R3000 printing well, then darker>>> Confused about Windows 10 color management

InkjetMall Customer Support General Discussion & Misc Support Questions
1

Several months ago I bought new carts and ConeColor Pro ink. Printing was great for several weeks. Then after a break of a month, during which I printed a nozzle check every week, prints suddenly went darker and duller.

Trying to troubleshoot has led to some confusion. Along with the Windows 10/Photoshop comp I usually print from I have two others that can are also producing the same problem via the Paint program. I’m wondering if there might be a driver setting I’m missing.

On the Photoshop comp I have the printer set to No Color Adjustment and Photoshop Manages Colors. I’m using an ICC profile for the paper, and I’ve used a Spyder to color calibrate my monitor. This was working. So I’m looking into Windows settings and considering the possibility that I’ve run into yet another problem created by a Windows update.

Opening up Windows Device Color Management reveals options for the R3000:

  • a check box to use “my settings” for this device, whatever that means
  • a profile selection option, either Automatic or Manual
  • and a number of paper ICCs.

I would like to get Windows 10 out of the way but am not sure what settings are correct. Help would be great. Thanks.

2

#1. Our new profiles are here, I suggest you use them. Even if you don’t fine one that matches your exact paper, the ones built for glossy papers will work on alternative off-brand glossy papers and same for matte: https://shop.inkjetmall.com/About/R3000-ConeColor-Pro-K3-Vivid-HD/

#2. Here’s a primer on printing with correct color management (it’s for mac and photoshop and lightroom but most likely you’ll be able to translate this to your environment): https://shop.inkjetmall.com/About/How-to-Use-icc-profiles/

Best,
Walker

3

Thanks for responding so quickly. On Red River UltraPro gloss paper, using the ccp-R3000-hkpk-epultrapremptoglossy.icc does bring some lightening. I also switched to AdobeRGB from sRGB. Letting Photoshop control colors, two pics came out close to a monitor match, but another still looks fairly dark. They are all .psd files. Puzzling.

Can you explain what Windows color management is contributing? Does it step aside for photoshop when set to Automatic? Can I ignore it?

5

A few thoughts,

If as Walker has indicated the very same print command is producing darker prints, then it’s probably printer or printer settings ( media type etc). If on the other hand your are printing new material that you have since adjusted visually using your screen as reference and a general muddying and darkening is occurring from different programs I would suspect the monitor. The monitor settings could have been modified inadvertently, or windows is no longer loading the icc profile. Monitor profile configuration is complicated in Windows since XP, and has to be set as default in advanced settings for all users. See here https://pcmonitors.info/articles/using-icc-profiles-in-windows/

Good luck

Paul

4

Double check that your print settings the same each time you print. if you have previously saved a photoshop image AFTER printing it, the print settings will be saved inside of the image. The next time you print the image from photoshop (and if you have all your print settings set to “default”) than the settings will default to those last used settings.

best,
Walker

6

Thanks for following the problem after it has been largely resolved. Regarding Windows 10 settings, I got this response from another forum:

by D Fosse on Apr 4, 2018 2:46 PM
All Windows does in terms of color management, is to set up default profiles for all your devices. That doesn’t mean Windows is using the profile in any way - it just means this is the profile the application gets handed when it requires one.

But any setting you make will override this default, or an application can override it on your instruction.

In Windows, all color management is performed on application level, not on operating system level. Windows is strictly hands off. In Mac OS it’s a little blurred - color management is called by the application but executed by the OS. Functionally it’s the same thing though - the application sets the rules.