Hi all,

Just last week I got my Epson 4880. What a moose, but at the same time feels solid. What a piece of machinery. I have in the past owned an Epson 9800. I print on canvas from scanned files of original pieces of art and could use any advice for a improved workflow. Below is my input.

1. I have an iMac 24" using Leopard 10.5.6. Yes, I have put the ICC profiles for
4880 in my ColorSync folder.

2. Print all files from Photoshop CS3

3. I mainly leave my files without color management. I have converted some of
them to Adobe RGB (1998) but can't see much difference on the screen.

4. In the first print dialogue box I choose under "Color Handling" "Printer Manages
Colors". When I have chosen "Photoshop Manages Colors" my canvas prints come out
flat for some reason.

5. Under "Rendering Intent" I choose either "Perceptual" or "Relative Colorimetric".
I actually can't see any difference between either one when printing on canvas.

6. In the next print dialogue box I choose "Manual Feed". I use cut pieces of canvas
put through the back of the printer. I can actually get an 18.25" wide canvas to print
on this printer. However the printable area can only be 17" wide.

7. Under "Media Type" I choose "Watercolor Paper-Radiant White" since there is no
choice for "Canvas" for the 4880.

8. Under "Print Mode" I leave it with "AccuPhoto HD"

9. Under "Color Mode" I leave it with "Epson Standard (sRGB).

10. Under "Output Resolution" I choose "Fine--720 dpi" and uncheck "High Speed"
and "Finest Detail". I only do this because others on this forum recommend it.
I don't know if this makes a difference. When printing on canvas I haven't seen
much of a difference between 720 dpi or 1440 dpi.

11. I then hit print. I find that the prints come out darker than what is on the
screen. I make adjustments in photoshop under "Hue/Saturation" to make
the on screen file lighter.

Any advice as far as a better workflow would be very helpful.

Gar

You may get 10 different answers to this question as there is no right or wrong way. But some are sure easier then others.
For me it starts and finishes with Lightroom. I have Cs4 and Capture NX but never print through either.
I do all PP in Lightroom, Pro photo RGB. After processing I send the file to Genunine Fractals 6 for uprezing and the gallery wrap option if I am wrapping that image. The converted tiff then goes back to Lightroom for the final print @ 1440.
Images on my 7900 are out of this world. I have tried just about every other option and come back to this setup every single time.
Dan Berg
Bergs Canvas Gallery

Hi Dan,

Do you know why when choosing "Photoshop Manages Colors" in Photoshop CS3 that the canvas prints come out flat looking? I am only successful when choosing "Printer Manages Colors". I just started using aRGB instead of sRGB in the second printer dialogue box and the gamut has increased. The canvas prints look better. I have not used Lightroom as yet.

Gar

Hi Gar,

Just a quick comment, when you choose "Photoshop Manages Colors", did you also set the printer's settings to "Not manage colors"? (printer must be aware that does not have to do any color conversion as the data comes ready from photoshop)

Yes, I did turn off the printer's settings to "Not Manage Colors."

There is no profile for canvas with the 4880 printer driver even though Epson sells rolls of 17" wide canvas for this printer. Epson does have a canvas profile for the 7880, 9880, 7900 and 9900. Good show Epson! Epson recommends choosing either "Water Color Radiant White MK or PK" in the dialogue box.

All my files are from scanned transparencies that were given to me. They are untagged RGB, and I don't know, and can't find out, if they were modified in sRGB or aRGB, or if that makes a difference.

The 4880 is a great printer. I will try to do some experimentation today.

Gar