Epson 2400 prints much to dark

TM
Posted By
T_Moncrief
Jul 19, 2006
Views
582
Replies
17
Status
Closed
I have searched the forums for a solution to this and have not found a fix, so my apologies if I’ve missed it.

System: Powerbook G4 plus 20-inch Cinema Display (firewire), calibrated by Spyder2; Photoshop CS2 9.0.1; Epson 2400 with current Epson ICC profiles; Mac OS X 4.7

My colors and tones (from what I can see of them) look fine on paper (Epson Premium Luster), but the prints are always several "stops" darker than the screen. I have all my settings in agreement with the accepted standards (color management, profiles, etc.) but to no avail. I’ve even run a print from iPhoto with defaults just to see, and it looks just as dark. Epson has me running nozzle checks, etc. (which I had already done) and the printer looks fine by itself. I’ve had this problem since Day One, out of the box, and it persists through Mac and Adobe updates over the past six months.

Surely there’s a button somewhere I’ve neglected to push 😉
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R
Ram
Jul 19, 2006
Follow the instructions in the link below to the letter:

<http://www.gballard.net/nca.html>
TM
T_Moncrief
Jul 26, 2006
Yes, I’ve followed your instructions (several times) from a previous post. Color management or monitor profile does not seem to be the issue here. The Epson simply prints way too dark, and not just from Photoshop. I’ve just finished a round of instructions from Epson support (reloading drivers, etc.) and still the same prints. Was just wondering if anyone else had this issue between OS X 4 and Epson R2400.
RR
Rob_Rocke
Sep 14, 2006
I am having this exact same problem with prints coming out ~20% too dark, and have gotten nowhere so far with two long phone calls with epson tech support–they simply blame me or tell me to contact adobe!

I am using a calibrated monitor (gretag-macbeth "eye one") and os 10.4.7, and have had the problem with both an intel (17" imac)and ppc (12" powerbook) mac sending the same file to the printer (it looks fine onscreen on both lcd’s).

I am using epson’s own icc profiles, and have had the problem on several different epson glossy and semi-gloss papers…i also had the same problem with ilord galerie smooth pearl and ilford’s icc profiles .

I am using the "standard" recommended printing workflow with CS2 (9.0.1): print with preview, adobe (1998) color space, let photoshop determine colors, proper printer/paper icc profile selected, relative colormetric with black point compensation (same result with "perceptual"), and then color synch off in the epson driver, "best photo," high speed off, etc.

HELP!?
AS
Ann_Shelbourne
Sep 14, 2006
Are you using an LCD monitor?

And how have you calibrated it?

It seems that many people are inclined to set them to be too bright so all their Print and Press output then appears to be too dark.
RR
Rob_Rocke
Sep 14, 2006
Hi Ann: Yes, I’m using LCD’s, calibrated to 6500k with gamma 2.2 using an Eye-One Display 2 device. The images look fine onscreen, and in fact get a little LIGHTER, as expected, if I view a soft proof in PS CS2, but print out several stops too dark. I can try viewing them on a calibrated CRT here in one of the media labs, but I’m skeptical…
AS
Ann_Shelbourne
Sep 14, 2006
Let us know how it works on the CRT.
R
Ram
Sep 14, 2006
What are your Color Settings (Edit menu)?
RR
Rob_Rocke
Sep 14, 2006
Adobe (RGB 1998) for RGB
Gray Gamma 2.2 for Gray(scale)
I also have it ask for all profile mismatches.
AS
Ann_Shelbourne
Sep 14, 2006
And
Adobe ACE engine;
Relative Colorimetric;
Use Black Point Compensation ?
RR
Rob_Rocke
Sep 14, 2006
Yup!
: )
AS
Ann_Shelbourne
Sep 14, 2006
Can you try turning back just the "Brightness" Control of your monitor so that what you see on the screen looks more like what comes out of your Printer?
R
Ram
Sep 14, 2006
What paper? (Exact name.) What profile exactly?
RR
Rob_Rocke
Sep 15, 2006
I have had the problem with every Epson paper I’ve tried: (1) Premium Glossy paper (I have two different sets of profiles, one I think that was on the original install cd and one set that I downloaded from epson) using either "SPR2400 PremiumGlossy" or "SPR2400 PremGlsy Photo/BstPhoto/PhotoRPM" profile
(2) Premium Semigloss paper using either "SPR2400 PremiumSemigloss" or "SPR2400 PremSmgls Photo/BstPhoto/PhotoRPM" profile
(3) Premium Luster paper using either "SPR2400 PremiumLuster" or "SPR2400 PremLuster Photo/BstPhoto/PhotoRPM" profile
(4) I also had the same problem with Ilford Galerie Smooth Pearl paper using their "IGSPP9_E2400PSPPn_0705v04" profiles.
AS
Ann_Shelbourne
Sep 15, 2006
I think that this points to a problem with your Monitor Profiling and particularly with the Brightness setting.
RR
Reed_Reed
Sep 15, 2006
Rob,

Have you tried checking your set up with a "standard" test image containing an embedded profile such as the PDI image?

<http://www.webstir.com/color_management/PDITestImage.html>

This image will allo w you to check the general performance of your monitor and printer.

Load the PDI image. If it looks right on your monitor, you’ve probably got that profiled OK.

The PDI image is in Adobe 98 color space, so print it out using that as the source and your paper’s profile as the destination. If it’s OK, the problem is somewhere in your display system. If it’s dark, your printer is performing very diferently than all those profiles think it should.
RR
Rob_Rocke
Sep 28, 2006
update…i’ve now tried viewing several test images, including the PDI Test Image suggested here, and they look fine on all the monitors I’ve been using…i also tried viewing the images i’ve been trying to print (the ones that have printed quite dark!) on a few different calibrated CRT’s, and if anything the shadow detail look even a little lighter on them? finally, just yesterday, i viewed all those same images on a beautiful calibrated Color Edge 24" widescreen LCD and the shadow detail was fine there, too…HELP!?!?!?

p.s. I think it was this monitor:
<http://www.eizo.com/products/graphics/ce240w/index.asp>
AS
Ann_Shelbourne
Sep 28, 2006
In that case, it seems that you will need new "Custom" Profiles for the papers that you are using on your particular Epson.

Or you could turn down the brightness of your monitor to match the output from the Epson if all your files are destined to be printed on that machine.

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