Print color - what am I doing wrong?

[Groucho]

Try printing some pure color bars and examining them under a magnifier. Other than that, new printheads are available for about $100 as I recall (try *that* with an Epson).

I wouldn't bother, my Epson cost all of about $70 or so. If I want "serious" printing done, I'll just take it to someone that has a "real" printer. It's not worth it for me, I do virtually no printing so it's far cheaper to do it ad hoc, and I'm not concerned enough about extremely precise color. (Still never calibrated my monitor, etc, and probably won't any time soon.)

 

[Anewman]

Black Point Correction Unchecked - No change
Converting to Adobe RGB before printing - No change
Turning off color management in Photoshop and letting the printer manage the color - Still with a magenta cast
Converting to sRGB and printing from another app - Still with a magenta cast

I'm pretty sure that it's a printer problem. Anyone got $1,200 they want to donate so I can get an Epson 3800?

I would send that exact file to a lab and see how it prints, that only costs 20 cents.

 

[manning]

Just a wild guess, when did you last calibrate your monitor?

 

[MarkBarbieri]

I would send that exact file to a lab and see how it prints, that only costs 20 cents.

I'll give it a try, but I'm not expecting much. I've seen the picture on several monitors and computers and the color never looks anything like the way it is printing.

Just a wild guess, when did you last calibrate your monitor?

I calibrated it just before I started working on my prints - last weekend. The calibration stays pretty stable on it.

I ran out of green and yellow ink while trying to deep clean. I've order some new inks. We'll see if that helps.

 

[Anewman]

I'll give it a try, but I'm not expecting much. I've seen the picture on several monitors and computers and the color never looks anything like the way it is printing.


I calibrated it just before I started working on my prints - last weekend. The calibration stays pretty stable on it.

I ran out of green and yellow ink while trying to deep clean. I've order some new inks. We'll see if that helps.

If calibration was off and you posted a sample here, it should look way off to us. If it looks good to everyone then it might not even be a color management issue, but more of a faulty printer issue.

 

[Renysmom]

Mark -

When you fix your problem want to come here and fix my I990 problem? All mine are printing darker than they are on the screen and I cannot figure out why.

I may have to breakdown and "break" this printer so i can get a new one and if I do I will probably get an Epson as well.

 

[manning]

Came across this on a search. maybe it will help.

http://forums.steves-digicams.com/forums/view_topic.php?id=101134&forum_id=56

It seems a few in that thread had the same problem.

Note the last post where the original poster finally solved the problem. He bought an Epson.

Someone was telling me that HP has come a long way with their printers. I guess they have a new line with individual tanks and using dye that is suppose to last a long time.

 

[Bumpy Grumpy]

I have been having the same "magenta" problem printing from Elements 4 to my Canon 950 printer. This has been so frustrating since I went for the higher priced printer because it was supposed to be great with photos.

I just read an article in the Adobe Photoshop Elements magazine. The bottom line is that if your monitor is not CRT you need a color adjustment "program" to achieve the right signals to the printer. The article mentioned Pantone huey color monitor calibrator and the Color vision Spyder2 Express. I just ordered the Spyder2 on Amazon since it was cheaper. Wish me luck, if this works I'll post the results.

Arlene

 

[MarkBarbieri]

I fixed the problem.

I did a test print using some patterns from Bill Atkinson's site. With that, it was obvious that the magenta cast was coming from the black ink. I suspect that the black ink in it was a couple of years old. I replaced all of the inks and it now looks OK.

It appears that the black ink starts to become magenta after it sits for a while. I wonder how much that occurs on the paper. I'm definitely going to switch to a pigment ink printer, but now I have the luxury of waiting until I feel like buying one.