Photolab not using the printer properties as set in Windows

DxO PhotoLab
1

Hi,

I use a Mitsubishi CP-70D dye-sub printer to print at events. I have used it for years, and have typically used Exposure X6 as my editing app of choice at events due to the speed that application works at. However, I really miss the image quality that Photolab can produce (Exposure is not a match for it), along with the ability to really quickly drop in a control point or two to enhance specific areas of the image.

So I ran my test image through Photolab, turned off all corrections to the image and printed it. The colours did not match those on the reference print I have from a pro lab, nor the print I get from Exposure.

I dug into the menus and realised that Photolab is not using the printer settings that I have set as the default for the CP-70D. Each time I print a different image the quality setting has been reduced to the lowest quality and the colour profile for the printer has been disabled.

Photolab is the only app to do this. I have tested with Exposure and Affinity Photo and they both will print with the settings I apply within Windows printer settings.

This video demonstrates everything:
https://vimeo.com/686864286/3a799526ad

To me this seems like a bug within Photolab. However, if anyone has a solution then I’d love to hear.

The option to go into the printer settings and set them to the ones I need for each and every print is absolutely not an option. At a busy event I’ll be printing hundreds of different images a day, there simply isn’t time to adjust the settings constantly.

2

The print module is really old and was due to be replaced years ago but as with other things dropped off the to do list. Many of us have given up with it and print through other programs to bypass its weaknesses, I use Affinity. I use tha Epson Windowes settings settings in Affinity and befor giving up with the PL problems they did work in that.

3

@John7 Thanks for the reply. It is sad to read that something as mainstay (edit, that should probably read ‘fundamental’) as the print module in a professional photo editing application is (seemingly) not fit for purpose.

I have to admit, I really, really didn’t see this curve ball coming!

Editing in PL, exporting and then printing via a different app is definitely not an option for the events I attend, simply too time consuming.

:frowning:

4

The problems I had was lack of soft profing and the print sizing was off, many of us find you have to create odd sized margins to get them to print evenly. The print modul was said to be going to be redone years ago but other things had more priority and it’s never happened.

5

Yes, printing without softproof is a no-go.