To get accurate print colors, your printer must be profiled. Printer profiles, sometimes called ICC profiles, are required for each combination of printer, paper, and ink used. Profiling a printer for sublimation is a complex process and without the appropriate knowledge and skills, you may not achieve the desired results.
Since most people tend to use only one printer and the same ink, this means that you need a profile for each type of paper that you use.
The type of paper differs from each other by such parameters as the surface (glossy or matte), weight and other characteristics that can improve print quality and the original image. Usually you do not need to create a separate profile for paper of different sizes, but with the same parameters.
To do this, you need to print the file, called the test chart, onto the medium (paper or canvas) that you want to profile on your printer in a certain way, and then either using part of the selected equipment or using the remote profiling service, the printer profile is created and installed on your a computer. It is then placed in the various editing applications that you want to use.
The standard profiles that come with new printers are usually significantly inferior in quality and results to those profiles that are created when profiling the printer at home.
We will talk about these types of settings later in our article. There are several types of profiling that you need to consider in order to understand the essence of printer settings.
- Using a remote service.
- Setting up the printer using special programs.
- Profiling a printer with a scanner.
Using a remote service
Each type of profiling is used for each region of our country; this is more likely due to those who are used to doing this. For example, in Chelyabinsk, printer profiling predominates by analogy with a foreign one, using a remote service.
You can use the remote profiling service as follows, print a test chart, then send it to the company and they create a profile.
There are also paper suppliers who can provide you with free profiles if you buy paper from them. These profiles are completely different from the standard downloadable profiles, which are not so good.
Using the remote profiling service involves sending a test chart by email or on a CD test chart, usually a TIFF file, which you then print on your printer combination that you want to profile, with your printer configured in a certain way.
Then you send this listing and they look at the chart in their profiling software using a spectrophotometer and create a profile file (sometimes called an ICC profile), which is then sent back to you, and you install this file on your computer.
After that, this file is opened through your editing software and is used when you want to print your photos.
Also in Chelyabinsk, printer profiling can be ordered in other ways different from this, for example, by installing special software. The cost of such services, as a rule, in this region ranges from 1000 rubles and above.
Using special programs
There is equipment on the market that allows you to calibrate the printer, even if you use many different types of paper.
Typically, such profiling equipment is sold in combination with other equipment, and its cost can reach several hundred dollars. But if you have such equipment, then you do not need to look for a company or company to configure the printer, you can do it at home.
At the same time, home profiling of the printer using such programs will make professional settings for your equipment. But if you do not have such expensive programs, then in order for your photos and video files to look beautiful and professional when printed, you need to contact specialists and pay for this kind of service.
For example, printer profiling in Barnaul will cost from 1,500 rubles, while professional profiles for printing photos will be installed on your printer.
Profiling process in more detail
The first step is to print a test pattern.
When printing a test chart, you need to make sure that the color management settings are disabled in the software and in the printer properties.
In the settings / properties window of the printer / driver, select the closest match for the paper you are using.
In the color management settings, make sure that it is set to "No color settings." This can be found in different places on different printers. If you cannot see this setting, open the "Advanced" section, it may also be under the heading ICM. These settings should then be saved as a set of user settings, since you will need to use this option for all future printing when using a profile.
The image to be printed. Image of color squares that the spectrophotometer will read to create a profile. Actual location and number of colors will vary from one system to another.
Profile Creation
If you have your own spectrophotometer, then the software that comes with it will guide you through this process. If you use a remote profiling service, after printing the chart, you need to wait 30 minutes for it to dry, then pack it in an envelope and send it to the company, if you use mail to contact the company. You can also send the result by email.
Including a profile in a computer
When you have a profile, it will be in a file with the extension .ICC or .ICM. This file must be installed on your computer in a specific directory / folder. To do this, you will need to find the correct directory / folder, which are usually located in:
- Win PC Users - / System32 / Spool / Drivers / Color;
- MAC Users - / Library / Colorsync / Profiles.
Make a note of the file name, as you will need it for the next step.
Profile setting in software
Printer profiles are configured for each paper / ink combination that is used on the printer, and they must be installed in every software package that will be used to print images for all users on a Windows computer system.
In the software that you use to print your photos, you need to find color management settings that can be disabled in some packages, such as Capture NX2 or in the Print menu in other applications, such as Photoshop. In the "Printer Profile Settings", you need to select the profile name that you just installed. To be able to complete this part of the task, you may need to upload an image to access print settings.
Printer profiles are configured in the software. If you want to set your own printer settings, you must make sure that the “Manage Missing Color” checkbox is selected on the “Properties” tab.
When setting up the printer to print a test card, you can save the printer settings as a file (user settings). Performing this method will mean that all printouts will come out according to the printer profile installed in the software packages.
Using a printer profile
You now have your system installed to use your new printer profile, and you can accurately print your photos on your printer.
