The very first things to print with your new photo printer. Avoiding basic printer setup problems
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- Опубліковано 2 кві 2021
- Keith Cooper looks at the very first prints he makes on any new photo printer (Epson, Canon or any other make), and why this step is a vital check that things are working correctly. The simple test prints that show your printer workflow and print software is configured correctly and any paper icc profiles are being properly applied.
The free test images and Keith's detailed printer reviews and articles about printers and printing are at:
www.northlight-images.co.uk/ph...
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Thanks, Keith. Great job. -- I'm an experienced amateur, both photos and printing. Digital since 2003. I shoot Canon 1DX Mark III, Print using Canon Pro-1000. I enjoy your work and vids. Everyone needs reminding. (fyi.. I'm 72 yrs old. Retired power plant engineer. Live: USA, New England, Connecticut.)
Thanks Paul - much appreciated
Hey Keith, your channel is way so informative, thank you so much for sharing! Its about a couple of years that, everyone and then, I get back to your channel as I was looking to somehow educate myself for the day I was able to buy a printer. Finally I recently sold an old stereo and converted its value in a P900! Will keep looking at your great material, thank you again!
Thanks - do check the written articles too. The videos are generally produced to supplement the main [written] reviews and articles, which tend to have more detail (and updates).
Very informative. Happy Easter
Thanks!
Have a printer on the way and your videos are VERY helpful. The No fuss style of presentation makes using the printer less intimidating. Thank you!
Excellent - do have a look at the articles on the Northlight site as well, since there is a limit to how much detail I can include in the videos
highly appreciated! thank you for these videos!
Thanks - Glad you like them!
Hey Keith,
Thank you so much for your videos jam-packed with instruction & tips. I’m in the US and believe you’ll really get me on my way to printing quality images. But, I’m a newbie, just getting out of the gate-an amateur photog with a keen eye who only takes photos with the highest-end iPhone models, has a Macbook Pro 15” 2018, and doesn’t have/use Photoshop or LightRoom (but willing to learn). Originally focused on the Canon 200 vs 300, I waited nearly a year to get the Epson ET-8550 because I liked its small apartment-friendly size, tanks ($) and ability to get up to 13x19 & panoramas). [If I ever need to produce a larger image, I’ll at least know how good the image can print at a smaller scale.].
My current goal is to create artful prints to adorn the bare walls of my apartment. In particular, I have two image types I want to feature in as glamorous a way as possible: 1) color photos of my Tourtoise Shell Tabby (Tourby) Cat which have great color, texture, sheen & composition. (I think of the two, this type will be easier to achieve satisfaction), and 2) Interior Shots of Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia cathedral, caught at sunset with glorious colors of diffused light pouring in through the stained glass. (On first efforts on glossy, the print version lost the luminous quality that is displayed by the backlit iPhone or Mac).
Per this video, and the one about various papers, I just purchased the Epson Signature Worth Sample Pack 8..5 x 11 to run test prints (I’ll save learning about their Legacy papers for another day) and I’m wondering about my next steps:
1) Do I first need a separately callibrated monitor for better matching of screen & printer color/quality?
2) Must your test images be printed 13x19 (as in your videos) or are they equally helpful printed on 8.5x11 (ame as my Sampler Kit)?
3) How would you recommend I go about manifesting a more luminous quality of light in my cathedral interior prints? Learn Photoshop or LightRoom? Use Epson’s included software? Apple Photos? Try a metal paper?
In the meantime, I’ll head over to the links/articles on test print images.
Thanks in advance,
Barry Schneider
Well... for actual printing of the images I'd suggest trying Epson Print Layout -
The test prints can be scaled and work just fine - I print them on whatever papers I'm testing
BUT Prints will never match a screen - they are two different things - see on of my recent videos about printing brightly coloured images.
There are ways of editing which can help, but that's software to learn - Affinity Photo is a good [cheaper] alternative to Photoshop
See also the main [written] review of the 8550
www.northlight-images.co.uk/epson-et-8550-printer-review/
Thanks!
Thanks to you too!
Thank you for your explanation. I learned a lot from your videos and articles on your website regarding printing, printers, papers, colour management and what to focus on.
I recently purchased an Canon IX6850, certainly at the lower end of consumer printers but I expect a nice quality.
