Home printing....Again

Following on from my midweek post regarding High Street printers, I got two sets of 8 X 12 prints at a couple of places, was disappointed in the quality (subjective compared to ProAm).

Since I have, what is supposed to be a great printer (Epson R340) attached to my PC but never been happy with the output from any of my graphic packages I set out yesterday to solve the problems I have with this printer, was determined to get a solution that I could rely on no matter what it cost (within reason). Armed with my calibrated monitor (Huey) and a custom print profile I thought a few hours would see me with something I could depend on.

Well 15hrs and 10 sheets of Fuji A4 cut into A6 pieces I think I have it cracked, although I dug up a couple of surprises.

The first surprise I found is how Adobe and HP have suckered us Epson users, turns out CS2 & CS3 colour handling with the let PS control colour does not work with Epson printers, the prints are dark and have a heavy magenta cast, you have to set the print dialog to let Printer manage colours, bit of a bummer really as you lose a hell of a lot of control over the print and that costly printer profile is useless.

Follow this link for further info...........
http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx?14@@.3bc3ae4d/0

I followed these instructions and started testing using the Let Printer Manages Colours option, still no joy, dark/washed out colours depending on the print settings, got ready to give up totally and consign the printer to the bottom of the cupboard.

I had one last thing to try........I bought my genuine Epson cartridges from that auction site, but on reflection (it was a while ago) at the back of my mind I wondered if they were actually genuine, they certainly looked it...but...popped along to Comet and spent £45 on a new set of inks, proper Epson's in the plastic trays, yep the eBay ones are fake or very old past it stock.

Prints are now fabulous

buy epson or hannamule papers and epson inks directly from thier websites to get the best quality, with no chance of old/counterfeight products.

I use a mac and do use a profiled moniter, and have never had color problems, and therefore little reason to learn anything about troubleshooting color problems.....

I am always amazed at other folks problems with home printing, OK to be fair I have had my fair share of rejects but I think all this hype about colour profiles goes a little bit too far, my set up as folllows:

Epson Stylus R300, brand X continous ink system (printer and CIS. was just over £100 from a computer fair, I use both Epson Premium Photo Glossy and also brand X photo paper, I have also tried several varieties of Permajet and even ordinary art paper/card, results are probably about 95% to my satisfaction, I must also add that my monitor is NOT calibrated nor do I bother with profiles, yet my prints always seem to recieve good comments in competitions, I dont get as many winners as I would like but thats not down to printing
Will my prints last? probably not, but I can always run another off later

PS I have some Kodak glossy paper that is absolute Cr@p with my setup

I only print pictures at home when I need something in a hurry and it doesn't need to be perfect. I think the results I've had from good labs is far better, as is the longevity of the image.

here's a tip for home printers:
1)make a 13x19 print on inkjet watercolor or fine art paper. do not confine yourself to standard shapes!
2)use spray adhesive to glue it to another peice of (ordinary) watercolor or handmade paper. let dry under weight.
3)tear off the edges.
4)use white glue to glue it to another peice of ordinary water color paper. let dry and tear off edges.
5)repeat step four
6)press a 8x10 painters canvas (wood framed) to the center of the peice let it half dry. when half dry brush more white glue around edges of the peice to soften, flip it over and prop up the edges to create a concave bend to it and let dry 24 hrs.

brush or spray clearcoat or modge podge on sculpture to protect it.

you now have a photo that appears to be printed on a 3-d, paper mache' sculpture.

still think printing at home sucks?

I think a lot of the profiles/color space discussion is pointless. What I get off my Epson R2400 looks EXACTLY like my screen, and is considerably better than commercial prints from a local lab, using their scans as well as my own.

Nearly as bad is the obsession with bit-depth and file formats. If you send your files out, they'll almost certainly be converted to 8 bit, sRGB JPEGs before printing-and they'll look the same anyway.

Just recently i bought a home printer. generally speaking I ma happy but...
I use photoshop eelemnts 3 and I have found that with the Epson R265 I get a purple cast in dark areas eg on shadows and on landsapes with greens. I use the epson inks as supp;ied with the printer.

Any suggestions how to correct this?

Davem

I'd need more information-and maybe a file to see what's what.

hello redlm
thanks for your offer of help.

These are the three pictures that I have used.

I have printed from photoshop where they look ok.
camera ds
printer r265
epson inks
epson/kodak paper used
I have not changed any settings from default in photoshop or the printer
is there any other information you need

[/url]http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb316/davem_08/teesadale-quarry.jpg
http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb316/davem_08/ron.jpg
http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb316/davem_08/redcar.jpg[url]

davem

using the epson with the kodak paper would definately cause problems, unless you have icc profiles for that ink/paper combination.

what settings do you use for photoshop color handling?
what are your printer settings?
are you using the right paper settings in the printer set up?
have you tried printing directly off the printer buy sticking the card into the printer and unplugging the computer? (will tell you riht away if your problem is with the print heads or not...this test only works with epson ink and epson paper combos)

Further to Don's questions, are you running a PC or Mac? And have you run any kind of calibration on your screen?

Finally, a print head cleaning may be in order.