Edited image uploaded and ready to print. Choose File> Print. On the Color Management tab, use Color Management.
The default printer profile will initially be displayed, but using the drop-down list you can change it to the profile that you need for the specific type of image / media that you are going to use.
Next: print - go to the printer settings. Make sure that they are configured for user settings, and if you do not have them, make sure that it is installed in the “No color management” tab.
If you have more than one printer or paper type connected, and you live, for example, in Krasnodar, printer profiling will not be a problem for you, because there are many companies offering this service in your city. But if you still want to do it yourself, then check out the instructions below.
If you have more than one type of paper or multiple printers used to print photos, and therefore more than one printer profile, you must change the “Printer Profile” setting according to the type of media or device on which you intend to print, and therefore install necessary profile.
Therefore, remember: when you use the color management software for printing, you go to the printer’s own dialog box during the printing process. In this case, you need to make sure that it is set to "No color management", otherwise the colors will be wrong.
Printer Profile Through Scanner
A fact that is rarely mentioned by companies profiling a printer with a scanner is the importance of high-quality scanning of two color targets. Scan quality will affect the quality of your printer profile.
Since we use the scanner as a raw spectrophotometer to calibrate your printer, scanning two color targets should have two important characteristics:
Consistency is associated with adjusting scanner settings and color, so the device itself performs the most consistent scan. The quality of the scan depends on the software settings used in the scanner.
You can also use a digital camera instead of a scanner to calibrate the printer. But what is better: printer profiling with a scanner or digital camera, everyone chooses for himself. As they say, there are no comrades for the taste and color.
Scanners usually shoot targets better than digital cameras because they offer a more controlled (static) environment. In addition, due to the very large number of color patches on the target printer, alignment is critical.
This can be difficult if it is not possible to capture an image that is aligned well enough to accommodate the purpose of the printer. For this reason, it is not recommended to fix the printer targets with a digital camera.
Metamerism when profiling with a scanner
Metamerism is defined as a color change when viewing the same object under different types of light sources.
For example, you must have ever tried on clothing or fabric while looking at patterns in a retail store. At the same time, you liked everything in the store and perfectly suited, but when you came home and tried on it, you were surprised that the clothes that perfectly fit you in the store do not have the shade that is needed. The thing is that you have become a victim of metamerism.
Some types of lighting are good for evaluating colors, while other light sources are inherently poor. For example, sunlight is a very good light source for evaluating color. Fluorescent and incandescent lamps are examples of light sources that often cause metamerism due to poor illumination of the light spectrum.
All photographic materials are somewhat subject to metamerism. The worst of all are cold glow fluorescent lamps, used as light sources in most scanners. They can detect metamerism in print media because the scanner's light sources are not a full spectrum and do not provide a smooth coverage of the light spectrum.
Photographic materials used to create standard IT8 targets often shift toward magenta when illuminating the scanner. However, the target from your printer is unlikely to show the same color changes as the IT8 target, since it does not print with the same dyes as IT8.
In other words, when profiling a printer using a scanner, the reference target and the target of your printer may have different color shifts under the light source of your scanner.
Unfortunately, there is no way to measure the effect of metamerism to automatically compensate for it. You may find scans of various media, but the metamerism characteristics of these media will not be known.
Metamerism Correction
Fortunately, in some printer models there is a color bar consisting of several sliders that can edit the metamerism effect of already created printer profiles. To do this, you need to print the image and compare it with the original.
If the color spectrum of your printed image is similar to the original or does not differ from it, your profiled profiles will look neutral, and in this case the slider should be in the left position (by default).
If your printed subject has a distinct magenta in your profiles, then move the slider to the right to cancel the color change. Typically, setting a slider between the third and fifth marks is enough to remove visible color tones caused by metamerism in the profiles. In extreme cases, when there is a big difference in color shifts between the IT8 and the print target, you may find that the slider does not offer enough correction. In these cases, the red, green, and blue correction settings can be used for additional compensation.
Please note that since scanners are not able to capture spectral information, the settings you make regarding metamerism will depend on factors such as:
- the actual light source in the scanner,
- the light source that you plan to use for the displayed prints,
- differences in metamerism between the reference target and the print target.
Since we don’t have tools to measure how your printed images will look under different lighting conditions, compensating for metamerism using scanner-based profilers is more an art than a science, while most users are likely to be content with their profiles, even without considering the effects of color shifts under different light sources or trying to compensate for the metamerism of color targets.
Summarizing
When profiling an Epson L800 printer, problems such as yellowish images may occur. In this case, you need to make sure that the color correction is enabled in the device driver, which must be disabled when profiling the printer.
Nowadays, many companies offer printer profiling services in Yekaterinburg and other Russian cities. In this case, as a rule, preference is given to those companies that have worked well in this market of services.