Photoshop question: All my photos look great in Photoshop but when printed on Epson P600 the faces are red like sunburn and the rest of the pic is fine..This happens to all the printed...

johnsnap1947 Loc: New Fairfield, CT

All my photos look great in Photoshop but when printed on Epson P600 the faces are red like sunburn and the rest of the pic is fine..This happens to all the printed pics. Can't figure out if it's a Photoshop issue or not. I can turn down the contrast to almost nothing and that helps some but not good enough. Any ideas would be appreciated..

PoppieJ Loc: North Georgia

it sounds like you should calibrate your monitor. Then you would see more closely what you are printing

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

johnsnap1947 wrote:

All my photos look great in Photoshop but when printed on Epson P600 the faces are red like sunburn and the rest of the pic is fine..This happens to all the printed pics. Can't figure out if it's a Photoshop issue or not. I can turn down the contrast to almost nothing and that helps some but not good enough. Any ideas would be appreciated..

You need a hardware colorimeter to calibrate your monitor. If you have a single monitor the Datacolor SpyderX is best. For a multiple monitor installation, I found the Calibrate (used to be X-Rite) Display Pro to be the best.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

johnsnap1947 wrote:

All my photos look great in Photoshop but when printed on Epson P600 the faces are red like sunburn and the rest of the pic is fine..This happens to all the printed pics. Can't figure out if it's a Photoshop issue or not. I can turn down the contrast to almost nothing and that helps some but not good enough. Any ideas would be appreciated..

You'll need to profile, not calibrate your display and printer. Most people use the terms interchangeably but they are incorrect. Display calibration is a hardware procedure done at the manufacturer to ensure that the equipment is producing true color as it corresponds to a test signal. Profiling introduces a graphics card, your environment, camera and other variables, and uses a test signal AND YOUR COMPUTER to display that signal, then uses a colorimeter or a spectrophotometer to read the colors displayed, and generate a table to balance the color in the graphics card, to match to the greatest extent possible, the color in the source signal with what is displayed. A simple example would be if the source provides a pure yellow signal, but the display shows one that is off by -10 units according to the reading device, the software will add a +10 yellow value to the table it is building. When the profiling process is complete it saves the compensating values in a display profile that is read and loaded by your editing software, provided it is color management aware. In critical settings, profiles are made monthly or even more often, because backlights change color as well as other components gradually drifting the display from the original settings. The main difference between a factory calibration and a user developed profile is the addition of the specific components in the photographer's workflow and their specific characteristics - that are NOT part of the factory calibration process.

Spyder is good, but it cannot profile a display with a programmable LUT (look up table), like some Dells, Eizo, Sony, HP and other middle to high end displays. The least expensive device I am aware of that has that capability is the Xrite i1 Display Pro - which would make it a much better choice for the present and future.

Next you'd need to build a profile for your printer/ink/paper combination(s). Same process, but you'll use a colorimeter to read color swatches on a print. This profile will then be used to "soft proof" you image so that you can make any adjustments based on what you see in the soft proof.

If you send your image file to a print lab, you can ask them for a printer profile and bypass the entire process of building a profile for your equipment. Another shortcut that works is to use fine art paper, either from the printer manufacturer or a third party, and use their profile and printer setting recommendations.

If your head hasn't exploded yet, I can tell you that there is much more to getting the color right - but this should be a good start. Don't buy Datacolor products.

johnsnap1947 Loc: New Fairfield, CT

Thank you for the advice. Strangely when I send the photos out to a book album creator from LRC, all the pics come out perfectly. I have a TOTL monitor and printer. I will look at Xrite..I realy grateful for the info. Thank you! John

OnDSnap Loc: NE New Jersey

johnsnap1947 wrote:

All my photos look great in Photoshop but when printed on Epson P600 the faces are red like sunburn and the rest of the pic is fine..This happens to all the printed pics. Can't figure out if it's a Photoshop issue or not. I can turn down the contrast to almost nothing and that helps some but not good enough. Any ideas would be appreciated..

Sounds like you have double color management going on...

yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey

Color calibrate your monitor. I like the Spyderx Pro and use it to do hardware calibration on my BenQ monitor using Pallete Master software. This is preferable to a software calibration as the LUT's are stored in the monitor itself.

