Understanding Printer Colour Management

Moose and Strawberries — June, 2004
The leading cause of confusion, anxiety and martial disharmony among photographers concerns printer settings."What the hell are the correct settings for the dozens of buttons and dialogs in both the image editing program and printer driver?" This is the the most common question that I'm asked at seminars, and by e-mail (though usually somewhat more politely than this). But it does mirror the frustration that most people feel when confronted with the seemingly endless setting choices available.
Here then is a simplified and concise description of how to set your printing software to give the most reliable and accurate colour results. It is based on usingPhotoshopand anEpsonprinter, but should be comprehensible with most other programs and printers.
Using Profiles
A profile is simply a file that describes how a given printer / ink / paper combination combine to accurately display colours. Almost all contemporary printers ship with pro...