I was to buy a pro-200, my favorite printer would be a pro-1000, but do I really need them? Despite the fact that they are more expensive.
Further I am now provided with different Canon papers (Luster, Gloss and Pro Platinum) from A6 to A3+ and some original ink packages.
Printer*s still packed - I am so excited to start.
So, what did I learn after reading your articles and watching your very helpful videos with your by the way - very pleasant presentation:
Use original inks and papers.
Concider the higher price of original ink as a part of the cost of ownership.
Lower the monitor brightness.
After unboxing and installing the printer print out a test image.
Use printer/paper-profiles or ICC-profiles.
Do not compare the print directly with the picture on screen.
Do not expect an exact copy of the picture you see on the monitor and what you get on the print.
From other sources I learned not to print out - after edditing test images - on the bigger papers but smaller papers, it would be a waste of paper and ink.
As you ask for suggestions: You have mentioned already so much in your videos and articels and have a great and long lasting expertise, your website has so much information but may be the process of preservation and presentation of larger prints (A4- A3- A3+-A2) could be of interest:
I was wondering during the last days how I can collect and preserve prints and with what kind/type of folder for example can I watch the prints.
The space on the wall is limited.
There is the small photo album, ok.
But how can I collect larger prints and present them.
I did not find an appropriate solution yet.
I'm glad the info here and on the site has been of use.
I use an artist's portfolio case for some prints, but others I keep in old wooden map/chart cabinets I bought from a 2nd hand office furniture company.
For more delicate prints I bought a pack of A2 archival (acid free) tissue paper for interleaving
thank you.
Thanks - I've the follow-on video to this set to post tomorrow if you're curious
@@KeithCooper yes i will watch it for sure. Thanks again.
Very timely as I am hoping to set up my new pro-300 today. Am wondering whether b+w mode on printers will include toning I may have added, such as sepia. Great, no nonsense practical videos, much appreciated.
Toned B&W printing needs a lot of care. It often comes out far too intense on the paper.
See my PRO-300 review and detailed article about B&W
www.northlight-images.co.uk/black-and-white-printing-with-the-pro-300/
If you do the toning in advance then you'll need to use the normal 'colour' print modes. As an aside, do check out the canon print software, it has a lot of features which may be of interest and use.
BTW Most of my videos are only ever intended to supplement the written articles which have far more detail.
@@KeithCooper wonderful, I will check out the written articles as well, many thanks.
Very informative 👍 ! So what you are saying is that one should download the test image an run it trough the printer as such, using the ICC-profile for the paper in use, is that correct !?
However, you don't really go in detail about the print-settings, but I assume that part is in the second video (and I'm going to look for that one now).
Yes, print the test image as a normal photo image.
Settings depend on the printer, driver, and whatever software you are using - I don't really cover details of settings other than in the specific videos/articles for printers I've reviewed [and then only for Macs - no win pcs here]
What are you looking for in the test prints to determine if your printer is working correctly? Should you be looking at clarity, sharpness, etc, or color.. and what if one of these parameters does not look correct...? What would you investigate? Would you re-run the alignment program of the printer or something else? I get what you are saying by first making test prints on a reference picture to evaluate the printer performance, but what are you looking specifically to determine if the printer is working correctly and what should you do next if you think there is an issue?
It's a whole raft of things - some are related to the printer working properly - such as smudging or roller/wheel marks.
The image should be sharp - that's not a colour or print workflow issue
It also tests things like the head height setting and if enough time is being left between print sweeps for drying
Then there are all the different parts of the image (all listed on the download page) that address different aspects of print quality, so, shadow crunching/and highlight compression.
Many of these are also a test of profile quality, such as colour gradient smoothness and hue shifts.
It's up to you to decide which part of your print workflow is problematic - never forget that it could just be because your paper doesn't work so well with that particular paper. Too many people pick their papers before the printer ;-)
In my experience, the most common faults have been that I've not correctly set my printer options.
It's difficult to be more precise, since it depends on the software in use and computer OS.
In general I use it first as a 'have I got the settings right' test - then a 'how is this profile behaving' test. The latter is trickier but see the full explanatory notes for the test image.
@@KeithCooper OK..thanks.. was about to pick up an XP 15000 today and wanted to make sure I knew what to look out for. Your videos and articles are very helpful
Thanks yet again Keith.