Bubbee Loc: Aventura, Florida

I just had the same problem when I not only switched from PSE18 to PSE21, but my Epson XL7100 was dying at the same time.
My new printer, Epson XP8600, helped solve the problem! But I also compared the settings for 18 to 21. I edit in Expert, then print from Create while in Expert...top right. Then,, In the. Custom Color option, I found that Auto works better for me than Adobe srgb. You can also call Adobe for help...1-800-833-6687...good luck...I know how maddening it is!

Bubbee Loc: Aventura, Florida

Also, turn down the saturation...

rcarol

Gene51 wrote:

You'll need to profile, not calibrate your display and printer. Most people use the terms interchangeably but they are incorrect. Display calibration is a hardware procedure done at the manufacturer to ensure that the equipment is producing true color as it corresponds to a test signal. Profiling introduces a graphics card, your environment, camera and other variables, and uses a test signal AND YOUR COMPUTER to display that signal, then uses a colorimeter or a spectrophotometer to read the colors displayed, and generate a table to balance the color in the graphics card, to match to the greatest extent possible, the color in the source signal with what is displayed. A simple example would be if the source provides a pure yellow signal, but the display shows one that is off by -10 units according to the reading device, the software will add a +10 yellow value to the table it is building. When the profiling process is complete it saves the compensating values in a display profile that is read and loaded by your editing software, provided it is color management aware. In critical settings, profiles are made monthly or even more often, because backlights change color as well as other components gradually drifting the display from the original settings. The main difference between a factory calibration and a user developed profile is the addition of the specific components in the photographer's workflow and their specific characteristics - that are NOT part of the factory calibration process.

Spyder is good, but it cannot profile a display with a programmable LUT (look up table), like some Dells, Eizo, Sony, HP and other middle to high end displays. The least expensive device I am aware of that has that capability is the Xrite i1 Display Pro - which would make it a much better choice for the present and future.

Next you'd need to build a profile for your printer/ink/paper combination(s). Same process, but you'll use a colorimeter to read color swatches on a print. This profile will then be used to "soft proof" you image so that you can make any adjustments based on what you see in the soft proof.

If you send your image file to a print lab, you can ask them for a printer profile and bypass the entire process of building a profile for your equipment. Another shortcut that works is to use fine art paper, either from the printer manufacturer or a third party, and use their profile and printer setting recommendations.

If your head hasn't exploded yet, I can tell you that there is much more to getting the color right - but this should be a good start. Don't buy Datacolor products.

You'll need to profile, not calibrate your display... (show quote)

I've not experienced any of the anomalies with the Data Color product that you discribe in your response particularly those about LUTs.

one_eyed_pete Loc: Colonie NY

johnsnap1947 wrote:

All my photos look great in Photoshop but when printed on Epson P600 the faces are red like sunburn and the rest of the pic is fine..This happens to all the printed pics. Can't figure out if it's a Photoshop issue or not. I can turn down the contrast to almost nothing and that helps some but not good enough. Any ideas would be appreciated..

I suggest you look at JToolman you tube videos on printing. You can learn more than you ever wanted to know. Start with a monitor properly calibrated/profiled at the correct brightness for photo editing (likely a lot dimmer than your used to, ie 80 cd/m2). Download and print a "standard image" (not one of yours) using mfg. printer driver for the photo paper being used (assuming OEM ink). Evaluate the print to see if it is color neutral and approximately matches the screen representation. To get best results you may need to profile your specific printer/paper/ink combination. Never double profile because it produces unpredictable results.

pdsilen Loc: Roswell, New Mexico

I have the same problem and I figured out how to fix it. When my photo has a face that looks like a trafficlight I select it with the Lasso Tool, expand the selection, adjust the color, and deselect. For me that works just fine.

stan0301 Loc: Colorado

Yes, you can buy a kit to calibrate your monitor so it will match your printer - not hard once your have the kit

Temuna

I do not profess to be a technical expert, but I wonder if this might also be a matter of ICC compatibility between printer and paper. With Canon (and I expect something similar with Epson) there are free programs to download so that if you use Canon paper with a Canon printer the program automatically adjusts the settings to give you the best print results.

Bergi

I could be way off, but you may have a clogged ink. Do a test and if need be, a cleaning. Good luck.