Print With Preview Color Looks Different Than Screen

AS
Posted By
Alan Smithee
Sep 26, 2005
Views
961
Replies
12
Status
Closed
Something that’s been bugging me is that when I look at my photo in "print with preview" and drag the dialog off to the left or right to look at the original the colors look shifted, less saturated in most cases!? What’s with that? Does print with preview not use the color managed version of the file?

Master Retouching Hair

Learn how to rescue details, remove flyaways, add volume, and enhance the definition of hair in any photo. We break down every tool and technique in Photoshop to get picture-perfect hair, every time.

AS
Alan Smithee
Sep 26, 2005
In fact the "print with preview" looks more like what I’m seeing coming out of the printer?

"Alan Smithee" wrote in message
Something that’s been bugging me is that when I look at my photo in "print with preview" and drag the dialog off to the left or right to look at the original the colors look shifted, less saturated in most cases!? What’s
with
that? Does print with preview not use the color managed version of the
file?
N
nomail
Sep 26, 2005
Alan Smithee wrote:

Something that’s been bugging me is that when I look at my photo in "print with preview" and drag the dialog off to the left or right to look at the original the colors look shifted, less saturated in most cases!? What’s with that? Does print with preview not use the color managed version of the file?

No, it doesn’t. And if it did, it would not look similar to your image either, but would look like the ‘soft proof’ of your image using the printer profile.


Johan W. Elzenga johan<<at>>johanfoto.nl Editor / Photographer http://www.johanfoto.nl/
AS
Alan Smithee
Sep 26, 2005
Johan W. Elzenga wrote:
Alan Smithee wrote:

Something that’s been bugging me is that when I look at my photo in "print with preview" and drag the dialog off to the left or right to look at the original the colors look shifted, less saturated in most cases!? What’s with that? Does print with preview not use the color managed version of the file?

No, it doesn’t. And if it did, it would not look similar to your image either, but would look like the ‘soft proof’ of your image using the printer profile.

Oi yoi yoi! So what is it showing me? The version corrected with the profile?
J
Jim
Sep 26, 2005
"Alan Smithee" wrote in message
Johan W. Elzenga wrote:
Alan Smithee wrote:

Something that’s been bugging me is that when I look at my photo in "print with preview" and drag the dialog off to the left or right to look at the original the colors look shifted, less saturated in most cases!? What’s with that? Does print with preview not use the color managed version of the file?

No, it doesn’t. And if it did, it would not look similar to your image either, but would look like the ‘soft proof’ of your image using the printer profile.

Oi yoi yoi! So what is it showing me? The version corrected with the profile?
Since that view is done by the printer driver and not PS, it is hard to say what profile they are using.
Jim
N
nomail
Sep 26, 2005
Alan Smithee wrote:

Johan W. Elzenga wrote:
Alan Smithee wrote:

Something that’s been bugging me is that when I look at my photo in "print with preview" and drag the dialog off to the left or right to look at the original the colors look shifted, less saturated in most cases!? What’s with that? Does print with preview not use the color managed version of the file?

No, it doesn’t. And if it did, it would not look similar to your image either, but would look like the ‘soft proof’ of your image using the printer profile.

Oi yoi yoi! So what is it showing me? The version corrected with the profile?

No, it is not color managed as far as I know, so it’s probably your image when you would use ‘assign to profile’ and assign your monitor profile. It means nothing in terms of color. It’s just meant for positioning the image on the paper, that’s all.


Johan W. Elzenga johan<<at>>johanfoto.nl Editor / Photographer http://www.johanfoto.nl/
N
nomail
Sep 26, 2005
Jim wrote:

No, it doesn’t. And if it did, it would not look similar to your image either, but would look like the ‘soft proof’ of your image using the printer profile.

Oi yoi yoi! So what is it showing me? The version corrected with the profile?
Since that view is done by the printer driver and not PS, it is hard to say what profile they are using.

It’s not done by the printer driver, that dialog is done by Photoshop.


Johan W. Elzenga johan<<at>>johanfoto.nl Editor / Photographer http://www.johanfoto.nl/
P
par
Sep 28, 2005
Virtually everything I print on either my HP ink jet or my HP color laser is darker than it appears on the screen.
Is there something that I should be changing in Photoshop?

Phil
N
nomail
Sep 28, 2005
wrote:

Virtually everything I print on either my HP ink jet or my HP color laser is darker than it appears on the screen.
Is there something that I should be changing in Photoshop?

