True color printing

HELP...... I am suddenly unable to get true color prints from my components. I have a Dell monitor that is about 3 years old and an Epson Stylus Photo 2200 Printer that is about 8 years old. My prints have been accurate to the monitor until the last couple of days. Now the prints are much darker/brighter/ duller etc than the monitor. I have calibrated the monitor several times with a Pantone ColorPlus and when it is calibrated the color is far from normal. When I print, the print preview is much darker and more "contrasty" than the shot on the monitor. I have uninstalled the printer and loaded the updated drivers. Nothing helps.

Anybody ----is this a monitor problem or a printer problem????

I appreciate any ideas.. Thanks Merle

The print preview is not color-accurate so don't rely on it for proofing. It may be that you have a clogged nozzle. Try running 2-3 head cleaning cycles and see if this helps.

Guy

Guy, Thanks for the response. I ran the nozzle cleaner and also had to replace 3 ink cartridges that ran out during the cleaning. The prints of shots I have downloaded from my memory cards print fine. I have scanned in a bunch of old family photos with my Epson Perfection 4870 scanner for a family history project my wife is working on. The scanned prints are the ones I seem to be having trouble with. ie. A scan of our wedding photo was a little dark - I lightened it in Elements 5 and when it prints it looks like the original scan not the adjusted veresion on the monitor. Any ideas ?

Also, I don't understand why the monitor looks very dull and off color when I finish the calibration. I have to readjust it with out the calibrator to get the colors to come out even close to what my start page should look like.

Thanks Merle

You probably know this already, but cleaning cycles do not yield instant results, especially deep cleaning. I usually run a clean cycle, then wait at least 30 mins before running a nozzle check. I find I use a fraction of the ink this way, since what would have been a poor result had I done it immediately after cleaning generally looks perfect after a short wait.

Gene, No I didn't already know that. Thanks for the info. I'll give it a try later today when I get a chance. I still don't understand my monitor. When I calibrate it I set the contrast and brightness where the program tells me (my Luminance is normally around 120 and I adjust it down to 95 like the program says) and the screen is dull green and everything is flat and colorless. When I adjust the luminance back up the colors and shapes become sharp again. Think the monitor is giving up ???

Merle

Hi Merle,
Wow. You have several issues going on that can contribute to the problems you're having. The Pantone Colorplus is essentially a re-branded "Spyder" colorimeter made by Colorvision. This is notorious around the color management industry for not being a very good calibrator in general, but especially for LCD's. (Are you on an LCD?)

You are bringing in scans from a scanner, and that is introducing changes in color. If you are dealing with black & white images, these are going to be the most challenging subjects for both monitor profiles and printer profiles. (You may see problems with B&W that you don't see with your usual color images.) Using Elements, you don't have a true "soft-proof" function that would let you see on your screen what the printer profile will do to your image. (This is one reason to use Photoshop, even an older version.) If you could, this would give you some assurance that your printer profile is working okay, or not - and you could tell right away if it's a printer problem.

I'm confused by something: You say that the screen is dull, maybe low contrast, when you finish calibrating, and you turn the luminance up in order to get it to look right. But you say the resulting prints are then too dark and low contrast when they are printed. Do I have that right? It might be that the screen calibration is doing what it is supposed to, that is - showing you accurately your low-contrast scans.

Just some ideas.

-Pat Herold
Tech Support
Chromix, Inc.

Hey Pat, Thanks for your response. First off let me state that I am technically challenged !!!My youngest son (age 32) says I have trouble spelling IBM.

I am using an 3 yr old CRT and the calibrator I am using is a Pantone Colorvision Color Plus that is probably 6 yrs old. ( I know - buy a new one). The scans I am making are Old B&W shots from the 30's and 40's so the contrast isn't the best to begin with. Also some shots from the 60's and 70's that are polaroids etc. I am currently using Elements 5 but as soon as our house sells I am going to be upgrading to a MAC with Lightroom and hopefully PS.

Hopefully to clarify the calibrations I have been doing - I have a background on my opening that is the Greenbay Packers logo (go Pack) and I judge my screen clarity by the colors in the logo. After I calibrate, the green looks like dull army camo swamp moss and the gold is a very dull flat dark yellow. The calibration instructions call for a luminance of 80-95. My normal screen is 120 - when I dial it down to 95 is when it dulls and flattens everything out. If I open Elements it also is very dull and flat in every shot, including day old RAW, until I dial the luminence back up to around 120.

I have ordered a new LCD monitor and it should be here any day next week.

I don't know if any of these ramblings make sense to you - but I really do appreciate any insight and help into this area you can offer.

Merle

Thanks to all for the help. They delivered my new 22 inch LCD flat monitor yesterday. I finally got it set up and the difference in color and sharpness rendition is unbeliveable...I have completed several scans and the color is much better. Scans of old prints are still a challenge - but do able.

Merle