Matching monitor to printer colors

PB
Posted By
Peter Bloch
Aug 24, 2003
Views
440
Replies
3
Status
Closed
I have been using photoshop for years, and now have good equipment surrounding me, so I am to the point where I expect to be able to print images that match what I see on my monitor. But it doesn’t work, I need help!

What I am working with is a Mac G4 dual 1ghz, an Apple 17" flat display, and an Epson 2000P, usually printing on Premium Luster. I have full spectrum flourescent lighting over my desk.

I have tried recalibrating the monitor. I have tried lots of settings in the Proof Setup list, and I have tried turning Proof Colors on or off. I have tried various setups that make sense in the Color Settings in the Photoshop menu. And in the Print Preview window, I have tried lots and lots of settings in the Color Management section. I have tried putting in combinations of adjustments in the Espon Print Window, in the Color Management section

Sometimes the prints turn out too light, or two dark. Mostly they have lower contrast and lower saturation. I have kept notes on various combinations of settings and the results as compared to what I see on the screen. I have resorted to making guesses at makign my screen image too bright and saturated, so that the printed image will be what I want.

Can you give me any advice, or recommend a book or web site that deals with this in clear english. I can deal with device profiles and color space and whatever if it is not made too techie.

Thanks in advance, Peter Bloch

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JK
JP Kabala
Aug 24, 2003
Ben Willmore has some brilliant stuff on this in Photoshop Studio Techniques,
His color management chapters are filled with real usable info, no fluff, no filler, no
nonsense. I recommended this to a class recently and several folks said they had a hard
time finding it at the local Borders or Barnes & Noble, but there’s always Amazon or
you can order it thru him directly.

His website is http://www.digitalmastery.com/book/

"Peter Bloch" wrote in message
I have been using photoshop for years, and now have good equipment surrounding me, so I am to the point where I expect to be able to print images that match what I see on my monitor. But it doesn’t work, I need help!

What I am working with is a Mac G4 dual 1ghz, an Apple 17" flat display, and an Epson 2000P, usually printing on Premium Luster. I have full spectrum flourescent lighting over my desk.

I have tried recalibrating the monitor. I have tried lots of settings in the Proof Setup list, and I have tried turning Proof Colors on or off. I have tried various setups that make sense in the Color Settings in the Photoshop menu. And in the Print Preview window, I have tried lots and lots of settings in the Color Management section. I have tried putting in combinations of adjustments in the Espon Print Window, in the Color Management section

Sometimes the prints turn out too light, or two dark. Mostly they have lower contrast and lower saturation. I have kept notes on various combinations of settings and the results as compared to what I see on the screen. I have resorted to making guesses at makign my screen image too bright and saturated, so that the printed image will be what I want.

Can you give me any advice, or recommend a book or web site that deals with this in clear english. I can deal with device profiles and color space and whatever if it is not made too techie.

Thanks in advance, Peter Bloch

T
tony
Aug 25, 2003
Peter Bloch wrote:

I have been using photoshop for years, and now have good equipment surrounding me, so I am to the point where I expect to be able to print images that match what I see on my monitor. But it doesn’t work, I need help!
Snip….

Hi Peter

I recently upgraded to an LCD monitor and had similar problems, but by greatly reducing the screen contrast I have managed to get a reasonable match.

Also you may find playing with Adobe Gamma may help with matchnig colour temperatures.

I doubt if you’ll ever get prints and screen to match exactly, as the technologies are very different, but you should be able to get a reasonable approximation.

I think you should forget about playing with the print controls as the range of adjustments is more subtle and more useful for matching outputs on different papers.

Good luck!

TonyH

Note: Don’t bother using my email address – it’s a spoof to avoid spam.
G
gmcgeorge
Aug 27, 2003
I tried using a iMac G4 with the 17" LCD and had the same problems you’re having, both with the 2000P and a 2200. I even made custom screen profiles using the new Monaco Optix calibrator. In no case could I get it to produce even reasonable screen/print matches.

Calls to Monaco revealed the culprit to be the LCD, which they say is always problematic, but particularly so with Apple’s new digital screens. Apparently the reason they look so good is an increase in screen contrast, which the calibrator has difficulty measuring. Worse on an iMac, there’s no contrast control at all.

I finally sold the thing and went back to my trusty Wintel system & CRT which produces about as good a screen match as one could expect. I was really disappointed, because I really like Mac a lot but didn’t want to pay the $5k needed for a top of the line G4 (or now G5). I may try it again with a non-Apple CRT monitor.

Wish I could be more help, but just wanted to pass on my similar experiences.
"Peter Bloch" wrote in message
I have been using photoshop for years, and now have good equipment surrounding me, so I am to the point where I expect to be able to print images that match what I see on my monitor. But it doesn’t work, I need help!

What I am working with is a Mac G4 dual 1ghz, an Apple 17" flat display, and an Epson 2000P, usually printing on Premium Luster. I have full spectrum flourescent lighting over my desk.

I have tried recalibrating the monitor. I have tried lots of settings in the Proof Setup list, and I have tried turning Proof Colors on or off. I have tried various setups that make sense in the Color Settings in the Photoshop menu. And in the Print Preview window, I have tried lots and lots of settings in the Color Management section. I have tried putting in combinations of adjustments in the Espon Print Window, in the Color Management section

Sometimes the prints turn out too light, or two dark. Mostly they have lower contrast and lower saturation. I have kept notes on various combinations of settings and the results as compared to what I see on the screen. I have resorted to making guesses at makign my screen image too bright and saturated, so that the printed image will be what I want.

Can you give me any advice, or recommend a book or web site that deals with this in clear english. I can deal with device profiles and color space and whatever if it is not made too techie.

Thanks in advance, Peter Bloch

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