I’m using a Canon Pro9000 MkII printer, Photoshop CS2, Entrada Natural 190 paper with the appropriate Moab profile, and with the Pro9000II media setting “Matte Photo Paper”, and with Photoshop determining the colors using the Moab profile.

When I print a test pattern containing grays and fleshlike tones, the grays look fairly good, but, for example, the color HueSatBrightness HSB[15°,39%,61%] prints as [356,33,67], and [14,14,62] prints as HSB[357,11,67], far too magenta. When I printed a portrait image, it looked awful. I was able to correct this particular portrait with a rather drastic curves adjustment that makes all the grays, including near-black, quite greenish. But I doubt this adjustment will work well in other images.

Any suggestions on how to make a generally applicable adjustment for colored images on Entrada Natural using the Pro9000II? What am I doing wrong?

Our recommendation is to print off a subjective test image, instead of an image that you have created yourself. This eliminates your own image workflow into the discussion. You can find a great evaluation image here:

http://www.on-sight.com/downloads/

The On-Sight Color Evaluation Image

Once printed, this will enable you to identify what deficiences, if any, are going on in the print. I will evaluate our ICC profile in the meantime, just to make sure something isn't going on that we can control.

Andy

I appreciate your prompt reply. I agree with you, much surprised, that the test image obtained from your recommended site called "Onsight_evaluation_V2.psd" prints beautifully using the Moab profile. It's a gorgeous print! I would note, however, that the lady in the image is very tan, Hue about 28 degrees, with little variation in skin color. Prints of my images, with varying skin tones in the Hue 10-20 degree range, are not so good. If I adjust the skin tones to higher hues, other objects become objectionably green (unless, of course, I were to adjust the skin only, but I object to that).

Richard, if the evaluation image is printing well, then the issue is most definitely related to your display and how you have it calibrated and profiled. I would spend my efforts trying to clear that up.

Andy, No. It’s not the monitor. Try printing your own test image Onsight_ColorChecker_V2.tif, the one with 24 colored squares labeled with the sRGB numbers. As I’ve seen before, using my own test image, and using my images of real people with real skin, the grays print fairly well, as do many other colors. However, the color sRGB[117.82.68], which is HSB[16°.42%.46%], prints as HSB[344.44.53], a WHOPPING -32° error in Hue, and it’s even more saturated than the original. The color HSB[18.35.79] prints on Entrada as HSB[4.25.85], still bad, at -14 degrees error in hue, and less saturated. The color HSB[26.81.89], notably, prints reasonably well at HSB[23.69.93].
I admit that, although my monitor calibration is not relevant to my argument, my scanner calibration is. My procedure is: print the test image on Entrada Natural using Moab’s recommended method, wait overnight, scan the print, measure the colors using Photoshop’s color sampler. Due to (possible, but unknown) inaccuracy of my scanner calibration, I do not claim my numbers to be precise to the 100 ppm level. However, my own eyes agree subjectively with my scanner (and by the way, also with my monitor). The skin tones near Hue 10-20 degrees are way off. This is not important in some images, such as your test image “Onsight_evaluation_V2.psd”, with rather perfect skin tones near Hue 28 degrees. But my images of actual people who suffer from variable skin tones in the range 10-20 degrees hue cannot be printed successfully on Entrada Natural using the Pro9000II printer, unless I’m doing something wrong. Their faces have big purple blobs where skin should be. Adjustment of the skin tones produces unacceptable errors in other colors.
Am I doing something wrong? Or can you recommend another double-sided paper that is capable of producing good portraits using the Pro9000II?

Thanks,
Richard

Richard, thanks for the update on your experiences. I think the easiest way to proceed would be for us to recreate the profile, using your printer, to nail this down. Are you up for it?

Andy

Yes, Indeed! How?

Thanks, Richard

Please email me at andy@legionpaper.com and let's proceed!

I can be taught! Andy thanks to your help, here and by email, I've discovered my mistake. I was under the illusion that when I set PS CS2 print screen to "Let Photoshop determine colors" that was all I needed. Not so. I had to go deep within Pro9000II printer settings to manually turn printer color correction off. When that is done, your published Entrada Rag Natural profile works fine. So, bottom line is: I was erroneously correcting color twice.

I've already sent you my printed targets for a new ICC profile, as we agreed. Please destroy them instead. They were erroneously printed with internal printer color correction, and will be of no value now.

Thanks, RLW