Epson RX500 Dark Prints with a unexplainable RUB!

MS
Posted By
Michael_Smilowitz
Jun 30, 2004
Views
412
Replies
9
Status
Closed
The problem: Prints are overly dark when printed on an Epson RX500 on premium glossy paper with Photoshop CS (Windows XP Pro). Now here is the rub: After saving the psd file as a jpeg, and printing the same image with either Window’s Photo Editor, or with ArcSoft Photoexpression 5 (provided by Epson) the print LOOKS JUST FINE. Contrast is appropriate, and colors very nearly the same as on screen (which has been calibrated with Photocal). What’s been tried? Nearly everything (I am hoping there is something I haven’t tried yet that will remedy the problem). I have tried printing by setting the Epson driver to no color adjustment, as well as “Photo Enhance” and a variety of driver controlled print options. In CS, I have tried various print preview settings, including each of the rendering techniques; a variety of print space settings (such as “same as source”, and the Epson RX500 icm); and different source specifications. When print proofing is turned on with the Epson RX500 option, the image becomes quite dark. When “levels” is used to sufficiently lighten the image, contrasts (details) are washed out. I even tried the arcane “Transfer” function, with some, but not adequate success. I suppose I can get myself into the habit of always saving the image as a jpeg, and printing outside of CS, but that seems a violation of what is otherwise an outstanding piece of software. Does anyone know the incantation for solving this conundrum?

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L
LenHewitt
Jul 1, 2004
Michael,

Go over to http://www.computer-darkroom.com and spend 15 minutes or so having a good read at the tutorials on colour management
MS
Michael_Smilowitz
Jul 1, 2004
LenHewitt,

Computer-Darkroom is a very useful site, and it had provided lots of suggestions for me to try. But sadly, my implementation of its recommendations failed to work satisfactorily. What remains as most troubling is how the same image prints very well when it is saved to disk, and printed outside of Photoshop CS.
L
LenHewitt
Jul 1, 2004
Michael,

Either your colour management settings in Photoshop are wrong or the selections for colour management you are making when printing are wrong.
MS
Michael_Smilowitz
Jul 1, 2004
Yes … LenHewitt, you are right. My settings must be wrong. But I am wits end after trying every combination I can conceive.

Do you use the RX500? If so, what are your settings?
HK
Harron_K._Appleman
Jul 1, 2004
Michael,

Tell us your settings, and let the CM experts here advise you, OK?

After calibrating your monitor with PhotoCAL, did you replace the Adobe Gamma loader with the Colorvision profile loader? If so, you might have a look at this document:

<http://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/13252.htm>

=-= Harron =-=
L
LenHewitt
Jul 2, 2004
Do you use the RX500? <<

‘fraid not, Michael
MS
Michael_Smilowitz
Jul 3, 2004
Harron,

I recently reinstalled CS, thinking that along the course of trying every conceivable setting combination I might have made things worse. Currently, CS is at the default settings, and things are not any better.

Thanks for the tip regarding the article on Photocal. When I installed Photocal, I removed Adobe Gamma Manager from my system. I again removed it at the reinstall. I have set Photocal as the default color manager in the Windows settings box for screen properties.

….Michael
HK
Harron_K._Appleman
Jul 5, 2004
Michael,

When I installed Photocal, I removed Adobe Gamma Manager from my system. I again removed it at the reinstall.

Did you read the section on Adobe Gamma and Third-Party Monitor Calibration Utilities in the aforementioned tech document?

It’s OK to replace the Adobe Gamma Loader with a third-party profile loader (although I personally prefer to use the AG Loader instead of Colorvision’s loader).

It’s not OK to remove the Adobe Gamma control panel. If you’ve removed that and/or you have not loaded your custom monitor profile into the AG control panel as the document instructs, Photoshop might not be able to make correct use of your monitor profile. To quote from the document…

Note: After you remove Adobe Gamma Loader from the StartUp folder, Adobe Gamma is still available in the Control Panel, but its settings aren’t loaded when Windows starts. Photoshop continues to use Adobe Gamma to access the monitor profile you specified.

If you create a profile in a third-party monitor calibration utility, Adobe recommends that you load that profile in Adobe Gamma…

=-= Harron =-=
S
sgfan3
Jan 29, 2006
I want to remove the nearly new ink cartridges from my recently inoperable Epson RX500. I was able to do this on an earlier Epson but not this one. The printer will turn on but is otherwise inoperable. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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