Prints Darker Than Monitor – Color Mgmt Problem?

Like many photographers out there who wish to have their inkjet prints match
what they see on their monitors, I have been having problems achieving this
goal. My new Lacie monitor is very bright (who knows…that might be the problem), and my photographs print darker than I would like. Black & white
prints are not as much of a problem, perhaps since it’s not as noticable. However, my color prints are noticably darker.

I have read numerous articles and books on color management, and I have put
together a workflow that should provide me with a successful print. I would
greatly appreciate it if the color management experts on this forum could read my Color Management Workflow below to see what might be causing this problem. Thanks. Ed

Lacie 319 LCD monitor profiled using the SpyderPro.
Windows XP Color Management tab correctly shows monitor profile.
Photoshop CS2 Print Preview Options:
— Color Management > Document: (Profile: Adobe RGB 1998) — Options:
—- Color Handling: Let Photoshop Determine Colors
—- Printer Profile: Red River UltraPro Gloss ICC profile —- Rendering Intent: Perceptual (also tried Relative Colormetric with no difference)
—- Black Point Compensation checked

Epson 4800 Printer Properties:
— Media Type: Premium Glossy Photo Paper
— Color
— Mode: Custom > Advanced:
—- Print Quality: 2880 dpi (also tried 1440 dpi with no difference) —- High Speed: Off
—- Finest Detail: checked (also tried unchecked with no difference) —- Printer Color Management: Off
—- Microweave: Super (changes with different dpi settings)

"Ed Perlstein" wrote in message

Like many photographers out there who wish to have their inkjet prints match
what they see on their monitors, I have been having problems achieving this
goal. My new Lacie monitor is very bright (who knows…that might be the problem), and my photographs print darker than I would like. Black & white
prints are not as much of a problem, perhaps since it’s not as noticable. However, my color prints are noticably darker.

I have read numerous articles and books on color management, and I have put
together a workflow that should provide me with a successful print. I would
greatly appreciate it if the color management experts on this forum could read my Color Management Workflow below to see what might be causing this problem. Thanks. Ed

Lacie 319 LCD monitor profiled using the SpyderPro.
Windows XP Color Management tab correctly shows monitor profile.
Photoshop CS2 Print Preview Options:
— Color Management > Document: (Profile: Adobe RGB 1998) — Options:
—- Color Handling: Let Photoshop Determine Colors
—- Printer Profile: Red River UltraPro Gloss ICC profile —- Rendering Intent: Perceptual (also tried Relative Colormetric with no
difference)
—- Black Point Compensation checked

Epson 4800 Printer Properties:
— Media Type: Premium Glossy Photo Paper
— Color
— Mode: Custom > Advanced:
—- Print Quality: 2880 dpi (also tried 1440 dpi with no difference) —- High Speed: Off
—- Finest Detail: checked (also tried unchecked with no difference) —- Printer Color Management: Off
—- Microweave: Super (changes with different dpi settings)

Although not recommended by Red River, try experimenting with different paper types. Plain paper will give the lightest image, and PGPP will give the darkest, since that paper uses less ink than the others. —

Mike Russell
www.curvemeister.com/forum/