[garys]

When you go to print in PS, should the 'print space' selection match the 'source space'?

[Dabhand16]

If you are referring to the colour space, I've got the camera, the software and the printer all set to Adobe RGB. If I open an image that is not set to that colour space (from my compact), I get a dialogue box asking if I want to convert it when the image opens.

Ideally I think everything should match to get consistant results, and most would say that adobe RGB is the one for printing and sRGB is for web or monitor display. However there are plenty of people who use only sRGB.

If you use different colour spaces at each stage it is unlikely you will get the print to look anywhere near the image you are seing on the monitor.

There have been a couple of threads on this subject recently.

[chickadee]

actually discussed this today with a person at photographic shop, and was informed that she always does everything in adobe RGB but when it comes to printing she prints in sRGB .So i suppose like everything everybody has there own ideas. We have always done everything with adobe RGB but will be trying the printing now in sRGB and see what we think. We were the same as graham with all set to adobe RGB .
However you will hardly ever have all looking same colour , the older monitors however you can have them near enough to close. My old monitor was nearest to same as once printed but new monitors (LCD) are out from camera software to monitor to printer. But not bothering with camera software any more , this method is from same photographic shop. So now its just straight to windows and then to adobe to do auto colour check, if when printed looks right colours, then back to adobe to do any adjustments .This is as i find ,adobe give fairly true colours. Keepin in mind some shots may have some obvious colour tinges that you know should 'nt be there so then you give a little tweak in order to compromise for it ,so when you print its corrected.
If you do auto colour check then when you print , its colours are out you then go back and adjust your colour management then try again . Everyone will have different ideas and some will also swear by spyders etc . The above method was from a professional who obviously had the spyders etc callibration , and now believes the above method works better.Again everything is worth a go until you find one that your happy with .Hope this is of help for you.

[Dabhand16]

One thing worth thinking about, highlighted by Kelby in his book, is that you should turn off the auto settings in the printer driver, and allow the editing software to control the printer.

There is little point in making loads of ajustments in your editing software if you are going to allow your printer to over-ride your changes.

Then the only thing you have to get right is the monitor calibration. When you have got this OK, you will be as close as you are going to get to 'what you see is what you get'.

Consistancy will not be achieved if the printer is doing its own thing.

[Davetherave]

Hi i was about to post a new thread until i saw this and thought i would ask my question in this one if you dont mind.

Printing nightmare my images look fine on my laptop but when i print them out they appear totaly different usually a lot darker with nearly all the detail lost. Please can someone help me on this matter? i have heard something about calibrating your printer-pc or something but im not sure on how to etc. Also i think its time i put the epson c66 in the bin and went for something a bit better something that could print out say A3 size would be good so any advice on what new printer to buy and of course the best paper to print on.

All your kind help would would help me from feeling

Davetherave

[Dabhand16]

Dave - printing is a can of worms. Whole books have been written on just this subject. It is probably worth either getting some books out of your library on photography and cramming up on the various opinions and methods, or seeing if any of the mags have covered the subject. There are also loads of posts on here on printing.

Basically, the trick is to try to get consistency between the camera, the monitor and the printer. This means setting the colour space on the camera, your editing software, your monitor, scanner and your printer to to Adobe 1998 colour space/ colour profile. This is generally agreed to be the best colour space for printing.

Then you need to calibrate your monitor. There are some free apps that can do this, like Adobe gamma, but the best results are from using a proper calibration tool. These are discussed in threads on here too, I posted a couple of links to a site that tested different systems.

The printer needs to be set to manual control so thay your editing program controls it, and/or you can set the different functions and return to these settings time and agian. No point in making your changes then allowing the printer to over-ride them. You can get calibration charts that you can scan or photograph, print out and compare the print with the screen.

The whole point is to try to achieve consistancy. Once you are there, or thereabouts, you will be confident that what you see on the screen is what you'll get from the printer.

A3 printers are quite expensive and quite big. Most of the mags test them from time to time, and the main players tend to top the tree. Some say Epson print better monos, but at the cost of changing cartidges, and a lot of ink is wasted flushing the system out going from colour to mono and back. Again deciding on what you want and cramming up on the reviews is the way forward.

[Dave Canon]

Garys, if you are in Print with Preview your source space should match your file which would usually be Adobe RGB (though some may use sRGB). However, the Print space profile should be selected to match your printer. There may be several profiles for your printer in the list for different papers. Each paper/ink combination may be slightly different for each type of printer. Ideally you should obtain a bespoke profile for your specific combination(s). The eqipment to do this is rather expensive so it is best to use a profiling service which will cost about £10 per profile. An alternative is to use the printer manufacturers profiles which are normally loaded into the list when you install the printer driver. They may not be as good as a bespoke profile but should still be fine if you use the correct ink and paper. You also need to ensure that PS has control of the printing and not your Printer Driver.

There is a lot more to this subject and if you want to know more I suggest you buy Adobe PhotoShop for Photographers by Martin Evening where the topic is covered in detail. Following the guidance in this book and attending an Adobe course, I can consistently produce good colour and monochrome prints with a relatively old printer Epson 1270.