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best workflow photoshop to printer?

Rockmeister

Rockmeister

pfm Member
Having some problems getting vibrant 'as on screen' results from the new canon P300.
I've tried a lot of settings, am using canon platinum glossy photopaper, tried both photoshop colour control and printer control with little difference but still am not getting quite the bite and vibrance that's on screen.
Any suggestions very welcomed!
 
When I used to print in-house I recall calibrating my monitor and then selecting the profile of my printer/paper in photoshop so what you see on the screen is what you get on the print (pretty much). Getting a decent print can be a bit of a long laborious process but when you get everything right it is very satisfying. I gave up though due to the volume of prints I needed and sent everything to the lab - still had to calibrate my monitor and use the labs profile though. Hopefully Lefty is about to offer some tips...
 
and the icc paper profile - it should be built in.

There won't be a complete overlap with colours on the screen and what the printer is able to produce - good software should be able to tell you. The print module in LR is ok for this.

Bear in mind also that not all colours can be reproduced in print. Pure single colours like a sodium street light or an old neon tube for example. So it isn't an exact science!

Photo printing with ICC profiles

Get the best photo printing results on your Canon printer every time, on any type of paper, using ICC profiles – here's all you need to know.
www.canon.co.uk www.canon.co.uk
 
I found I got much better results using Canon's Print Studio Pro Plug-In - this was recommended to me by a Canon Printer Technical Specialist at a show a few years ago.

Print Studio Pro - PIXMA Professional Photo Printers

Canon’s Print Studio Pro plug-in provides the perfect workflow link between your image and the finished printed product. This unique software is designed specifically for PIXMA professional printers and lets you achieve expert quality photo prints with ease.
www.canon.co.uk www.canon.co.uk

It can be a bit of a faff getting it working the PS, as you may have to manually move some files (depends on PS version) - Canon Forums help here.

But its soft-proofing IMO is much better, leading to much more consistent results.
 
Mr Perceptive said:
I found I got much better results using Canon's Print Studio Pro Plug-In - this was recommended to me by a Canon Printer Technical Specialist at a show a few years ago.

Print Studio Pro - PIXMA Professional Photo Printers

Canon’s Print Studio Pro plug-in provides the perfect workflow link between your image and the finished printed product. This unique software is designed specifically for PIXMA professional printers and lets you achieve expert quality photo prints with ease.
www.canon.co.uk www.canon.co.uk

It can be a bit of a faff getting it working the PS, as you may have to manually move some files (depends on PS version) - Canon Forums help here.

But its soft-proofing IMO is much better, leading to much more consistent results.
Click to expand...
Sadly not available for my new Mac operating system.

Thank for all the replies. How to calibrate an iMac?
 
1) you need to calibrate your monitor, but also need to bear in mind the lighting temperature, which you are going to view the prints in. If you are going to view your prints in daylight, then calibrate your screen at about 5000K and ensure that you view your prints at 5000K as well (e.g. Under a temperature controlled good light).
2) once you have got the monitor correct, you will then need to consider profiling each paper for your printer. You can get a generic .icc profile for each paper with your printer, but remember that this will only work with manufacturer inks.
3) if you want to get really serious, you will end up having to buy a much more expensive tool, which will allow you to profile paper as well as your screen.
 
Not really really serious, but just not disappointed with the output being so dull and flat. I’m using gloss paper with a pigment ink and read that matte should help? Later I’ll post a pic of a print and the original and see what everyone thinks. All the above profiling and etc is now done.
 
Rockmeister said:
Not really really serious, but just not disappointed with the output being so dull and flat. I’m using gloss paper with a pigment ink and read that matte should help? Later I’ll post a pic of a print and the original and see what everyone thinks. All the above profiling and etc is now done.
Click to expand...
Usually it's matte paper that looks duller/flatter, blacks not as deep/dark or colours not as saturated.
It's likely to be a calibration issue, though.
I don't have Photoshop installed at the moment but there used to be an option to preview what an image looked like when converted to a selected ICC profile.

If you're using a wide gamut ICC (e.x. Adobe RGB or ProPhoto RGB) then you could try converting a copy to sRGB or your printer/paper ICC, adjust to taste on screen and print a test image. But since you say you've properly setup the colorsync workflow it should be fine.
 
Rockmeister said:
Having some problems getting vibrant 'as on screen' results from the new canon P300.
Click to expand...
Also, when I changed from a matte screen to a much brighter glossy one I have found that printed images never look as flashy as they do on a Retina.
 
@Rockmeister what happens when you set the proofing profile to your printer/paper and then select Proof Colours (Cmd+Y)?
Does it look as dark as your prints?

If it does then test curve adjustments for gamma and contrast, also saturation/vibrance corrections could be made with the preview on, but always flip back and forth.

original.png
 
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