Color management with RGB?

[KellyT]

Hi All,

I'm running Epson 11880 printers and have recently noticed color shifts. I'm also having a de-saturation issue where randomly, images come out of the printer very flat and dull, even when the proper print settings / paper profiles are used. I'm only printing RGB files using the Epson driver through Photoshop. Does anyone use a RIP that works well with RGB files? I'm also experimenting with re-linearization targets in Profile Maker. Does anyone have any suggestions of the proper way to manage these printers?

 

[Ian Mackenzie]

Printer drift can best be addressed through recalibration using a RIP. Using Profilemaker will alter the ICC profile but will not necessarily bring the printer output back to it’s original state. It will simply modify the profile to represent the condition that the printer has drifted to. A RIP has a much better chance or maintaining the output state of the printer and ensuring consistent output. Many RIPs also provide numerical feedback so you can monitor just how much drift you are experiencing and alert you when you may have a problem with the printer itself.

As to the desaturation issue, I’d check every setting in the driver and the printer itself to make sure nothing is changing. Is it possible that the Rendering Intent is different from print to print? How about embedded vs. no embedded profiles? Black point compensation on or off? Media settings different? These would be some of the more common reasons for differences in output.

as for RIPs for the 11880....

EFI, Onyx, Colorburst will all do a great job.
Please let me know if you need any more info.

 

[encompus]

I agree with Ian. Epson print heads are very consistent. Most likely there is something changing your settings. If your running Windows this happens often. I double and triple check the settings always!

Marc

 

[Ian Mackenzie]

RIP for 11880

RIP for 11880

kelly,

your next decision will then take you to the world of RIPs.
not to worry, you will make a good decision - without too much aggravation - if you limit your selection process to those RIPs with which Epson seems to work best.

You could spend 6 months looking into 10+ choices from 5 different dealers and "Color Management Gurus". This whole process has been greatly simplified over the last 2-3 years.

Epson's two "OEM" partners are EFI and Colorburst.
The other logical choice is Onyx.
Posterjet, CGS, GMG, Kodak, Colorgate, Wasatch, SAi, etc.......see what I mean? These are the others.

do any of your current staff already have experience with a RIP.
while the RIP itself will cost between $1-2K (to drive a single printer), the hidden cost is in installation, profiling and "training" which usually consists of some genius coming in and setting up a complicated workflow that requires you to pay HIM $2k/mo. to maintain your system for you with regular visits, etc......we see it all the time.

what really drives sales like this is the M-E-D-I-A.......
leverage what you spend on paper into "favors" for RIPS, etc. heck, you said 11880s....plural. that means RC, matte paper at 64" widths!!

how many rolls/mo. of paper do you use?
that will dictate how good of a deal you will get on RIP.

(btw, and with full disclosure, we install fleets of printers and RIPs and also train the dealers on RIP installs. we also operate an inkjet paper converting facility.)

 

[Robt]

Colour shift with Epson printer

Colour shift with Epson printer

I was recently proofing with an Epson 4880 driven by CGS Oris Color Tuner when the light cyan ink cartridge ran out, which I duly replaced. I was checking each proof with Certified Proof software and found that after a further 4 proofs there was a 3.5 dE jump in the cyan. I can only presume that the new ink had worked its way through the ink system and that the new ink was sufficiently different to give me the colour shift.

The expiry date on the empty cart was Feb 2010 and the new one was June 2010.

Rob

 

[ColorGeek]

Everything that Marc and Ian mentioned are correct and good advise. I just wanted to point out specifically one common mistake that I see quite often. Make sure you are specifying your color management settings, profiles and such, in Photoshop and make sure you turn off "Match print colors" option. This will cause exactly what you describe. Also, then make sure to turn color management "OFF" in the Epson print driver.