Poor quality prints from photoshop?

[liam80]

hey guys here's the thing.......

I'm using PS elements 8 and have edited multiple images that are ripe for printing,i have followed a guide step by step on how to set up for printing but the results are just terrible.

the printer is canon ip5200 and works exceptionaly well however in elements no matter what combination of options i use it ALWAYS prints with a white border on photopaper and i've tried multiple options within elements itself and the canon printer set up page.

the second issue is the print quality.... it's dull lifeless washed out you name it the shots look awfull,i have resorted to printing the images from the basic windows image viewer which prints full page,sharpens the image and is much more vibrant and clear even visitors have commented on the difference.

How can can this be? i really must be missing something as many websites state 'pros print from photoshop'?????

any advice gratefully recieved

[matt wilson]

could be one of a number of things .

conflicting profiles is photoshop managing colours or the printer ?

are you set up for adobe RGB s RGB.

How is the camera set up to shoot.

To be honest I rate Canon's printers and inks .Use their programme and you will get the consistency you want.

Unless your monitor profile is way off as what you see on the monitor is not always what you get.

if you really want to print from photoshop it's important to select the check box (photoshop manages colours ) in the print options section.

Windows help files give a decent guide about colour management and printing .

It sounds to me as though the two progs are conflicting though trying to explain is hard without the pc and printer in front of me .

[liam80]

thanks for the reply

in answer to the query above i'm all set both in camera and ps8 for adobe 1998 colour spec to handle things and even use the icc profile for the canon paper i use (even tried all of them),monititor is calibrated and 'looks' identicle in both programs so i print one after the other and windows does a a far superior job. I don't mind using windows at all if it does the job but sooo many people turn their nose up if it's not 'the proper way' just thought i may be missing something radical quality wise but from the results i'm getting just not true

[Forseti]

OK, well firstly my personal recommendation would be NOT to set Adobe RGB (1998) in-camera as this more often than not produces a much duller image as your handbook will confirm. Far better to set sRGB as the colour profile for your images and this of course only applies to JPG images as raw images do not have a colour profile assigned to them.

Secondly, unless you're using one of the top of the range e.g. mega expensive monitors then I'd also advice you to set sRGB as the working space in Elements. Most run-of-the-mill monitors are not capable of displaying a wider gamut than this anyway.

Thirdly, as you've said that you are using a calibrated and profiled monitor, are using Canon papers and inks in addition to using the correct icc profiles for the chosen paper then I would tend to agree with Matt when he points to conflicting profiles or, to be more precise, conflicting colour management between the application and the printer. It is important when setting up the printer to decide whether you want Elements to manage the colour output or the printer - you can't have both as this leads to conflicts and is very often the cause of many printing problems.

I do not use the same Canon model of printer as you although that said, the set up is pretty much the same with all Canon models. What you should locate and ensure is being deactivated is ICM. On my particular model of printer it is to be found by selecting printer properties > Main tab > Print Quality > Colour/Intensity > Manual > Set and then by selecting None. If you deactivate ICM from within Elements as part of the printing process then this allows Elements to manage the colour and not the printer itself. You can of course choose to let the printer manage the colour output which is in effect what you are doing by printing from within Windows which uses the printers default settings with ICM enabled.

Under the circumstances this would be my first point of investigation as the problems sounds very much to be a conflict of colour management. Best of luck.

[KeithT]

I agree with Forseti who has set out very suscinctly possible reasons for your dilema. Many moons ago, when on the other, now defunct DCM forum, I was advised to use sRGB by one of the members. To be honest, I have never looked back. Larger gamuts require more knowledge concerning colour management and as most people like us non pros are using monitors that are sRGB oriented I truly don't see the point of using wider gamut formats, just because that's what people say you should use. If you are using wider gamut formats it is essential to soft proof your work with the printer's colour profile at the very least, or even print several hard copies and try to match the print-out with what you are getting on the screen before going for the final print.

My workflow is totally in sRGB format from ACR raw to print and I always get amazing prints from my pro lab of choice. I don't feel I am missing anything by not using a wider colour gamut.

[Oly Paul]

See my post in "flat prints" and see if this helps you.