Print preview screen doesn’t match CS image

J
Posted By
jackmacdonough
Jul 9, 2004
Views
371
Replies
1
Status
Closed
Suddenly my prints started looking slightly washed out. Then I noticed that the "print preview" screen was showing exactly what I was then getting from my epson 1270 printer, but the print preview screen rarely matched what was visible in the main image work space screen. It was lighter. Given that I never had difficulty in getting WYSIWYG before, I don’t know/ remember if the print preview screen matched the color of the main Adobe window/screen in the past. but it rarely does now. So the question is two fold: Is it espected that the two screens match, and if so how do I re-adjust to make it so?
In the interim, I am adding a curve level to darken my main screen enough that the preview screen shows what I want, hardly an elegant solution.
Jack
data:
OS 10.3, Mac G4, 750RAM, Apple cinema 22" epson 1270, Photoshop CS

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R
Ram
Jul 9, 2004
Jack,

The easiest question first. The image you see in Print Preview is not color managed at all; use it only for purposes of viewing the placing of the image on the paper. No, it’s not expected to match anything else.

To get accurate images and prints, you need a proper Color Managed workflow.

Begin by calibrating your monitor and saving the resulting accurate monitor profile, in Photoshop choose your Color Settings correctly, set your work space correctly too, and use Soft Preview to show you a close approximation of what you can expect on paper. This is easier said than done. It requires a lot of reading.

Fortunately there’s a wonderful resource to get you up and running. Click on the link below, read everything there and follow the instructions to the letter:

<http://www.gballard.net/nca.html>

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