Hi,
I got an older TN panel monitor which I have calibrated with a Spyder 5 Express. Being very new to printing, I am having trouble with understanding if I should select the color profile of my monitor when printing or something else?
Hi,
When printing and managing color from DPL, you should select the ICC profile corresponding to the printer/paper pair that you are using. These profiles can generally be downloaded from the paper manufacturer’s site (you can also create your own printing profile for each paper you’re using by calibrating your printer but usually, the profiles provided by the paper manufacturer are enough). If you can’t find such a profile, select “Managed by the printer” and make the color adjustments in the printer driver dialog box according to the paper manufacturer’s recommendations.
1 Like
Needless to say that the display profile has absolutely nothing to do in the process.
1 Like
If you tell me what printer and what paper you’re using, I could show you how to proceed.
1 Like
I am currently using Epsons Premium Glossy photo paper, the 4"x6" (10x15 cm) and the A4 size. None of the Epson paper profiles is showing up when I select color profile under “Managed by DxO PL”, but they do exsist when I go into printer properties and select them directly from the printer settings. My printer is an Epson ET-2650, if that helps?
As explained above, when you select “Managed by DxO Photolab”, you have to provide an ICC profile that is specific to the printer/paper pair. Once downloaded, this ICC file should be installed in (copied to) C:\Windows\System32\spool\drivers\color (assuming Windows). I don’t think that such a profile exists for the ET-2650 which is not considered a “photo” printer but an office printer.
In this case, tweaking the printing process with an ICC profile wouldn’t help very much. So, you should select “Managed by the printer”, then select the relevant paper in the printer driver dialog and make additional adjustments if needed (see the notice in the packaging of your paper).
1 Like
Theoretically, you could create an ICC profile for the ET-2650 / Premium Glossy Photo Paper pair but you’ll need a printer calibration device and a standardized printer calibration target. This would cost you more than the price of your current printer. If you are a member of a photo club, you could probably borrow these devices (or maybe you have a friend who owns such devices). Creating a customized ICC profile will be useful only if using the printer driver and the recommended settings results in colors that are totally off.
1 Like
I am mostly happy with the result of the colors in the prints, other than that they come out a bit darker then what I see on the screen. I guess this can be edited in the printer settings to get close to what I see on screen. As I am on a tight budget, buying calibration hardware sadly won’t be an option nor do I know of anyone that has got one.
I’ve not been able to find a ICC profile for my printer, but as you say this is probably for the fact that the printer is not really a “photo” printer, I am gonna continue to try to figure out how to get the possible best result from what I got.
Thanks for the help Pat91, it’s helped me clear up some of the things I was wondering about.
I’ve been able to get a better print on my Epson Et-2650, or at least closer to what I see on my screen by going to "printer properties, “more options”, then under “color corrections”, select “custom” and click the “advanced” button which brings up a new window. From there, select “color controls” and from the drop-down box, select “Adobe rgb” and then choose “gamma 2.2”.
Hope that will help anyone that has a similar printer. Just remember to save your printer preset so you don’t have to do this manually each time.