If you don’t tell us what your present print settings are, we can’t suggest what you should change…


Johan W. Elzenga johan<<at>>johanfoto.nl Editor / Photographer http://www.johanfoto.nl/
AS
Alan Smithee
Sep 28, 2005
Johan W. Elzenga wrote:
wrote:

Virtually everything I print on either my HP ink jet or my HP color laser is darker than it appears on the screen.
Is there something that I should be changing in Photoshop?

If you don’t tell us what your present print settings are, we can’t suggest what you should change…

John, for my own peace of mind, could you post your settings and workflow for printing scans or camera images from photoshop to an inkjet? Maybe there’s something I’m just overlooking. I’m assuming you’re using CS or CS2. Thx.
AS
Alan Smithee
Sep 29, 2005
Start by getting a color puck for your monitor. This allows you to "characterize" your monitor and build a profile which photoshop uses when displaying the file. Currently, the Gretag MacBeth Eye Ones are going for cheap (Gretag now has the Eye Two). The $80 to $100 you spend will be paid back in wasted ink and paper ten fold.

wrote in message
Virtually everything I print on either my HP ink jet or my HP color laser is darker than it appears on the screen.
Is there something that I should be changing in Photoshop?
Phil
N
nomail
Sep 29, 2005
Alan Smithee wrote:

Johan W. Elzenga wrote:
wrote:

Virtually everything I print on either my HP ink jet or my HP color laser is darker than it appears on the screen.
Is there something that I should be changing in Photoshop?

If you don’t tell us what your present print settings are, we can’t suggest what you should change…

John, for my own peace of mind, could you post your settings and workflow for printing scans or camera images from photoshop to an inkjet? Maybe there’s something I’m just overlooking. I’m assuming you’re using CS or CS2.

Normal settings are to use Photoshop color management and turn off color management in the printer driver. In practise this means that you use ‘Let Photoshop Determine Colors’ in PS CS2 ‘Print with Preview’ and select the printer/paper profile there. Use ‘Perceptual’ or ‘Relative Colorimetric’ as rendering intent. In the printer driver, turn off color management (it depends on the printer how you do this. For Epson printers you choose ‘No Color Adjustment’, for other printers it will be similar but the words may be different)).

Also be aware of the following: Many people think that your prints should now look like what you see on screen. That is not correct. If you want to see what the print will look like, you should use Photoshop’s ‘Soft Proof’ and set the same profile in the proof setup. Only THEN (i.e. if ‘Proof Colors’ is activated) your print and your monitor should match rteasonably well (an exact match is impossible because a monitor is an RGB device and a printer is a CMYK device).


Johan W. Elzenga johan<<at>>johanfoto.nl Editor / Photographer http://www.johanfoto.nl/
AS
Alan Smithee
Sep 30, 2005
Normal settings are to use Photoshop color management and turn off color management in the printer driver. In practise this means that you use ‘Let Photoshop Determine Colors’ in PS CS2 ‘Print with Preview’ and select the printer/paper profile there. Use ‘Perceptual’ or ‘Relative Colorimetric’ as rendering intent. In the printer driver, turn off color management (it depends on the printer how you do this. For Epson printers you choose ‘No Color Adjustment’, for other printers it will be similar but the words may be different)).
Also be aware of the following: Many people think that your prints should now look like what you see on screen. That is not correct. If you want to see what the print will look like, you should use Photoshop’s ‘Soft Proof’ and set the same profile in the proof setup. Only THEN (i.e. if ‘Proof Colors’ is activated) your print and your monitor should match rteasonably well (an exact match is impossible because a monitor is an RGB device and a printer is a CMYK device).

Thx. This is exactly what I do. The weird thing I’m finding is that after printing I compare the print to "different" soft proofs — the one that matches the closest is "MonitorRGB" !! Typically my physical print looks a little on the "green" side compared to what I’m seeing WITHOUT soft proofing turned on. Also interesting is that "MonitorRGB" seems to almost exact match what the PRINT PREVIEW image window shows me!! Huh! My solution is to use Monitor RGB to warm up my final print a bit and then save as a different version. Crazy.

How to Improve Photoshop Performance

Learn how to optimize Photoshop for maximum speed, troubleshoot common issues, and keep your projects organized so that you can work faster than ever before!

Related Discussion Topics

Nice and short text about related topics in discussion sections