Accurate colours when printing

I'm a very new user of digital technology, having bought an Optio 550 last week. The camera is a revelation (although I wont be trading in my MZ-5N or ME Super just yet). However, when it comes to printing off any images, I find that the colours of the printed image don't match the colours captured by the camera or the computer. What needs adjusting, and how, to enable the prints to match the colours of the original image. Any help would be appreciated.

It is possible to obtain a sensor that will measure the output of the monitor and calibrate it, but we are talking expense!

Secondly, someone advertises a CD with print that you can use to correct overall colour casts in the print. The idea is that a standard print is supplied and you make adjustments until you can produce the same on your system.

Or you can do what we do - correct by trial and error until happy! Actually, there are simple areas to look at. I suggest you always use the proper inks for your printer - cheap refills are a common source of dissatisfaction. Then try different papers until you find one that complements the ink set. Then final adjustments can be made in Photoshop to correct casts on the prints. We often have to correct for a slight magenta bias, but very much less so on some papers.

Finally, check the whitebalance setting in the camera to make sure it matches the light source. For example, if you shot pictures under fluorescent lighting without correction you might well get a greenish cast.

Thank you for such a prompt reply.

It looks as though I will have to experiment with ink and paper as the image on the computer screen accurately shows the colours as they were recorded by the camera. I've had a play around with the imaging software (ACDSee came packaged with the camera) but if the computer screen shows the image is as I would wish the print to turn out, and yet the resulting print has very muted colours, maybe it is an ink/paper issue.

Colin,

First thing - you must calibrate your monitor otherwise whatever you see will be "off". You can get free software from: www.praxisoft.com - just download the WiziWyg program - http://www.praxisoft.com/pages/products.wiziwyg.html. You can purchase it with a "spider" attachment that reads the colours automatically, or download the software alone. The manual setup is not difficult, and is the only one I use for calibrating LCD/TFT monitors (and I dispense with the Adobe gamma correction utility - because it does not support LCDs).

Personally, I find that is enough. The Epson Stylus Photo printers that I use all give very pleasing results. In addition, emailing to Jessops for real prints yields the same results I see on screen.

That said, though, you can go ahead and calibrate your scanners, your printers and everything else using WiziWyg.

Regarding printers, make sure you are using the original ink cartridges too and decent papers. Some papers (like the Ilford range) specify adjustments for Epson printers (e.g. -5 on Magenta) to correct further. It's all in the small print.

Colour matching is a big field (some of it seemingly "black art"). However, once your monitor is setup correctly, almost everything else falls into place

Let us know how you get on
Matt

apple cloursync or icm/c should be selected when printing and relative colemetric if available in printing options

Matt

Thank you for your reply. I've been impressed with the speed with which my question has been read, and the swift response. The Pentax forum is a great resource for those queries not covered by the camera handbook.

I've downloaded the Praxisoft wiziwyg but can only assume from the lack of difference that it has made to my prints that the problem must lie in the use of compatible rather than original ink cartridges. So it's off to the shop tomorrow to purchase an appropriate cartridge and see what effect that has.

In the meantime, I'm glad I've not let my film cameras go - long live Velvia!

Colin