Rich1939 Loc: Pike County Penna.

I recently was given an Epson 1280 and after extensive cleaning I am now able to get a good nozzle check printout. I.e. it looks just like the manual says it should. However nothing prints close to the on screen image. The images are low saturation, low contrast and seem to have an orange cast. There is probably more wrong but other faults are hidden by the very low Q of the prints. I have tried both letting the printer or Photoshop manage the process and there was no discernible difference. I have also tried different brands of ink, while the paper is Epson’s Premium Presentation Matte. The few hairs I have left are in dire danger as I try to solve this puzzle.
I haven’t printed my own since film days preferring to let the “experts” do it for me but, this is a new toy and I want to make it work even if I only make a print once a month.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Have you calibrated your monitor?

Rich1939 Loc: Pike County Penna.

Thank you but yes. I usually do that about once a month.

PS: I also opted to use a standard test image from the web to be sure that my eyes, room lighting or monitor were not affecting the process.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Then the only thing it could be is the aftermarket ink you are using. Have you owned this printer since it was new? Did it ever print accurately? Do a test print or if your print driver has a nozzle or print head calibration feature, try that. You should have a result of all colors printing on paper and if a color like yellow is missing, then you probably have a bad ink cartridge. A friend of mine purchased ink from Costco and had a similar problem. He returned the ink he thought might be the culprit and it worked fine after installing the replacement ink cartridge.

Rich1939 Loc: Pike County Penna.

I mentioned that I tried different ink brands (including Epson). the results were all about the same. Down right UGLY! While I have not owned this printer until it was recently given to me I know the previous owner quite well (he's my brother) I do know that it has been a very capable unit the images on his walls show that it can do outstanding work. BTW my brother is even more stumped than I since he never had this problem.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Wow! I'm stumped too. Maybe try calling Epson.

Rich1939 Loc: Pike County Penna.

I appreciate the attempt! Thank you.
FWIW I just printed a small (4X5) gray scale image. It was just fine so the problem would seem to be somewhere in the color management.

The Watcher

I had a 1280 that made beautiful prints. Always used Epson ink and paper.

But discovered that I need a printer with more than two cartridges and bought the 1400. It had six cartridges and used Claria ink, which is dye based.

After that, the 1280 set in our spare bedroom unused with my wife questioning my plans for it. During that time I become a member of Aardenburg Imaging and started reading their ink fade tests and learned that 1280 inks had some fading problems.

So the next time the wife got after me, I gave it to a thrift store.

I can also report that I have prints on display that are ten years old and I don't see any fading. They are mounted under glass as Wilhelm Research suggests for added longevity.

Now to your problem.

Are both cartridges the same brand?

Does the printer know what paper you're using and is it dialed into the printer settings?

Does the printer really know that you plan to let Photoshop manage the colors and are the adjustments in the advanced settings still checked? When my colors really go to hell it's usually both photoshop and the printer fighting over the colors.

Can you turn that bad photo into a good one with a series of small test prints?

Last year I helped a friend repair his printer. It had a badly plugged head from setting. We were using cleaning fluid and then purging the lines and trying to print. In doing so we were going through lots of Epson ink. so we decided to use third party inks until the head was cleared. When we finally got the head cleaned, we had a combination of Epson and third party ink in the printer. The colors were way off on anything we printed. But I could make a good print using Photoshop and a series of small prints. Finally we replaced the cartridges with all Epson and most of our color problems went away.

flyguy Loc: Las Cruces, New Mexico

I think that the orange cast is an indication that you have selected the wrong ICC profile for the printer.

Also to get the best results I would use only Epson brand ink in the printer.

Also, make sure that you have the proper color management setting in the printer driver menu's --- either software manages color or printer manages color but not both together as that will mess it up royally.

I just thought of something else that may be at play here --- you may not have the latest driver for your operating system. When you were given the printer, were you also given the setup CD and only used that to connect up the printer and did you then go to Epson to see if there was an update? If you didn't do that, an incorrect driver could be the source of the problem.

Rich1939 Loc: Pike County Penna.

quote=The Watcher

Are both cartridges the same brand? Usually

Does the printer know what paper you're using and is it dialed into the printer settings? Yes I pay close attention to this

Does the printer really know that you plan to let Photoshop manage the colors and are the adjustments in the advanced settings still checked? When my colors really go to hell it's usually both photoshop and the printer fighting over the colors. It took a while for me to figure this out but now it has been set for one or the other never both

Can you turn that bad photo into a good one with a series of small test prints? After about 15-20 prints it hasn't improved appreciably

Last year I helped a friend repair his printer. It had a badly plugged head from setting. We were using cleaning fluid and then purging the lines and trying to print. In doing so we were going through lots of Epson ink. so we decided to use third party inks until the head was cleared. When we finally got the head cleaned, we had a combination of Epson and third party ink in the printer. The colors were way off on anything we printed. But I could make a good print using Photoshop and a series of small prints. Finally we replaced the cartridges with all Epson and most of our color problems went away.

I awoke this morning thinking I might purge the lines on the remote possibility that a small quantity of the base fluid I used during the unplugging of this printers heads might still remain in the unit. It too had been sitting for unused for years (~8)

Rich1939 Loc: Pike County Penna.

quote=flyguy
Thank you for stepping up to the plate on this.

I think that the orange cast is an indication that you have selected the wrong ICC profile for the printer.
That was one of the first things that got double checked and it was set correctly

Also to get the best results I would use only Epson brand ink in the printer. Check

Also, make sure that you have the proper color management setting in the printer driver menu's --- either software manages color or printer manages color but not both together as that will mess it up royally. Check

I just thought of something else that may be at play here --- you may not have the latest driver for your operating system. When you were given the printer, were you also given the setup CD and only used that to connect up the printer and did you then go to Epson to see if there was an update? If you didn't do that, an incorrect driver could be the source of the problem. I downloaded the latest drivers from Epson which are for W8 64 bit, while I'm on W10 and have wondered if that might be the problem. On the 'try this' list is using an old W7 lap top we have just to see how printing works using W7 and associated drivers

Rich1939 Loc: Pike County Penna.

Good grief could it really have been this simple? And why the hell should this have made any difference? This morning on a whim I switched paper, from an Epson matte to a HP high gloss. Problem solved. But why and can I print color on matte using some method only known by hermits hiding somewhere in a cave?

The Watcher

Did the matte paper come along with the printer? Could your color problem be due to the age of the paper?

Rich1939 Loc: Pike County Penna.

quote=The Watcher
Did the matte paper come along with the printer? Could your color problem be due to the age of the paper?

Yes I did receive the paper with the printer but it was still factory sealed. The 2nd part of your question is intriguing' can a preserved paper get too old. Even if sealed how much do the local conditions affect its performance. I'm going to try and research that.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

You say HP high gloss? Is this Hewlett Packard paper or is this still Epson brand paper?