Why should I spend money buying custom printer profiles?
Why not just use the printer profiles that came with my printer, or download free profiles from the Internet? Most printers come with generic profiles designed for their printers, their inks, and their paper. Creating a custom profile for your specific printer, ink, and paper will produce better prints. Also, if you want to use a paper not on their list, then you have to find a profile that matches their printer, their ink, and your 3rd party paper. You may also want to use 3rd party inks. There is a growing list of papers and inks that one might want to use. If a canned printer profile does not exist, then you simply live with a setup that gives you average prints at best, or invest in expensive profiling equipment, or have someone make a custom printer profile for your specific printer/ink/paper combination. This is the only way you'll get a high quality, color accurate print from your printer.
To complicate this even further . . . There can be color variations between two printers of the same brand and model. There is also no guarantee that the printer inks you buy next year will match the printer inks in your printer right now. Some inks can even age and change color in your printer if an ink cartridge has been around for too long. Your paper manufactuer may change paper formulations or the coatings used on their paper. This has happened to us with one brand of canvas. The change is seldom announced. You can't see the difference looking at the paper (or canvas). Only after you have made a number of prints might you realize there is a problem with the print color.
So, what are the benefits of custom printer profiles?
**You get accurate color (colors and B&W)
**In most cases you get a larger color gamut. This means more accurate color, sharper colors, and more saturated colors.
**Depending upon the paper profiled, you get better shadow and highlight detail.
**Our profiling also takes into account the white point or color of your paper and its texture. This helps alot in getting an accurate printer profile.
**In summary, the difference in print quality can be dramatic or subtle, depending upon the quality of the printer profile you are using right now. Based on our own experience in our printing service, the profiles are well worth the cost. In every instance where we have created a new printer profile for one of our papers, we have seen significant improvements in print quality. Our media includes glossy and matte Epson papers, Breathing Color media, canvas, linen paper, and other fine art papers. We print on Epson 7600 and 9600 printers using Ultrachrome inks, Windows XP and Photoshop.
What is the downside of using custom printer profiles?
**Custom printer profiles cost money, especially if you use alot of different papers, inks, and printers. We charge $40 per profile. Others charge from $30 to $100 (or more) for a custom-made profile. One major profiling service charges $229 for a 727 color patch target. We use a 918 color patch target. The more colors that are measured the more accurate your printer profile.
**Each custom printer profile is only specific to your printer/ink/paper combination. So if you use four different papers with your printer, then you need four different printer profiles.
So, what can we offer that other profilers don't already have?
Your custom printer profiles are made from a 918 patch color chart using a GretagMacbeth spectrophotometer and software. It does a very good job of capturing the largest possible color gamut from your printer. It is also very good at creating neutral grays. And it is very good at profiling shadow and highlight detail in photos. Some profiling services use less than a 918 patch color chart, resulting in a lower quality profile. Most services that do use a 918 patch color chart (or better) charge more than $40 for that custom profile.
We offer a Satisfaction Guarantee! We can also offer limited support in case your custom profile does not install or work right, or you are unhappy with the print results. With some profiling services you are left completely on your own. We may not always be able to fix a problem for you but we will make an honest effort to help and make sure the custom profile is working to your satisfaction. If necessary, we will exchange test prints and digital images (usually at no extra charge) with you in order to troubleshoot and fix any problems. Does the other lab do this for you?
How long after you receive my two Test Charts wil it take to receive my custom printer profile?
Turnaround time can vary depending upon our workload at the time but normally expect to receive your custom printer profile within two days. We work all hours including weekends (when needed) to keep turnaround times to a minimum. It is OK to call about a pending order to determine if we received your order and when you'll get your profiles. We do take time off sometimes, so it is possible an order may take longer than two days.
What is the preferred payment method?
We accept credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, Amer. Express), checks, money orders, and PayPal.
Is there a discount for ordering multiple profiles?
No.
Do I need to calibrate my computer monitor?
If you are doing a lot of editing and color correcting of photos on your monitor then you do need to calibrate it. Profiles may be available for your monitor which you simply install on your computer. We cannot calibrate your monitor for you. After using our custom printer porfiles for awhile you can try tweaking your monitor so that printed colors match monitor colors as much as possible, but the best solution is to use a good monitor profile in conjunction with a program like Photoshop.
You can also invest in a colorimeter which is a device that attaches to your screen and measures color values and then creates a profile for your monitor. You can also use Adobe Gamma in Windows or the Colorsync Control Panel on Macs to correct monitor colors, but they are less accurate. In most situations your monitor color temperature should be set to 6500K and the Gamma to 2.2.
I use a photoprinter that only gives me 4x6" prints. Can you profile this printer?
Not right now. Our Test Charts require about a minimum 8x10" sheet of media. If we see a demand for profiling these smaller photoprinters we may try to find a method to do it.
Are there any limitations on the type of media that can be profiled?
If you can print on the media we can usually profile it. Problems you might run into are incompatible media, that is, media your printer or inks don't like. We may also have trouble obtaining a good profile from transparency media. This we deal with on a case by case basis.
Do I need a custom profile for every type of media I use?
Yes. Each printer/ink/media combo is unique and will have a unique color profile. The profile will not work well on other media, or using different inks, or using it on different printers.
Why can't I just use the profiles that came with my printer? The prints look fine.
You can, and if you are happy with the print quality you probably don't need to spend $40 on a custom profile. But, a custom profile will expand the color gamut of your printer and give you better neutral colors and B&W. Depending upon the quality of the generic profile that came with your printer, a custom profile can often give you better shadow/highlight detail in your prints. Finally, using custom printer profiles gives you the option of using other inks and 3rd party papers. There is a lot of exotic and fine art papers to choose from that require profiling in order to get quality prints.
Why do I have to disable Color Management when printing the Test Charts?
If Color Management is Enabled on your computer then your software will apply a color profile already installed on your computer. If we then create another profile, it will be based on the color corrections made by the first profile. This sounds confusing but it totally messes up the color management and what we are trying to achieve. So, Color Management must be OFF so we can establish a baseline print from your printer.
What is ICM2 (Windows OS) and ColorSync (Mac OS)?
ICM2 and ColorSync are the color management systems built into Windows and Mac operating systems. They are an integral part of the OS and are required to be active in order for the system to use ICC profiles in conjunction with a color managed application program such as PhotoShop. Please note that Windows 95 and Windows NT do not implement ICM2.
I use a software RIP with my printer. Can I still use your printer profiles?
You'll need to read the software user manual or contact the software company that made the RIP to determine if it uses printer profiles. Some RIPs do, some do not.
