i9900 - Color Matching / Profiles

[muzicman82]

I need some help!

I have an i9900, being used with Red River Paper and MIS Inks (www.inksupply.com). The combination is usually top notch and I typically never have any problems.

I'm printing from Adobe Illustrator CS4, and the colors are WAY off. From what I can tell, the ink tanks are fine. If I turn on the option to print color bars under Marks and Bleed, those bars look dead on. However, a 60% K gray is printing more of a maroon brown than a shade of gray. What's going on?

I've set Illustrator to manage color, set it to the profile for the Red River Paper I am using, and disabled ICM in the printer driver. No luck.

I've done several ink cleaning cycles and printed nozzle test patterns and everything looks good. I don't get it!

I tried a lab test print from Photoshop CS4, and the same thing happens... all black/gray shades are printing brownish.

I filled up a new Photo Black ink tank with a new blank cartridge and I get the same results. Its a relatively new/full bottle of ink too.

Any ideas??

Can anyone point me to some test prints that have exact color values for getting solid shades of the 8 colors in this printer?

 

[Grandad35]

muzicman82,

This post describes the settings needed to print with custom profiles from Photoshop. It is easy to "double profile" if everything isn't set correctly. Personally, I use Qimage as it is also color managed and much easier to use for batch printing (not to mention its uprezzing and "sharpen for printing" capabilities).

Where did you get the profile for your paper? Make sure that you use exactly the same printer driver settings used to generate the profile (they should be listed where you got the profile).

I wish that there was a way to have the printer use only one ink at a time, but the printer only accepts RGB values and its internal RIP decides which inks to use to get that color. This post describes how to generate a "Service Test Print" that prints (small versions of) 7 of the 8 color bars that you want.

 

[muzicman82]

Red River Paper provides profiles for specific papers for specific printers. I do realize that these were probably made using Canon brand ink, but ink isn't off that much.

That post with instructions are same procedures I have followed.

I don't know. I've ordered a new printhead, new blanks, and some new ink and I will start from scratch.

 

[Grandad35]

You might want to try printing this image (http://www.nifty-stuff.com/img/getimg/Fade_Test_Chart.jpg), paying special attention to the white-->black gradients. Your "60%K gray" uses a mixture of C/M/Y, not black ink. This is demonstrated quite well in this FAQ.

If a paper is slow to absorb ink, heavy ink loads will cause a "brown puddle" look. If this is the case, the lighter grays on the gradients will be OK, then they will suddenly go brown on the darker grays. If you see this, try another paper.

Getting neutral grays from C/M/Y inks is probably the greatest challenge in operating a printer. The RIP in the printer is designed specifically to work with the OEM inkset, and any deviation in the ink colors will cause a noticeable shift in the grays. I have worked with several different non-OEM ink sets (both refilled and in prefilled carts), and all of them had distinct color casts in the grays before a custom printer profile was generated for that inkset and paper. If you have the same problem after "starting over", you might want to consider a custom profile.

You have probably already checked this, but could you have cross-contamination of your inks?

 

[muzicman82]

Thanks. I'll see what happens when I start over. I've been using this paper for over 6 years with no problem with refilled inks.

How might I go about creating a profile?

I've been thinking about getting a Pantone ColorMunki. It seems to be the most affordable printer/monitor calibration device out there. Thoughts?

 

[Grandad35]

How might I go about creating a profile?

The easiest and least expensive way is to have one or two profiles generated is to use a service with top-of-the-line equipment (e.g. http://www.cathysprofiles.com/). It isn't clear where you are located, so you might want to look for someone closer to you. I believe that Smile (on this forum) also provides such services, and that he is located in Europe. The low cost solutions like the one that you mentioned are far better than having no profile at all, but if you are interested in getting truly accurate colors, it's hard to beat a profile generated by a professional.

When figuring the cost of having your own system, don't forget that these devices are sensitive instruments that should be periodically recalibrated (not a free service). Several months ago, my spectro failed to standardize, and it cost several hundred dollars to have it fixed - just something to think about. You might want to consider a lower cost device that just calibrates your monitors and have your profiles generated for you.

 

[muzicman82]

I'm going to go ahead and get a Pantone ColorMunki Design. I get 20% for being a NAPP Member, plus there's a $50 rebate for trading up from a Huey. It's worth a shot... besides, $350 is a dang good price for one.