My Epson ET-8550 Printer has arrived,
I'm awaiting some Epson Papers to arrive before I attempt to test Print a couple of your charts.
I've been going through a great amount of your UA-cam Videos, and the Northlight Website,
So much info to digest and get my feeble brain around,
I've borrowed an X-Rite i1Profiler from a friend,
and calibrated my LG 32UN500 Monitor,
using the 465 patches setting
and i'm getting used to the much better imagery on the screen
The Printer was Commissioned with the Inks, and the Setup completed,
and I test printed a Duplex Text Document.
but a couple of things are confusing me,
1:
In Photoshop if I choose to let "Printer Manages Colors"
I get a warning about "ColorSync"
There is no good general use for 'printer manages color' unless you are using the B&W print mode. If you are using it, just make sure Epson color controls are set - see my main written reviews/articles for more examples? The videos are mainly there to augment the written articles, not replace them.
It looks as if the rest of your question was truncated?
@@KeithCooper Thanks Keith, I guess the rest of my Comment probably exceeded a UA-cam Comment Character Count !
So you recommend letting Photoshop manages Colors ?
Always for photos - with a suitable profile. The only exception is to use the B&W print mode.
I have not seen a result from 'printer manages color' for a colour image that I was satisfied with, in many years of printing photos
Thank you so much for the very informative videos and even better articles. I have a new Pro 200 waiting to be set up (have the pro 100 installed) and have a question regarding using USB or WIFI, do I have to pick one or could booth be active, and in if so is wifi ok to use? My Pro 100 is set. up with USB but like to be able to print using other devices if it is reliable.
Thanks - I've always tested with a wired USB connection initially and then switched to Ethernet, but with the 200 I just went straight for the wireless connection - works fine. Using wireless kills the Ethernet, but I believe the USB still works just fine whilst using networking. It means you can have two instances of the printer in your printer list after setting up.
@@KeithCooper Thank you so much, will try.
Terrific video. Still left tearing my hair because the manual for my newly purchased XP15000 doesn't say a word about ICC profiles, and the profile download section on the Epson website doesn't mention the printer. Would the profiles for any of the printers that are listed be of any use? I print from Lightroom - all of the profiles for my old Canon Pro10 are still there, but no Epson profiles are showing. Thanks for listening!
Epson profiles for some Epson papers are installed with the printer driver package. There are no other Epson profiles available as far as I know. Generally there are only profiles for higher end printers (they are not interchangeable)
There are some profiles I made, listed in the main written version of my xp-15000 review on the Northlight Images site(available on request for non commercial use)
Hi, I remember in a previous video you said you had made some ICC's for the Epson 15000 and you would send them out per request.
What would be the process for that?
I have the xp-15000 would love to expand the available colour profiles I have available.
Thanks in advance and for your helpful videos!
Check the actual (written) review for the ones I've made - see if any match your papers, and email me at Northlight about which ones you need. They are of a few papers available in the UK
Great video! Lot of information. I’ve followed your advice and printed two copies of the test image from Outback Photo on Hahnemuhle Baryta FB paper with my epson p800. The two copies were printed with the canned profile and recommended media setting (premium luster); one with relative rendering (black point compensation on) and the other with perceptual. The prints look globally fine except for two things. In both images I don’t see any tonal difference in the dark patches with value below 8. Furthermore only in the perceptual one there is a very slight warm cast on the grayscale gradient. In a situation like this, assuming that I don’t have a spectrophotometer and can’t build a custom profile or make any measurements, is there something do you suggest to do or is it an acceptable result?
Glad it was of interest.
One problem with test images is always just how much do you look for in a print? It sounds as if relcol is a better choice with this image (it may not be if there isn't a greyscale part).
I'd look at possibly opening up shadow detail a tiny bit and seeing how the print looks - this is something I'd do with a PhotoShop curve, but the effect needs to be subtle, so as not to introduce problems elsewhere. Making such adjustments is obviously not the ideal way to compensate for a sub-optimal profile, but sometimes you need to work with what you've got...
@@KeithCooper thank you very much for your fast and precious reply. So in this case making a custom profile could be the best solution. I'll make another print with a slight curve to open shadow details. But with another image the whole story could be different.
