CS3 - Printing in Color on the Epson 7800
jump to
Color Management: Photoshop : : : [color profiles] [soft proof] [adjustments]
Sharpening : : : [copy merged] [unsharp mask] [blending mode]
If you're familiar with this workflow in CS2, then you should know everything is in the same place, until you get to the Print Dialog Box.
Color Management : Photoshop (CS3)
Open up your file on any of the Dells in the studio, as the 7800 is a network printer.
If prompted to assign a profile, check “Discard the embedded profile (don’t color manage)” and click OK
Manually assign an RGB profile by doing the following:
Click on Edit > Assign Profile
Choose a profile that looks most like what you think looks the best (be sure Preview is checked). If there is already an embedded profile and you like it the best, skip to "Convert."
Convert the profile to the working space by doing the following:
Set print profiles by doing the following:
Now that you have worked with your color profile and set up a soft proof, you are free to edit (using adjustment layers, so as not to permanently lose data) for the best color, saturation, etc.
Throughout working, be sure that “Proof Colors” in the View menu is checked, so you will be making adjustments appropriate for the paper type.
Be sure there are no unwanted white or black lines along the border of your image; they give a false histogram reading and waste ink.
When you have edited and are satisfied with the look of your image, you will
want to sharpen it to preempt any blurring that might occur on the printer.
To accomplish this:
This pastes a copy of your image, merged with the adjustment curves, on top of the other layers. On this layer, you will apply the Unsharp Mask filter and make some changes to enhance the image’s sharpness.
To use Unsharp Mask successfully, use the following guide when deciding on your settings. These are just suggestions, not hard and fast rules:
ALL IMAGES:
Amount = 100%
Threshold = 4
60-100MB IMAGES:
Radius = 4 to 9
30MB IMAGES:
Radius = 2 to 5
1MB IMAGES:
Radius = .3 to 1.5
With the above guidelines in mind, then,
on your new layer:
On Layers palette, set the Blending Mode (default = Normal) to Luminosity
Set the Layer opacity to somewhere between 60 and 100% opacity.
On printer control panel
(the right side of printer) select “Sheet” as
paper source
Load your paper into the printer.
Choose the media type associated with your proof profile (ie PSPP is Premium Semigloss Photo Paper), and whether you want Color, Advanced B&W, or other setting.
Click "Advanced."
Under "Color Management," be sure the "Off (No Color Adjustment)" radio button is selected, as well as your preferences for Quality and Speed.
Sheet Paper Setup (Printing on roll paper?skip ahead)
Under the "Paper" tab, you'll find settings relevant to the paper size and source. Check your paper size carefully, as the printer will often spit out paper or stop in the middle of a job with a mismatched paper size.
For sheet paper:
Paper Source: Sheet
Size: Should match exactly the size you have. If in doubt, check the paper box!
Orientation: Can be set on Photoshop's Print dialog box as well.
Click OK when finished.
Printing on roll paper is identical to printing on sheet, with the exception being you need to set up a custom paper size according to which roll you are using.
NOTE: SAVE PAPER! Double up on your images if you can. You have a 14" roll to work with, try printing two images side by side by creating one large document!
On printer control panel (the right side of printer) select “Roll Auto
Cut” as paper source. Feed roll paper into the printer. The edge of the
sheet should line up with the white lines on the right and bottom of the
bed.
On the Paper tab:
Paper Source: Roll Paper.
Paper Size: choose "User Defined."
In the "User Defined" dialog box, you will enter the dimensions
Paper Width : width of the film/paper roll, in our case 14",
entered as "1400"
Paper Height : height of your image, plus about 1." The lowest
the printer will let us go is just over 7" (717).
Paper Size Name: something informative, ie "Roll 14x7"
Don't forget to hit "Save," then "OK"
CS3's New Print Dialog Box -- a closer look
The first column:
New: the "Match Print Colors" box that allows you to see your image soft proofed.
You may also uncheck “Center Image” in the position region and drag the image where you wish to conserve paper. Be sure that you leave a .2 inch border in both the top and left boxes.
The second column:
Click Print. A general Windows Print Dialog box appears:
Click "Print." You're printing!
About Profiling and Color Intent
When you choose between Perceptual and Relative Colorimetric, what are you
really doing? To put it simply, you are dictating to the printer or computer
how it should handle the shifts in color
palettes. When you convert to a profile, some of the information in the original
file might be lost. Here’s how different intents handle this:
Relative Colorimetric: deletes all colors which are not included in the output device color space.
Perceptual: moves colors that are outside the output device color space to analogous points inside the color space, which can flatten the image and destroy saturation to gain shape.
Saturation: best suited for synthetic images, as it maintains colors at all costs—you would never want to use Saturation on a photographic image.