Help needed with colour printing on HP Deskjet 1220c

[irsteve]

<p>I normally print my pictures A4 size on a Canon Pixma which I am very happy with but occasionally I require a larger (A3) print <br>

My alternative printer - an HP Deskjet 1220c used to give equally impressive results but was in storage for 2 years following a house move. I have just re-installed it and fitted previously unused ink cartridges (albeit now 2 1/2 years out of date)<br>

My first test image for printing on the 1220 was http://www.photo.net/photo/14236332&size=lg <br>

A scan of the print :- http://www.photo.net/photo/14762413&size=lg illustrates my problem - very poor colour reproduction (being tinted orange/brown) with noticeable lines (particularly @ bottom L )<br>

I dont think the the age of the ink cartridge is critical but, having cleaned the nozzles and run the standard HP Nozzle Pattern Test (OK), I am now looking for suggestions to clear the problem which remains as bad as ever.</p>

<p> </p>

[howard_m]

<p>regardless of the OK result of the nozzle check, it still looks exactly like a stuck nozzle (cyan probably)</p>

[peter_mounier]

<p>Is the 1220c a pigment printer? If so, you might remove the carts and shake them up. The pigments may have settled. Did you use a paper profile?</p>

<p>Peter</p>

[irsteve]

<p>Peter, Thanks for your interest - I don't know about "pigment printer" but I will give the cartridge a good shake anyway : Paper information (i.e Photo Glossy) was entered prior to printing but I'm not sure that constitutes a "profile" : Could you elaborate ?? <br>

Since my first post I have tried again with the print set to 1200dpi which eliminated the lines but the colour is still "off"</p>

[peter_mounier]

<p>If you go to the paper manufacturer's website, they probably offer a free profile for their paper. If it's a name brand paper it might already be in the printer driver for your printer. At some point in the printing process you will be asked whether to let the printer manage color or let Photoshop manage color. You should let Photoshop handle the color, and turn off color management in the printer dialog. At that point Photoshop will ask for a printer profile. That's when you pick your paper profile from a drop down menu. It's either already there, having been pre-installed on the driver, or you download it from the paper manufacturer's website. After you choose your profile, click to allow black point compensation, and relative colorimetric rendering intent, then click "print" and away you go.</p>

<p>Peter</p>

[irsteve]

Peter, thanks again for your interest - You are right to asume that I have Photoshop (elements only) but I do not normally use this to print my photographs. I usually use the standard Windows XP print program which allows very few adjustment but generally produces excellent results from my Canon printer.

 

No doubt there is a lot to learn ( what on earth is "relative colorimetric rendering intent "... LOL) but I will experiment using Photoshop to see if this can solve the problems I have on the other printer

[peter_mounier]

<p>The rendering intent is how photoshop deals with out of gamut color. Relative Colorimetric will adjust only the out of gamut color by using the nearest in gamut color in its place. Other rendering intents will adjust all the colors to make the print "perceptually" correct, or change the saturation to fit the available gamut.</p>

<p>Peter</p>