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DPChallenge Forums >> Photography Discussion >> Printed Color is Terrible!!
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12/17/2007 11:17:07 PM · #1
Hi Photo Guys/Girls,

I'm trying to print a small image for a Christmas present on my Canon i950 photo printer, but as usual I can't get the colors right! The print comes out completely different from the image as it is in Photoshop, with a blue hue to it.

I remember discussion on this but can't remember the answer to get the color right. I've tried "Adobe RGB (1998)", "sRGB IEC6...", and several others that I thought would work (even no color management), but the print still comes out with a blue hue to it.

Any ideas for our print experts out there?

I'd use Walgreens but their software insists on upsizing the image on the printed page, when I want the print to be the actual image print size.

Thanks -Chris.

12/17/2007 11:41:34 PM · #2
Originally posted by ChrisW123:

I'd use Walgreens but their software insists on upsizing the image on the printed page, when I want the print to be the actual image print size.

You can add some white (or some contrasting color) canvas around the image so that it is a standard print size, and trim it off after printing.

Message edited by author 2007-12-17 23:41:53.
12/17/2007 11:55:29 PM · #3
Calibrate your monitor.
12/17/2007 11:59:43 PM · #4
Calibrating the monitor with huey or an alternative sometimes doesn't work with home printers. I work at a photo lab with a wide assortment of printers and one of the best ways it just printing off a test print with a couple shades of red, green, and blue and adjusting your monitor manually from there...

If you do plan to do your printing through wallgreens, I'd do the same thing as well, just to be sure that what is on your screen is exactly what is getting printed because its a waste to do fine corrections in photoshop only to have them thrown off by a different calibration
12/18/2007 12:01:32 AM · #5
Originally posted by DrAchoo:

Calibrate your monitor.


That's not the problem, the printed image looks 100 times "colder" (bluer) then it does on the screen, AND, if I print it at Walgreens the color would look perfect.

General's idea may work but I'm done messing with this printer, I've tried adjusting the printer ICC profile and the PS color workspace. I've managed to get the prints (on plain paper at this point) to look a tiny bit better but it's still not correct.

*cries* Maybe RiteAid or Longs has better print processing features then Walgreens. I may even upload to DPC Prints to get a good print if I have to!! :)

Message edited by author 2007-12-18 00:11:28.
12/18/2007 12:04:34 AM · #6
Check the CMYK/RGB values of a neutral gray or white area in your photo. If there's more blue in the sampled area, then the problem is on your end. If the values are even or favor another color, then it's an issue with the printer and calibration won't help you. Some print services give you a choice between printing the colors as supplied or "correcting" them... and automated correction can do very strange things to color.
12/18/2007 12:05:42 AM · #7
First, I would check my ink cartridges. Next, I would go to View/Proof Colors and select what is appropriate (look at it under Monitor RGB, also), I would think there would be one for your printer in there somewhere.
Check Print... Make sure your printer is selected as the printer to print to. Color management for the Document. Color Handling-->Printer Manages Color. and select Relative Colorimetric. Click Print...
You can change the colors (decrease the blue hue) under the Color Options dropdown. It wouldn't hurt looking through the other dropdowns also. Under the Quality and Media dropdown select the appropriate paper you are printing on and High Quality photo, also
Do you have the newest printer profile from Canon?
Just a few things to check.

Message edited by author 2007-12-18 00:08:59.
12/18/2007 12:33:41 AM · #8
If you have installed the printer drivers on your computer then likely the the canned profiles for the canon printer were installed too. These profiles are typically for a specific paper and ink combination for a given printer. If you are using the inks recommended by Canon then the only other thing would be to use the paper associated with the canned profiles. In Photoshop make a duplicate of your image. Then under the Edit menu select convert to profile. Select the canned Canon profile that matches your ink/paper combination to convert the duplicate image to that color profile. One more thing, in the printer settings for this print, turn off color management by the printer. This will put Photoshop in charge of the color management of the print.

If this doesn't get you better results, or if there are no canned profiles for your pinter/paper/ink combo, then you may need to create a profile or have one created. To do it yourself requires additional harware and software. I believe there are places online that can profile a printer/paper/ink setup but I don't have any experience with those sites.

Good luck.
12/18/2007 12:33:44 AM · #9
Dacrazyrn,

I have the printer ICC set to "Adobe RGB 1998" and in PS, File > Print Preview > Source Space = "Untagged RGB" and Print Space = "Printer Color Management". And "Relative Colorimetric" is selected (can't change).

No change. Still looks the same as the 20 other prints. When I make a printer driver change I always shut printer off then on again.

I really appreciate your help, and scalverts suggestions as well but the printer must be a POS. It's never printed correctly from the day I bought it, or anything like the the images look in PS. Again, I have printed the same images (from my same camera and edited in my same PS software) at Walgreens and the prints from Walgreens look EXACTLY ( colorwise) as they do on my screen, so the problem is not my color calabration.

Thanks for the replies guys!

-Chris.

12/18/2007 12:49:14 AM · #10
Well, monitor calibration has been suggestion, but not printer calibration. I does mean spending some money to get a hardware calibrator that can do printers.

