There is a Sam's Club near me that has an Epson 7800 Stylus Pro printer. They use Fuji Satin paper #270 and do not provide any profiles. I would like to know if having digitaldog create a profile for this printer/paper combination would be worthwhile for a public printer like this? Thanks.

No-body can create a profile for this machine unless you get the machine operator to download and print the target provided by the profiling service using the normal instructions for target printing (no colour management, Printer Manages colors OFF).

I should be able to download the target myself, burn it to a CD, and have the printer print it for me with color management turned off.

Should work if your lab will agree to do it.

Mark,

Sounds good. My only concern is the longevity of the profile for a public printer. I will be sure to ask them if they intend to change papers soon or inks, but how reliable are the Epson profiles over time when the printer is used every day like this?

Dan, good questions. If they have a policy of using only Epson K3 inks, then I believe one can count on stable performance from one batch to the next. If they use 3rd party inks and change suppliers periodically, each time this happens a new profile would be recommended. Likewise and for sure if they were to change papers. The profile is only "accurate" for the equipment and materials used in printing the patches. Printer performance can drfit over time, but the 7800 has a built-in linearization technology I believe used with the ColorBurst RIP. Hence depending on how the lab maintains the printer, this may not be a factor significantly impairing profile performance over time. By the way, this printer model is now discontinued, so another question is for how long your lab will be using it before they up-grade. Sounds to me like you need to have a conversation with the lab asking them these questions and see what they tell you. Then you'll know whether going this route will be useful.

Thanks for the info. Looks like I'm good to go. They use Epson K3 inks, have no plans to switch paper providers, and they're keeping the 7800 while replacing their Fujitsu. I figure if I can get six months out of the profile, I've got my money's worth.

Sounds like a plan.