I have an old (CRT) monitor and an old HP DeskJet 930C printer. I used to get really good color compatibility between my cdr file and my printer, but now the color is off (has a reddish tint)....:-(.... I have spent the whole day reading on the internet, but still don't know what combination of settings will do the trick.....
Info:
I am printing digital photographs.
I just put in new printer heads and checked them, so it's not the ink.
I do all my graphic files (.cdr) in RGB because I do all my own printing on my inkjet printer.
My default color profile is set everywhere (Windows, printer, CorelDraw, Default, Doc setting) to RGB (sRGB IEC6 1966-2.1), Perceptual.
No matter 'whom' I choose to handle color management (the printer, the app, the system, etc.), the print comes out exactly the same!
Since the printer driver is not meant for Windows 7 and uses a driver set by Windows, I prefer to have CorelDraw manage the color. But no matter how I set the settings, the print comes out with a reddish tinge.
Printer set at Best and Bright White Inkjet Paper.
My print dialogue's ICM options are 1) ICM Disabled, 2) ICM Handled by host system, 2) ICM Handled by printer. Doesn't seem to make a difference.
I would like to find out what is wrong as opposed to having to set Warmer/ Cooler in the print dialogue every time I want to print an image.
I used to get faithful reproductions with the same printer and monitor.
Thanks for any suggestions!
Janet
Hi!
Here are some of my findings:
1. If I keep all the settings the same and change only who-handles- the-ICM via the printer's dialogue box, it makes no visible difference!
2. Also no appreciable difference by changing color profiles, etc. Pretty much any changes I made in the Corel dialogues didn't make much difference--even changing from RGB to CYMK! The only setup that made an appreciable difference was using ISO Coated v2 (ECI) with Saturated Rendering Intent.
3. I even recalibrated my monitor (with Adobe Gamma) and made an updated color profile based on the calibration and used that. Didn't seem to make any difference.
4. I don't know how much communication there is between my monitor&printer and Corel x5. The printer is an ancient (DeskJet 930c) and, as I said earlier, the monitor is a CRT monitor, so you can tell how old it is (more or less). I've had the printer for almost 15 years (!), and it still makes good photo prints, especially given that it has to use a generic driver for Win 7 which considerably cuts down its features ...:-(....! Matching that up to a screen which constantly grows dimmer during the day (it has a button on the front to return it to Ultrabright setting) is a challenging task....:-).... I should probably get a new screen and install a virtual XP so I can use the printer to its fullest, as well as my UMAX Astra scanner (which has a large area for transparencies!).....
5. The main problem was a lack of yellow. All the pics were bluish-reddish or greenish. The ink cartridge was new, and the alignment/color check printout had vibrant yellow blocks in all the requisite places, so I assume it wasn't the ink. It would have helped if I could tweak the color balance on the printer. I'm very good at photoediting, and it is therefore very frustrating not to be able to get printed pics like the screen--like I used to. I think I'm probably remembering the results I got when my printer had a proper driver suited to the OS....
6. My 'workaround' in the end was to set everything back to RGB mode with basic RGB profile, Rendering Mode Perceptual. The new element was changing the printer's Saturations setting from Normal to Vivid or, even higher, Vibrant. The pics are somewhat oversaturated, but not something most people would consider 'off'. It's photos of an apartment for a court case, so I wanted to show detail and have a bit of pop. They came out surprisingly well, especially considering how dull they were when I first posted....:-)..... But they are short of yellow. There are 26 pages, each with five or more photos, so making each pic 'off' in the doc so they would print out right would have been alot of annoying work....:-)....
I would be grateful for any suggestions regarding new equipment (printer, scanner, monitor). I use my system mostly for photoediting and printing, but I'm a goldsmith and not a graphics professional, so I do all my own printing just for my own use (mostly shots of jewelry). So I would like a good quality desktop printer with full dialogue boxes (don't want Auto stuff). Same for scanner. Most of all, I really would like my monitor to match my printer!!! I would assume that is much easier to do than it used to be, and probably with much less expensive equipment than in the past. I remember being astounded by my jewelry pics years ago--like I could just reach down and pick the piece up, it was so realistic! I used to get a marvelous hi-res paper that made a HUGE difference. It was more expensive than regular paper, but much less than photo paper. Came in a box of 200 (and was 95 grms.) so you didn't have to be as stingy as with photo paper..... The last box I got quite a few years ago was not as good as it had been. Used to have a definite right side, but the new one (same packaging) was supposed to not have a right side. Pelkan said it was the same paper, but it didn't seem to be.
Thanks for any advice,