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How to Produce High Quality Prints using an Epson Photo Printer and Photoshop.
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Amended on 16th March 2006 |
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Please note that on Windows Operating Systems older than Windows 98 2nd Edition (SE) the Colour Management System does not work, and never did work.
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To the best of my knowledge, this system and the Dialogue Boxes shown are almost identical in P'shop 6, 7, CS, CS2 and also P.S. Elements 2, 3 & 4.
This Workflow for using Photoshop and Epson Printers is very similar to the one shown on the (now moribund) Epson Expert Site.
There are a few differences, which have been found to be improvements.
These principles will also work with other Makes of Photo Printers, but the Dialogue Screens and Choices Available will look different.
In particular, with Canon Printer Drivers it can be quite complicated to Turn Off the Printer Colour Management, but Canon has a downloadable PDF which explains all the Driver Settings, including how to do that.
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The very FIRST THING to do is to get all the Profiles you will need, if you do not already have them, and install them on your OPERATING SYSTEM.
Profiles will be in the following Folders:-
Windows 98 - Windows \ System \ Color Windows XP - Windows \ System 32 \ Spool \ Drivers \ Color
To determine what each Profile is for, right click on it and select "Properties" then "Profile Information" Tab. You will see the name of the piece of equipment, or name of the paper, or whatever, it is designed to be used with.
You will need
Monitor Profile
If you can not find this on the Manufacturers Website, then use either the Profile for a Generic P22 Monitor or the Profile for the Sony Trinitron P22, which will be very similar.
Media Specific Profiles
The Media Specific Profiles are for using Specific Paper in a Specific Printer Model using the Original Inks.
Epson Media Profiles are now installed at the same time as the Epson Printer Driver for Windows, and the Epson Europe Website no longer has the individual ICC Profiles available. It might be worthwhile trying Epson Australia - (http://tech.epson.com.au/downloads/ ) - or just download the Printer Driver complete with its Profiles.
If you are using paper from an Independant Maker, you might be able to download profiles from that Makers website, for that paper in your printer model, but they will not be available for every make or model of Printer.
Once you have obtained all the Profiles you need, and copied them into the Profile Folder on your system, then you can begin.
If no Media (Paper) Specific Profiles are available for your Model of Printer, you will have to stick to those Papers which Epson specify for your Printer, (See the Paper Packaging).
OR - You could have a Monitor & Printer Profiles created specially for your own system by someone like Stuart Little. See his website - - - - http://www.stuartlittle.info/
AND - You will need to do that if you are not using Original Inks.
All Profiles work with All Operating Systems ( even Apple Macs ) so any Profiles you need can be copied from anywhere you find them.
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CALIBRATE your MONITOR.
(These instructions are for CRT Monitors and may not work with Flat Panel Displays)
Wait until your Monitor has been on for at least 30 minutes.
Use the Controls on the Monitor itself to set the Colour Balance to 6500K.
Then go to "START" > "CONTROL PANEL" > "ADOBE GAMMA"
Sometimes when you are looking in the Profile lists in Photoshop for "My Monitor" you will need to change the File Types to "All Files". Most Profiles have 2 names. The 2nd name (or internal name) is often what Photoshop quotes. It can often be found in the Profile Properties under "Profile Description" Tag
If you can not adjust Monitor Colour Balance to 6500K, you will have major problems getting correct colour Prints. Adobe Gamma can - sort of - do it for you, (Set "Hardware white point" to 9300K and "Adjusted white point" to 6500K), but Screen Brightness will be greatly reduced.
Re-Calibrate your Monitor fairly often, and ALWAYS do so when the Room Lighting Conditions have changed, but wait till the Monitor has been ON for at least 30 minutes before doing so.
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You will now need to "Associate" that Profile with your Monitor.
Go to "Display Properties" > "Settings" > "Advanced" > "Colour Management" > "Add" Choose your newly named Monitor Profile, and set as "Default"
Go to the Windows Folder where The Profiles are, select your newly named Monitor Profile, and Right Click on it. Choose "Properties" > "Associated Device" and check that your Monitor Model is shown.
If not then "ADD" it and set as "Default".
You should only need to do this once, unless you change the name of your Monitor Profile. If you just Re-Calibrate it, the System will use the new settings.
WINDOWS will use those settings you made with the Monitor's controls for almost all Programs, so you will now get more realistic Colours all of the Time. BUT only Colour Managed Programs will be able to read the Monitor Profile.
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Setting Up Photoshop |
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"A" Go to "EDIT > "COLOUR SETTINGS" This Screen will appear.
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See Screen Shot "A"
(1) (Work Space Profile) - use drop down arrow and - Set to Adobe RGB.
The 4 Profiles above the Line are "Work Space Profiles" for Photoshop. These are the background profiles that it uses, while it is doing its calculations. It will adjust from its Working Space to your Monitor Profile to give you accurate colour on Screen, and to your Printer Profile to give accurate colour in your Prints.
There is not a great difference between sRGB and Adobe RGB, but Adobe RGB does give a slightly better Quality of Print, because it has a wider range (or Gamut) of Colours.
If you are using one of the newer Printers, (R1800 or 2400), with the newer Ink Sets, it might be worthwhile using Pro Photo as your Working Space, it has an even wider Gamut, and these new Inks come close to it.
When working for Email or Web use ensure Photoshop is re-set to sRGB.
