help with printing

i got hold of a Spyder monitor calibration tool with which i calibrated my monitor for which it produced a profile but i also have profiles for all the papers i may use. my question is, when using photoshop to print, allowing photoshop to clour manage, how do i use these profiles do i set everything to monitor or paper profile or some other combination of the two? all answers in "printing for dummies" mode appreciated. thanks

I think the Spyder profile for the monitor is unconnected to any print profiles. Save that the colour you see on the monitor should be the same that is sent to the printer. The printer profile should then reproduce that colour on paper.

thanks for the reply Barrie, is that allowing the printer or photoshop to manage colour because if you use photoshop to print and manage colour ,which is how i want to print, you have to turn off the printer colour management ,so where does the paper profile get applied?

I don't use Photoshop but in Elements if use choose the programme to manage colour then you have the option to select a printer profile. So I would suppose your paper profile might appear in that selection.

Redbusa99

Once you have calibrated your monitor the images you see are as they should be. However, in relation to your prints other things need to be set correctly too.

Your White Balance will need to be right you can do this using a colour passport checker and the eye dropper tool in Photoshop or Lightroom.

If the paper you are printing on has a profile download it and place it in the photoshop profiles folder. You will then need to select this profile when you print on this specific paper. Let Photoshop handle colour, and make sure the printer profile is set to the paper profile you downloaded.

If you really want everything as good as you can get it, I would profile your printer too, I know if you can do this with the Spyder you have?

Without teaching you to suck eggs, cut up a few sheets into 5x7 and print a few tests, write on the back the exact settings and profiles you used for each print. You can then build up a mini library and work out which paper and profile looks best for the style of image you want.

Good printing and colour management is another skill relating to photography, I am still developing this myself, but I think making prints is something more people should do. The one thing with digital is that very few people make a photograph these days.

Regards

Fletcher8

thanks Fletcher8, the profiles are available in ps but would i assign profile to the image or convert to profile under the "edit" header, i assume whichever it would be done after processing. is this correct?

Redbusa99, Personally I would do all of the processing and assign the profile at the print stage, but thats my workflow preference.

Usually if the monitor is calibrated and your White Balance correct the profile will do a very good job. However, you may choose to tweak after the first test print, I also sometimes increase or decrease sharpness for printing. like i stated I am still developing my printing, but have now worked out which paper types to use for specific image types which is just personal taste.

thanks Fletcher8 once again, that has given me a far clearer understanding of what to do with these profiles and will put it into practice. i agree with you about printing, to me it is a great satisfaction taking the shot then working through to a mounted print and thinking "i did that", whether anyone else appreciates it or not is another matter, a bonus if they do.