I have a Canon scanner, and without calibration, the blacks are at about 20% up the histogram, and the whites are at about 90% of the histogram, and the RGB channels are slightly different. Having said that, I've never bothered to calibrate it properly, because I don't use it for photos, and I'm lazy. I think I tried it once, and it promptly uncalibrated itself the next day, and I just couldn't be bothered again. I just fix stuff in PS afterwards.

Oh, one more thought. Are you using all the correct colour genuine inks? 3rd party inks might not be the same colours.

Hey, even the pro photo people have colour variations between labs, so don't feel bad that yours isn't going so well. Persevere. If all else fails, and you want this one picture right, you can make it really orange on screen, and print that. Maybe that will help fix it.

Message edited by author 2007-12-18 00:52:18.
12/18/2007 12:52:06 AM · #11
Have you tried in PS Edit/Convert Color Space (in CS3, under Image/Convert Profile in CS, if I remember right) and tagged the image as BJ Printer Profile, then printing it.
You can still go under the Dropdown just prior to printing and adjusting he blue hue down also, even though it continues to be a PITA.

Then again, as you thought, DPCPrints would be a great idea. :)

Message edited by author 2007-12-18 00:57:19.
12/18/2007 12:54:49 AM · #12
Originally posted by AllgoodPics:

...These profiles are typically for a specific paper and ink combination for a given printer....


Yeah I tried some Canon Paper Plus Glossy 4x6 paper to make sure the plain paper wasn't causing the problem but the color problem was the same. Plus I buy the "approved" Canon inks (6 ink cartridges)... Thanks for the other recommendations you give but I don't think they will help. I'll just look for a print source (maybe RiteAid or Longs) to see if they allow printing the pic without auto-image resizing like Walgreens can't seem to handle. I don't print enough at home on this printer to warrant giving this anymore effort. :)

But I appreciate your effort in trying to help! DPC'rs are great always willing to help, and thanks guys for the input.

-Chris.

12/18/2007 12:55:37 AM · #13
Doesn't Walmart have the kiosk thing you can do it yourself?
12/18/2007 01:01:14 AM · #14
Originally posted by dacrazyrn:

Have you tried in PS Edit/Convert Color Space (in CS3, under Image/Convert Profile in CS, if I remember right) and tagged the image as BJ Printer Profile, then printing it.
You can still go under the Dropdown just prior to printing and adjusting he blue hue down also, even though it continues to be a PITA.

Then again, as you thought, DPCPrints would be a great idea. :)


Unfortunetely I have PS Elements 3.0. I don't have Image > Convert. But I tried Image > Color Settings, with no luck. No biggy, DA. Hey after all these years, I just noticed the "crazy rn" in your name. :D LOL, are you an RN?
12/18/2007 01:03:18 AM · #15
Originally posted by dacrazyrn:

Doesn't Walmart have the kiosk thing you can do it yourself?


I'm gonna try WalMart, RiteAid, and Longs. If that doesn't work I'm simply going to replace the pic in the pic-frame that I was going to give as a Christmas present with a picture of myself (not printed on this POS printer) as a substitute. LMAO, yeah, I'm sure they will love that. :)
12/18/2007 01:09:06 AM · #16
Most printers will do a self test. Have you tried that?
Another thing to try would be to print one good outdoor daylight shot straight from the camera without editing, and see how that looks. That would isolate the problem to computer or printer.
12/18/2007 01:11:59 AM · #17
Originally posted by ChrisW123:

Originally posted by dacrazyrn:

Doesn't Walmart have the kiosk thing you can do it yourself?


I'm gonna try WalMart, RiteAid, and Longs. If that doesn't work I'm simply going to replace the pic in the pic-frame that I was going to give as a Christmas present with a picture of myself (not printed on this POS printer) as a substitute. LMAO, yeah, I'm sure they will love that. :)


For the time and money you are throwing at the problem, why not buy a cheap digital frame and load the pictures on it as a gift.

edit: removed random nonsensical words that were included in above sage advice

Message edited by author 2007-12-18 01:12:52.
12/18/2007 01:38:08 AM · #18
Originally posted by ChrisW123:

Hey after all these years, I just noticed the "crazy rn" in your name. :D LOL, are you an RN?


Yep. Emergency RN. The "crazy" part came from when I answered the phone when I lived with 3 other guys. It was anothers girlfriend. She was a ditz. She asked who it was and I said Tracy...she said Crazy?! and we went back and forth with that for 4-5 times. I made the mistake of telling the roommates that and now for almost 10 years I have used that name. Get called Craze by he friends all the time. But I really am not crazy...everyone else is. :)
12/18/2007 01:39:27 AM · #19
Originally posted by MelonMusketeer:

....That would isolate the problem to computer or printer.


I'm sure the problem is with my printer, the driver, and/or the PS software settings in combination with the printer settings. I looked a the Canon driver links that were provided but they are from like 2002. I bought my printer well after that.

I can't figure out what exactly is wrong. I have printed pics at Walgreens before, edited from this same software (PS) and they look great. So that means PS is not communicating correctly in some way with my printer, or the printer is unable to process the data being sent to it.

RouterGuy, no, a digi picture frame thing isn't going to work... I'm trying to print an old image that I have "reworked" in PS and needs to be printed at a certain size (oval) made to fit in a certain sized picture frame. Thanks for the idea tho!


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