Please HELP! What I see is not what I get!

[katurango]

It is driving me crazy trying to adjust the color all the time. I loose details when I try and adjust. I've done the color calibration and disabled color management. Please help! TIA, Kathi

This is what it looks like in PSP 2021

This is what it prints out like with color management off

agates01.png (159.62 KiB) Viewed 2402 times

[hartpaul]

I made a post here sometime back under a post with a problem where the whites appeared yellow.

https://forum.corel.com/viewtopic.php?f ... le#p371821

Basically you need to make sure that your monitor , and PSP and printer are all speaking the same language with respect to color. I have all mine showing as sRGB.
Note that an image in Adobe RGB will print flatter on a printer set for sRGB color space.

[katurango]

Maybe that wasn't a good example because yellow is what I need more of not less. You can see how the agate is wash out in the 1st image, (the way it appears on my screen) 2nd is (printed) which is way too dark and too orange.

This is what it looks like on my monitor.

And this is how it prints out

[Jean-Luc]

It is driving me crazy trying to adjust the color all the time.

Are you sure your printer's settings are correct? I see also that you have a banding defect (in your first example).
I'm printing from PSP with an Epson XP-55 (photo quality). I needed to make different tests to select the appropriate setting. For example, when I change the paper, I need to change a setting.

In my case, I'm tweaking my printer's settings until they match what I see on my screen.

One more question... If you put your image in Microsoft Word (or another program), how does it print?

[katurango]

I printed it out in Word and it looked the same . I also have an Epson printer so I will check out the advanced settings and let you know. THANKS

[Jean-Luc]

I printed it out in Word and it looked the same . I also have an Epson printer so I will check out the advanced settings and let you know. THANKS

You may also make the following test.
Save your image as a TIFF, selecting Options / Color channel: CMYK / Embed the ICC profile and save another CMYK TIFF version without the ICC profile embedded.

In Windows Explorer, right-click on the saved TIFF file and select 'Print'.
Print your both TIFF files and see if you get a better result.

[hartpaul]

Note also that the two images are from different processes. The screen image is transmitted light whereas the print is from reflected light and its appearance will vary depending on what lighting conditions you have when you observe it.
The appearance will also depend on the type of paper. Are you printing on high gloss paper for that particular printer, and using original inks for that printer?

[CHoffman]

In general, you never adjust the printer to match the screen. Download a good test image in the color space you're going to use. With PSP, that's sRGB unless you want to torture yourself. I like the one here- http://www.outbackphoto.com/printingins ... essay.html Watch out for which color space the image is in.

Using the right icc file for your paper, print it and confirm that it's of the quality it should be. If not, troubleshoot the printing process. There should be little to no tweaking of printer settings needed. When that works, adjust the monitor to match.

FWIW, you need a decent program that handles color space correctly. It's hard to beat http://www.ddisoftware.com/qimage-u/ and it's not terribly expensive. There's also a trial version you can download. Bit of a learning curve on the interface. I do most of my editing in PSP, but almost never print from it unless it's a simple sRGB thing. For any serious printing I use Qimage.

[Jean-Luc]

In general, you never adjust the printer to match the screen.

You are correct.

There should be little to no tweaking of printer settings needed.

My printer output is nearly what I see on my screen and when I said "adjust your printer", it means to select the correct ICC profile and modify a little the printer's settings to match what I see on screen or want to see on paper.

[taylor924]

I have an older version of Paintshop Pro (8) on my desktop and the prints are much darker. I was wondering how to sync the colors. Now I have a new laptop and purchased PSP 2020. The image was pretty close but I would like to sync both of these computers to my printer. As to the laptop, can you just start me off? My printer is Epson SC-P400 (archival ink if that matters) and I have Windows 10 on both computers. What can I do with the desktop and the Paintshop Pro 8?

I know each printer is different and I would like a basic how-to, if you don't mind. I am new to this photo-editing program and the ink is very expensive for that printer and I do not want to waste a bunch of it by successively altering the prints to try to match the computer screen. This is my only color printer. Also, when working on the laptop, the screen is at an angle as I am above it and that changes the look. How can I know at which angle to place it for the reference point?

Lots of questions.

Thanks.

Candace

[CHoffman]

IMO, PSP can be really confusing to get color management right and it's got some bugs on top of that. If you're trying to work in anything other than sRGB color space, expect trouble. PSP does OK if you stick to sRGB. The first thing to do is download a "good" image like the one given above and open it in sRGB color space. Print it with no adjustments. If you don't get a good print (see the image description on the site where it came from for what it's supposed to look like, plus common flaws) you have to check your driver and PSP to be sure color management isn't being applied twice or some other problem like driver properties being changed. Once you get a good print from a known good file, adjust the monitor settings (brightness, contrast and whatever else it has) to get as close to the print as possible. That may give you settings that aren't optimal for other work but that's the compromise. Unfortunately there is no basic how-to for color management, as it's a fairly complicated subject. If ink is expensive and you're fussy about color, edit in PSP but buy Qimage and use that for printing.