Yes, a custom profile might well be better, but then you also have the possibility that premium luster is not actually the optimal media setting. Now, I use it as a default a lot of times with Epson printers, but paper makers do not have a 100% record in suggesting the best media settings ;-)
Just don't get too caught up in 'fine tuning' - sometimes a particular paper may not work well with a particular printer. You pick the printer first and then the paper.
Hi Keith, enjoying watching your videos. I’m thinking about buying a Canon Prograf 1000 however I’m concerned that it’s a bit long in the tooth now, 6 years or so old and they’ve not updated the firmware since 2019. Have you heard of an imminent replacement? I have a Canon Pro-1 just now having owned it from not long after it’s release, ink is getting harder to get at the usual £21/cartridge. I get good results using Permajet papers as long as they aren’t matt papers, even with custom profiles. If I use Canon matt it’s fine. My friend and I did a test with his 100s with identical settings using PJ papers, his was fine mine hopeless. One paper manufacturer informed me off the record last year that Canon stopped supporting the Pro-1 relatively soon after its release and that basically it’s not the best printer. I’m not sure if the 1000 was a replacement for the Pro-1 (A2 v A3+ aside obviously) but the 10s and the 100s have now effectively been replaced by the 300 and 200. So I’m wondering if Canon will fill the gap between the 1000 and the 300 with a 12 ink A3+ printer. With only £300 between rrp’s I’m not sure they will, though they may increase the price of the 1000 replacement to fit a new Pro-1 in between. Be good to get your thoughts.
I've not heard of a 1000 replacement yet. I'd say it is far more likely than any update to the PRO-1, which always seemed a bit oddly placed - especially now with the 300.
However, with current supply issues any new printer announced is unlikely to be in plentiful supply for quite some time.
@@KeithCooper Thanks Keith, good to get your thoughts.
Would you recommend that when printing a test image that one select managed by printer rather than using an icc profile? If the image is printed using an icc profile and the result is less than optimal how would one know whether the problem is the printer or the profile?
Always print 'as you would print your photos' - so with a profile.
This is another reason to start with an OEM paper and profile - you can be fairly sure there is no problem with the profile.
If this works and a third party paper/profile shows problems then there is a problem somewhere, but printer settings such as media choice are still the most likely source of error.
I just got an Epson P 900. I have calibrated my monitor. I have printed a test image on Epson paper with the ICC profile. The flesh tone has an orange/reddish cast to it. Detail is fine. What do I do now? I love your videos as the are straightforward and incredible practical. How should I proceed?
Some profiles do slightly push this - one of the image panels does have a distinctly yellow light.
Check that whatever you are printing with has correctly handled the embedded profile of the image. I'd suggest using the Epson Print layout software for such tests, but it all depends on just how the image is being handled and what software it is being printed from.
My main computer (with all my test stuff) on it is temporarily out of commission (blown graphics card) so I can't check details at the moment.
@@KeithCooper Wow. That's a fast response. I did use Epson layout to print, but I'll go back and check. Thanks. Sorry to heat about the graphic card.
I'm back to using my old MacBook :-) Looks as if I'll finally be getting a newer Mac to do my testing though, but an expense I really could have done without.
I have noticed some Epson profiles producing a tad too strong colour with that image - do check the rendering intent as well though. My own profiles produce distinctly different looks with RelCol or Perceptual (or even saturation) with some images. A lot depends on how the profiles were created and the 'look' that was intended. Check my written reviews for the profiles I've created for the P700 and P900 (they are interchangeable). I have the P700 returning in a week or so to do some more testing (hopefully!)
I’ll check out those profiles. I changed to relative and that did help. Oddly, I finally got a good result when I had the printer manage color as opposed to a paper profile. Which breaks my current workflow.
The bottom line question for me is when you do a test image and it doesn’t come out. What should your next step be?
I go back over my workflow and all my colour management to make sure I've not set something wrongly - then I wonder if (when it's one of mine) the profile is wrong in some way. Then I'd like to check a different paper to see if there is a printer problem.
I have found some manufacturer profiles to be a little 'robust' in their colour - I do not assume they are optimal ;-)
Ideally if it's a manufacturer's paper, I'll try one of my own profiles as well - I do have quite a few available (listed in the article) free for non-commercial use.