Having color profile problems with Epson Perfection 4870 and Monaco EZColor

KD
Posted By
Kirk_Dickinson
Aug 16, 2004
Views
839
Replies
8
Status
Closed
I know this isn’t the Epson or Monaco forum, but I am sure that many Photoshopers have had experience with these two products.

I have an Epson Perfection 4870 Photo and Monaco EZColor 2.

The Epson consistantly has grey whites and grey blacks. I have never gotten this to profile correctly, and I must be doing something wrong.

First off, when I scan in 48 bit mode, the profile that is created doesn’t make any change to the scan. The no correction scan is identical to the corrected scan. I assume that the EZColor doesn’t work with the 48 bit scan, but haven’t found that documented.

Today, I scanned the target card with no corrections at 200DPI just like the instructions say. I loaded it into Monaco EZColor and created and saved a new profile. When I scan the profile card with the newly created ICM I get some corrections, but not anywhere close enough.

Using the eyedropper tool in Photoshop, I get these values:

Raw scan has White = 225/225/226 and Black = 15/11/12
ICM scan has White = 234/235/240 and Black = 15/19/20

Black is actually worse.

This is not acceptable. I don’t know what to do. Any ideas?

Thanks,

Kirk
Related Tags
color epson monaco problems profile

MacBook Pro 16” Mockups 🔥

– in 4 materials (clay versions included)

– 12 scenes

– 48 MacBook Pro 16″ mockups

– 6000 x 4500 px

BB
brent_bertram
Aug 16, 2004
Kirk,
I’ve found that the factory profile for my Epson 2400 is more accurate than the profile created by EZcolor. I’d say that to maximize your chance of success , use Epson Matte paper for the target. Personally, I wouldn’t spend much time on trying to profile the scanner with Monaco, unless the factory profile is pretty bad. I don’t think EZcolor is a satisfactory tool for the job, though I get good results on media profiles.

🙂

Brent
KD
Kirk_Dickinson
Aug 16, 2004
Brent,

I just tried scanning with the Epson default profile. I scanned the Monaco card and it scans better than the no profile, but the white and black are still gray.

white= 232/232/232 black= 24/29/28

It is actually worse than the Monaco or the raw scan for black.

You said you don’t like the EZColor. I paid extra when I got this scanner for the "Pro" version that was bundled with EZ Color and SilverFast. What would be better that would actually work?

SilverFast will do some type of automatic correction that pulls the white clear over to 255/255/255 and the black to 0/0/0. But that isn’t really a color profile. I can do the same thing in Photoshop.

I thought that color profiling software would generate a complex curve that would automatically correct all the colors to overcome inconsistencies of the scanner. If EZColor can’t even set the white and black point correctly, then I know it is probably hopeless at fixing any of the other problems.

Thanks,

Kirk
BB
brent_bertram
Aug 16, 2004
Kirk,
I can give you no good opinion on anything but Monaco
EZcolor as a scanner profiler. I do know that Vuescan ( Pro version at $79.95) will create scanner profiles, but I’ve never used that feature.

🙂

Brent
LH
Lawrence_Hudetz
Aug 17, 2004
You have the sliders to correct black and white points. Also, if they are light and dark gray in value, and you are in 16 bit, so what? Run Levels in PS and get them right.

I have a correction for the 3200 that I built myself, using the Kodak Q13 Color sep guide. I did it so that by running a scan through to the printer with no intervention from PS, the print from the printer matches the sample. Very useful for restoration work.
GH
Gary_Hummell
Aug 17, 2004
I have the Epson 1640 and Monaco 2.1 EZColor. My Monaco version doesn’t recognize high bit color. For better results on scanner profiling, try using a greyscale step chart with known values like on the Kodak Q60 chart. Adjust gamma, highlight and shadow in the Epson settings dialog. Be sure NO automatic features are enabled. This will be your default Epson setting. Now run the Monaco profile according to directions. You should get reasonably close levels on your profiled output.

Gary
LH
Lawrence_Hudetz
Aug 17, 2004
If the 4870 is at all like the 3200, the default settings are what Epson says they are. I see no way around it except to check the "No Color Correction" radio button.

When you change formats on the 3200, the system resets to default. There is no way to set anything different as default. So, when I scan in a restore project, I set the end points, leave gamma where it finds itself (Epson picks that) unless really off, no color correct, Curve at linear and scan. Then I apply the correction curve in PS.

I am considering the Monaco for profiling, so I am interested in results others get here. I understand that correct scanning is not necessary to get a good printer profile, as the software uses differential techniques to arrive at the printer profile.
GH
Gary_Hummell
Aug 17, 2004
Kirk and Lawrence, sorry I used the wrong designation "default". What I meant was that I set the User Defined Settings to get a reasonable basic scan. In this case, I leave my scanner set to Gamma=260, Highlight=235 and Shadow=16. Unless I change to another defined setting, Epson Twain opens with those settings every time. When I make a color photo scan with my User Defined Setting, and apply the profile, the levels are very close to the original. Hope that clarifies what I was trying to say.

Gary
LH
Lawrence_Hudetz
Aug 17, 2004
That’s what I try to do, but unfortunately, when the 3200 switches from reflective to transparency, or even from neg to pos, the system resets to Epson’s default.

Since my negs are quite variable (Tech pan scans entirely different from normal film, and normal roll film is different than cut)I generally reset parameters on every scan. For one thing, I have very different visualizations in mind for each image.

How to Master Sharpening in Photoshop

Give your photos a professional finish with sharpening in Photoshop. Learn to enhance details, create contrast, and prepare your images for print, web, and social media.

Related Discussion Topics

Nice and short text about related topics in discussion sections