Epson Stylus Photo R 800 dark prints

BK
Posted By
Basil_Katz_2
Dec 8, 2006
Views
700
Replies
6
Status
Closed
I have owned an Epson Photo Stylus R800 for a little over a year. Prints are always much too dark. I called Epson and they talked me through a battery of printer tests and checked all print and driver settings which were correct but test prints were again much too dark. They then suggested that I try to print the same image via Windows Fax and Photo Viewer and Microsoft Photo Editor, both prints were perfect and matched the monitor display. I called Adobe Expert Support; they concurred all settings and profiles were correct, and suggested alternative settings but to no avail. They are unable to suggest a remedy for the problem. Can anyone?

I am a reasonably-experienced Photoshop user, I have recalibrated my monitor, tried a wide variety settings in Photoshop. Consulted and followed recommended settings in several good Photoshop books. I use WindowsXP and Photoshop CS2

Can anyone assist me, thanks,
BK

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Y
YrbkMgr
Dec 8, 2006
BK,

both prints were perfect and matched the monitor display.

That points to color management. Those programs ignore embeded color information and if your prints match the monitor sans color management, your monitor profile is the most likely culprit.

In your shoes, my first step would be to march over to Ian Lyons’ site and spend 15 minutes on color management and monitor calibration. His no-nonsene approach makes it an easy read that has helped countless folks.

<http://www.computer-darkroom.com/ps9_colour/ps9_1.htm> Photoshop CS2 – Colour Management

Having said that, there are a few esoteric details that are worth considering that include media profiling. You can read about that at Ians site as well, but the following is the point I want to make:

For the Epson 1270/1280, Ian says that many users reported prints that were too dark, and he suggested that one can adjust the dot gain of the printer by choosing different media (media choice controls droplet size). In my case, with the 1280, I have found that using Photo Glossy Film, produces a far better match than the other settings. This is because the droplet size is smaller due to the expectation that less ink gets absorbed into the film than would with other media.

Your mileage may vary, but the symptoms you report suggest monitor calibration.

You might try an experiment where you turn off Color Management in Photoshop and see how that prints. My guess is it will be the same as your Microsoft tools. Note that turning color management off is not a permanent solution, it’s a test.
QP
Q_Photo
Dec 9, 2006
After seeing so many posts concerning the R800 & R1800 printing dark images I have to ask this question. If the file prints with correct colors but is simply too dark, why do you not make an adjustment curves or levels layer to lighten? While learning correct color management is certainly the only true answer to this problem, an adjustment layer is a reasonable work around.

Let’s face it, some people simply can’t grasp color management. Again, if the color is correct and only density is off, an adjustment layer that lightens should produce a fine print.

Just my thoughts and I know color management is the real answer.

Q
Y
YrbkMgr
Dec 9, 2006
I totally agree with you Q. Sometimes the issue is not color management, but the differences in color gamut. The gamut of the monitor v. gamut of the printer. Sometimes, you have to fudge.
QP
Q_Photo
Dec 10, 2006
Thanks Tony. I see that now there is even a newer post about this. Again, if the problem is only the print being too dark use an adjustment layer to lighten.

When COLORS are off now THAT is a problem that only color management is going to cure. And even then I have been known to fudge, as Tony said…

Q
Dec 12, 2006
I struggled with this also. To the folks that seem to think chanting "color management" is the answer – phooey. It is color management but not what you’re inferring. The trick is you have to do a soft proof setting the proof to your printer/paper profile, select simulate paper color, then use adjustment layers to make the print look like you want it to. So the simplistic answer of "add an adjustment layer" is correct but leaves it in the realm of guesswork. The soft proofing is the way to do it correctly and with color managent.
Regards,
Jon
C
Clyde
Jan 6, 2007
wrote:
I have owned an Epson Photo Stylus R800 for a little over a year. Prints are always much too dark. I called Epson and they talked me through a battery of printer tests and checked all print and driver settings which were correct but test prints were again much too dark. They then suggested that I try to print the same image via Windows Fax and Photo Viewer and Microsoft Photo Editor, both prints were perfect and matched the monitor display. I called Adobe Expert Support; they concurred all settings and profiles were correct, and suggested alternative settings but to no avail. They are unable to suggest a remedy for the problem. Can anyone?

I am a reasonably-experienced Photoshop user, I have recalibrated my monitor, tried a wide variety settings in Photoshop. Consulted and followed recommended settings in several good Photoshop books. I use WindowsXP and Photoshop CS2

Can anyone assist me, thanks,
BK

Your printer may be dying. Until last week I had a R800. Unlike most electronic equipment, it died slowly and a section at a time. First the CD position on the front tray wouldn’t switch to CD mode. Then… Well, after a few other parts quit, but didn’t kill the whole printer, The color started to go off.

I’ve been using my Spyder2 to calibrate my monitor for a long time. I only use papers that I could get good, proven profiles for. And I used all this for a long time with excellent results. I know color management and have written and trained people on it.

It’s just that pictures I had printed in the past would no longer print correctly. They mostly shifted to be too red. It was never completely consistent; sometimes it would print fine and other times it wouldn’t. Over time, the red shift got worse and more often.

As it got worse, I also noticed that it sometimes printed too dark at the same time. The red shift and darkness came to work more and more together. It finally got to the point that the printer was unusable. I either had to try for days to get a good print and used a ton of ink or I just couldn’t get a good print.

So, I tore the printer apart for the fun of it and dumped the parts in the trash.

I know this isn’t very logical. Digital electronics aren’t suppose to gradually change, fade, or fail. They are suppose to fail suddenly and completely. So, I suspected the driver. However, Epson hasn’t updated the driver in a long time and reinstalling that same one didn’t make any difference. My profiles haven’t changed either. Besides it did print correctly some of the time. A bad driver or profile shouldn’t do that either.

So, it doesn’t make any sense, but that’s what happened. I no longer have the R800. Yours may be dying too.

———————-

I was going to replace it with a HP B9180, but did some serious evaluation of my printing needs. I do some professional wedding and baby portrait photography, but I don’t advertise and the amount I do has been getting less and less. I am a full time salesman working out of my home. (Sales pays better than most pro photography businesses.) I figured that I could get pro labs to print my rare pro photo needs. What I needed for sales was a much cheaper and higher volume printer.

I got a Konica Minolta magicolor 2450 color laser printer. The 9600 dpi mode is good enough for the wife’s snapshots. It is actually a surprisingly good photo quality. It is also good enough as a proof printer for my photos. The gamut is very close to CMYK process printing, in fact they have a TOYO profile to match that process. That gamut isn’t the same as that R800, but it’s a much better proof printer for publishing. It’s good enough of a proof printer for sending to a lab too.

It also uses just one printer profile for all papers; it’s also spot every time. Those papers are a lot cheaper than any inkjet paper. The toner costs make it WAY cheaper to print than any inkjet. That is important for all the sales stuff I need to print in volume. Oh yeah, it never clogs the ink either.

You may ask what I print my personal photos on now. Alas, once you turn pro in photography or anything, it’s no longer a hobby. To be successful in any business you have to focus on ONLY what will make the business successful. You get to the point of never wanting to take a picture unless it has a business purpose. i.e. There is no such thing as personal photography any more with me. <sigh>

Clyde

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