[mollusk]

I am using an ibook 14" 933 G4 with 10.3.4. My camera is a Nikon digital 5700 and I usually take oics in TIFF. I print on an Epson Stylus C84 and Epson Stylus Photo 925. Generally my prints are pretty accurate with color if I use good paper. I sometimes print directly from iphoto and often from Photo Elements 2.0 I have Photo elements set to full color management and have read info on color management in Scott Kelby's Photoshop Elements book. Lately I seem to b having a problem with black printing as black. This usually occurs when there is quite a bit of black in the image .....example: black horse in a stall. The image on the screen and in print preview is fine but the horse is coming out in tones of brown. Zooming in on pixels shows mostly black. Certainly not the browns I am getting. I have cleaned the printers and replaced black ink. Also happened in a lake scene after a storm with dark tones. This is driving me nuts and I have tested different settings and used up a lot of ink and paper. I wonder if this has to do with Nikon and taking in low light or with a lot of darkness or with the printer? I am very picky so I may be expecting too much from an average printer. Does anyone have any advice or forums I can go to to learn more about quality printing? I am still learning and the more I learn the more I realize I don't know!

Just occurred to me to go to a photo shop and have the image printed an a machine there to see if the same thing happens. Will try that later today.

[Photo678]

I think (and please dont quote me on any of this) but if you are using a full color managed workflow, than the problem is that "black" in a color image isnt really "black" but a hue of a certain color. Desktop printers, have a hard time with black. Try printing a black and white image, and it wont be pure, it will have (at least on mine) a greenish hue to it, ever so slight, but noticeable.


I also notice color shifts when printing images in color that contain a good amount of black.

I have yet to come up with a perfect solution to this, but rest assured, there is nothing wrong with your printer, well nothing wrong in the "its not broken" sense.

[mollusk]

It makes sense that the black is not really black but different hues. Knowing that... can I adjust the levels in the areas that I want to look black? And how? And it is different on less glossy paper. I will keep experimenting. If anyone else has any advice please let me know where to look. Thanks

[jtice]

Originally posted by mollusk:
It makes sense that the black is not really black but different hues. Knowing that... can I adjust the levels in the areas that I want to look black? And how? And it is different on less glossy paper. I will keep experimenting. If anyone else has any advice please let me know where to look. Thanks

I'd venture an odds-on guess that a custom printer profile and a good monitor profile will fix your problem pretty well. The canned profiles will get you in the ballpark, but if you want precise you need a profile that's specific to your individual printer, not just the average for that type of printer. Black and deep grays are the most demanding colors. Even high end printers need a specific profile to make it happen.

Check out luminouslandscape.com for more than you wanted to know about printing and color management. You'll find links to places to get custom profiles made. If you really want great prints you'd probably be better off investing in a printer such as Epson 2200 that uses Ultrachrome inks before you spend a bunch on custom profiles.

John

[mollusk]

Thank you. I will follow your advice and check out the sites. I am on vacation now and will let you know what I come up with soon. I have some great pics from this vacation so I bet a new printer investment will be in my future.