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(2) (Work Space Profile) - Set to Grey Gamma 2.2
This is for Black and White Work if using a PC.
You are extremely unlikely to ever use CMYK or SPOT , so just leave them as they were.
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(3) Set all other tick boxes as shown in Screen Shot "A". Ensure "Desaturate Monitor" and "Blend" boxes are left Un-ticked.
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Getting Ready to Print. |
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Your Printer Driver and the Screens it shows may look different from these, but the basic principles will be the same.
You should still be able to make these choices, even if the format is different.
Do not get confused between Photoshop Print Dialogue Screens and your Printer Dialogue Screens. Learn which is which - the word "Epson" is a clue.
It is advisable to ensure that in "View" you do not have "Proof Colours" selected , so that the image on the screen does not show the "Proof" Version.
It is also advisable to check "Out of Gamut" Colours. A small amount is insignificant, but if important areas of the image are "Out of Gamut", then adjustments will be needed. "Brightness & Contrast" or "Levels" or "Curves" can help.
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When ready to Print. |
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Go to "File" > "Page Setup" > "Printer" > "Properties" This is the Epson Printer Driver Screen - See "C" below.
It is worthwhile to check the Epson Site to see if a more up to date version of the driver is available. Epson sometimes change Inks and issue new Drivers and Profiles.
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"C" Epson Printer Driver Dialogue Screen
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(6) Select the Type of Paper you will be printing on. And, of course, Colour Ink.
(7) Click on the "Custom" Radio Button
(8) Click on the "Advanced" Tab. The "Advanced Screen" "D" appears below.
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"D" Epson Printer Driver Dialogue Screens - Advanced Screen.
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(9) Select "No Colour Adjustment / Management"
Pick 720 or 1440 or 2880 DPI as you prefer.
"Microweave" - ON..
"High Speed", "Smooth Edge & "Finest Detail"- OFF.
The options available will vary according to your "Ink", " Paper Type" and "DPI" Selections.
The reason for the seemingly strange choice of "No Colour Adjustment", is to stop the Printer from doing any Colour Management.
Photoshop will be doing ALL the Colour Management.
It would not be sensible to have it done by both Photoshop and the Printer. Photoshop would make the adjustments for correct Printing, and then the Printer would apply another set of adjustments to the corrected figures, which would result in Incorrect Colour.
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There is also a way of only using the Printer to do the Colour Management, and stopping Photoshop from doing any Colour Management.
You must do it that way, if you can not get the Printer Colour Management to turn off. In Screen "E", "Print Space Profile" select "Printer Colour Management". Then make your Media and Print Quality choices in the Printer dialogues. Your printer may be able to use Media Specific Profiles if you select ICM in its dialogues, but that will vary from printer to printer.
The general opinion is that Photoshop is better at Colour Management than the Printer. |
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Once ready to Print. |
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Go to "File" > "Print with Preview" and the Photoshop Print Dialogue Screen as shown below will appear. |
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"E" Photoshop Print Dialogue Box
IGNORE any Colour Imbalance in the Preview Image, it is only accurate for size and position on the Page |
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Click on "Show More Options" to get the Full Info.
(10) Choose Colour Management. Before setting Colour Management up, you can stay in "Output" and choose "Borders" or whatever else you fancy, and then switch to Colour Management.
(11) Source - your Print's embedded or tagged Profile, which should be what you choose in "A" as your Working Space Profile. Ensure Radio Button is in Document.
(12) Print Space - which Profile Photoshop is going to use for the Printer. This is where YOU select the Print Profile. Click on the little arrow to see the full range available. The Profile showing here is for "Photo Paper", and needs to be changed to "Premium Glossy Photo Paper".
See below in "F",
where the correct Profile has been selected at (14). and clicking on it will put it into box (12)
"Intent" - choose relative colorimetric, as in screen shot "A". Tick use Black Point Compensation.
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"F" This Screen appears when you Click on the Drop down Arrow at (12) in "E" above. and shows a list of all Profiles on your Machine.
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(13) Is the General Printer Profile for a 1290 Printer. (14) Is the Paper Specific Profile for Epson Premium Glossy in a 1290 Printer
2nd from the bottom on the above list is Tetenal-HGS-264g_Epson 1290_P21.icc. This is the Profile for Tetenal Spectra Jet Paper for use in an Epson 1290 printer, which was downloaded from the Tetenal Website. Trying to use that paper with any of the Epson Profiles would produce inferior quality Prints.
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If you do not have Media (or Paper) Specific Profiles, you will need to select the General Printer Profile for your Printer Model, and use the Papers Specified for that Model by Epson. |
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Once you have chosen the correct Print Profile, and checked that the Paper is in the Printer, then Click on PRINT
Photoshop will now do the "Colour Management" for your Print using the Printer or Paper Profile and send that information to the Printer.
The Printer will then produce a Print, which should be almost identical to what you see on the Monitor, when "View" is set to "Proof Colours" for your Media Specific Profile.
Remember that the Printed Colours will change as the Print Dries, and that can take up to 15 hours. |
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If you are having any problems with this working routine, please Email Me. The most likely source of incorrect Colour is Monitor Calibration.
If anyone needs ICC Profiles, let me know. I may have them in my collection, and they are easy to Email.
For example - Generic P22 Monitor (for bog standard CRT monitors)
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