CS3 - Printing in Color on the Epson 7800
Done tweaking in Photoshop? Ready to print?
Follow these steps to ensure your print resembles what you've got on screen!
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Color Management: Photoshop : : : [soft proof] [adjustments]
Sharpening : : : [copy merged] [unsharp mask] [blending mode]
Color Management : Photoshop (CS3)
With few exceptions, you should be using the sRGB IEC61966-2.1 color space. You can verify this by showing the Document Profile in the document window of Photoshop.
You will change your color profile later on in the print workflow.
A "soft proof" is a sort of sneak-preview; Photoshop gives you to get a ballpark idea of how your file will print on a certain printer paired with a certain paper. Different inksets and paper types can really affect how your print looks, and mistakes are expensive and time-consuming.
To set up a soft proof:
Now that you have set up a soft proof, you may be seeing some subtle differences in your image as it is displayed on-screen. Use adjustment layers to correct shifts in tone, curves, or hue.
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:
You will perform sharpening on this new layer.
To perform the actual sharpening, you'll use Photoshop's "Unsharp Mask" filter, located in Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask:
Make sure that "Preview" is clicked, and you have a detailed area in the Preview window to judge the level of sharpening:
For success in Unsharp Mask, use the following guidelines (not hard and fast rules) when sharpening:
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
On Layers palette, set the Blending Mode (default = Normal) to Luminosity, then set the Layer opacity to somewhere between 60 and 100% opacity -- use your judgement.
To give the printer a file that has a similar color space (sort of like speaking the same color language), convert your file's color space from Adobe RGB (1998) to sRGB IEC61966-2.1. Locate the Convert to Profile under Edit > Convert to Profile:
In Photoshop, click File > Print (CMD-P). The Print dialog box appears:
In Color Management / Print area:
Click "Print..." This does not actually PRINT your document, it simply launches Epson's printer software.
Epson Print Drivers
Click the triangle next to the Printer name to get a larger dialog box. In the center of the dialog, click the drop down that currently displays "Layout." You will be changing settings in:
Print Settings
Printer Color Management
In Print Settings:
In Printer Color Management:
You can save these settings under "Presets" so you don't have to bother with them every time. Choose "Save As..." from the Preset menu and follow the prompts:
Next time, you can choose "Premium Luster 7800" from the drop down list.
On printer control panel
(the right side of printer) select “Sheet” as
paper source
Load your paper into the printer.
Back at your machine, click "Print"