Calibrating PaintShop Pro with my printer

[klameier]

Hey everyone,

I'm new to the Forum - I'm glad you're here! I'm using Paint Pro X5 and I have a Canon MX700 printer. The colors from my PaintShop pics are awful when I print them. They don't look anything like the picture in PaintShop. Is there a way or a software program I can use to calibrate the colors between PaintShop and my printer so what I print looks like what's on my PaintShop screen?

Thank you!

[LeviFiction]

Well, first thing that's usually recommended to start with is calibrating your monitor to make sure it's not distorting the colors drastically.

There are numerous self-calibrating options as well as somewhat pricey tools such as SpyderExpress: http://spyder.datacolor.com/portfolio-v ... r4express/

PSP also has a monitor calibration tool built in, but it relies on your eyes to be accurate. Go to File -> Color Management -> Monitor Calibration.

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From there PSP has a basic color management system. If you go to the menu and select File -> Color Management -> Color Management

You can include a printer profile along with your monitor profile and PSP will attempt to match what you see on the screen with what comes out on the printer.

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If your printer doesn't have a profile. Well I don't know if companies keep a standard printer profile or if one is supposed to be included with your print drivers, even if they do you have to be using their ink and their paper because that is what the profile is designed for.

Otherwise you'll have to do some printer calibrations. Sadly I know nothing of printer calibrating. The really interesting thing is for best results, you need a profile for every mixture of paper and ink that you use. So if you use generic photo paper and HP photo paper but only HP brand ink then you'll need two profiles, one for each type of paper.

It's a very expensive product but SpyderPRINT is a printer calibration tool: http://spyder.datacolor.com/portfolio-view/spyderprint/

I also saw a recommendation once for Chromix, they have software that will allow you to scan in a printed test sheet and create a custom ICC profile for your pinter: http://www.chromix.com/

But I've never used them so I don't know for sure.

[KahleCK]

A lot of variables in the workflow, all need to come together in order to accurately manage color. Ideally, the workflow needs attention from the moment of image creation in the camera to final print creation in order to produce the most accurate color.

If your camera is capable of producing RAW files, you are better off using them rather than JPEG (or JPG). If you are not using RAW, you need to make sure that your camera settings are giving you the best image. White balance and ISO should be set to auto in most cases.

Monitor calibration is another area that will need attention. You can use the built in calibration in Paint Shop Pro if you are on a budget, it will be better than no calibration, but for the most accurate color, you should plan on investing in a colorimeter in the future to do monitor profiling. Also check out the monitor manufacturer website for a downloadable monitor profile. Use this instead of the generic profiles that come with the operating system if one exists.

Printer calibration can be handled by the printer manufacturer generated printer profiles in most cases so long as you use the manufacturers paper and ink. As with the monitor profiles, they can be downloaded from the manufacturer's website if they weren't provided on CD with the printer. If you aren"t using the manufacturers paper, the paper manufacturer may have downloadable profiles online as well.

The final area is HOW to print. You want PaintShop Pro to manage colors, NOT the printer. You need to tell the program which profiles to use via the Color Management options on the File drop down. Rendering intent should be either perceptual or relative colormetric, the other options are for graphic design artwork and will distort color in photos.

[Jean-Luc]

Do you see a difference in results if you do the following test:

Print the photo or image from PSP.
Insert this photo or image in another software (Word for example) and do the same printing.