Colour profile problem with Canon printer, Pantone profile and Kodak paper ...

Jed Shields · 24 Jan 2009 at 16:44

Hi guys,

I've calibrated my Dell 2408 using a Pantone Huey Pro. I'm printing using a canon MP500 using Kodak Ultra Premium photo paper through Lightroom 2.2. My print settings in Lightroom are:

Print resolution - 360dpi (for a4 size prints)
Print Sharpening - High
Media Type - Glossy
Colour Management - Profile Jed20090124 - my calibrated profile
Rendering intent - Relative

I'm also setting it to borderless printing.

My Canon printer setup is:

Media Type - Photo Paper Plus Glossy
Print Quality - High
Colour Intensity - Manual - I've kept everything in the middle.

When printing I get a preview that seems to match what I'm seeing on the screen. However, the print comes out with a sort of blue caste. The colours are also dull.

Is a there a conflict between the Canon colour management and the Lightroom one? I'm not sure what to do ...

Mark A · 24 Jan 2009 at 18:04

Are you using proper Canon ink?, Ive found cheaper inks look off and don't last as long. Also different paper can give different results, Cannon photo paper plus satin has given me the best results so far.

Jed Shields · 24 Jan 2009 at 18:10

Yeah it's Canon ink. Not Canon paper though. Out of stock at the local place, I'll try and find some tomorrow. Would the paper make that much of a difference?

Messiah Khan · 24 Jan 2009 at 20:46

Jed Shields said:
Yeah it's Canon ink. Not Canon paper though. Out of stock at the local place, I'll try and find some tomorrow. Would the paper make that much of a difference?

Yup. For a perfect print you need to create a printer profile for the ink and paper that you are using. If the Pantone Huey Pro can't do paper profiles, then you might be best getting a paper from a manufacturer that allows you to download a paper profile, although even then this doesn't take into account the ink type. At work we use Ilford Smooth Pearl and Epson Archival Matte for the Epson 3800 printers. The smooth pearl (http://www.ilford.com/en/products/galerie/smooth/desk/smoothPearlPaper.asp) in particular produces a great image.

Jed Shields · 24 Jan 2009 at 22:47

The odd thing is that the image in the print preview looks identical to the image I see in Lightroom using my Pantone Huey profile, so I'm assuming that this part is working fine. The actual print, however, is very disappointing. I'll pop out and get some Canon paper tomorrow. Fingers crossed that'll do the trick.

Where can I find a profile that will work for the Kodak paper though, as I have quite a few sheets left and it's effectively useless at the moment ...

turtle1000 · 24 Jan 2009 at 23:09

I've tried quite a lot of papers over the years in my two Canon Printers and have had pretty average results with Kodak paper.

Three that have been very good are the Canon Photo Plus Glossy, Photo Pro and Ilford Galerie Classic.

Jed Shields · 25 Jan 2009 at 12:57

Right - tried it with Canon Photo Paper Plus Glossy II and it's still giving rubbish results. It's got to be something to do with the colour profiles. Any ideas???

Shoei · 25 Jan 2009 at 13:08

Thats why i stick to using ilford paper, you can download the profile off the ilford site to match paper to printer.

Jed Shields · 25 Jan 2009 at 13:10

Is there a profile for the Canon paper? I can't seem to find anything ...

Shoei · 25 Jan 2009 at 13:20

Ive never used canon paper, only ilford paper and even then there isnt a profile specific to my printer, i use an IP4500 profile.

Google for MP500 and ICC profiles.
If you have a raft of paper to use then some places will send you a colour chart to print out, you send it back to them and they will create you a specific profile for that paper/printer/ink combination.

I have kodak paper and just use the ilford profile on it. does the job for small prints, but prints i want to keep either get done on the ilford or taken to local printers.