re-installing Aperture and Epson software, and trashing prefs. Heck, I've reloaded all software

that even remotely related to photography so many times, I can't even count any more. Nothing - just

washed-out, dead-looking prints every time. And it all changed when I noticed those new generic

profiles mentioned above.

 

<p>I did make one hardware change <i>after</i> I first started experiencing these problems. I went

from a PPC Dual 2.8Ghz G5 to the iMac, but as I said, these problems first occurred on the G5 and

continued with the new iMac.

 

<p>Any thoughts?

[cooper8168]

I should also say that I keep the monitor calibrated with the Spyder 2. In case I wasn't clear -

it's not as though I'm getting prints that are drastically different from what Print Preview is

showing me - they are pretty much the same. I can see the image dull-out in the preview

window when I select those paper/quality-specific profiles, when in the past they remained

as I wanted them. It's almost as though the image in the preview window grays/desaturates

out when I select those profiles. Really weird.

[cooper8168]

Anyone? I've searched the forums here and this specific problem, as far as I can tell, has not

been addressed.

[ben.goossens]

I would reinstall Aperture, it could help.

 

Best regards, ben