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new printer.... colour management problem

shutter
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new printer.... colour management problem

Just bought and installed a new printer... HP 5510.
The printer is wireless, though it can be wired up using usb.
It works "ok".... however the colour management part of the software is not very flexible.... the pics I have printed, on quality AGFA photo paper, have come out over saturated in the colours, compared to the pics on the screen.  (I have printed several different types of pic).
My previous HP 5900 series, had a "fairly half reasonable" colour management system... not wonderful, but it could correct over excessive saturation by carefully selective items.
So, my problem is... can I use a "third party" colour management software  (if there is one) and does anyone know of one ....
18 REPLIES 18
Oldjim
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Re: new printer.... colour management problem

shutter
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Re: new printer.... colour management problem

Hi jim.... not really... although the symptoms show an "over indulgence " in the red scale,... this is a NEW printer, with the "setup" printer cartridges installed, and probably only about 10 sheets of A4 have been run through... the ink level indicators for each colour show about 95% still available..
On the small screen there is a menu, but it does not have a "toolkit"... or any colour management.
The only colour management that I can find is when I press the Print command on a pic showing on the laptop screen. this brings up the HP Printer setup screen with  /paper selection/size/orientation  and a choice of Adobe RGB or Coloursmart/sRGB listed under Image Colour Management.... with switches for......ICM BY HOST SYSTEM ..... ICM BY PRINTER  or ICM DISABLED
None of these options give a noticeable difference...
pnf
Grafter
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Registered: ‎07-11-2007

Re: new printer.... colour management problem

Do you use Windows 7?  If so, in Control Panel there is a Colour Management section.  It may be possible for you to associate a different 'colour profile' with your printer to get the desired results (see attached screen dump).
If you ever need to calibrate your display the following site is quite useful http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/
RPMozley
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Re: new printer.... colour management problem

Unless your screen is properly calibrated then it is highly unlikely that you will get something similar after printing it. HP's so called colour management system is just a gimmick and does very little in terms of actual colour management.
@ pnf
That site you quoted is ok if you want to get your screen looking nice but it's a long way away from actual calibration. So be careful not to assume this as fact (not that I am saying you do, just a friendly warning).
That's RPM to you!!
pnf
Grafter
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Registered: ‎07-11-2007

Re: new printer.... colour management problem

@RPMozley  Maybe I should have said adjust rather than calibrate.  I have used that site on a few occasions just to check that the settings on various monitors have not been wildly out.
shutter
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Re: new printer.... colour management problem

Vista Home Premium
Had a look at the linky page. and it all appears to be good with me. Have not done any adjustments to my screen settings.
RPMozley
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Re: new printer.... colour management problem

@ pnf. Ah ok, probably would have been better, yes. Saved on the confusion.
@ shutter. Probably for your situation where there's no proper all round calibration process (that works), it will have to be a case of trying different things out to see which gives you the best results. There's not really much else anyone can give in terms of recommendations, sorry.
That's RPM to you!!
shutter
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Re: new printer.... colour management problem

If there is no "third party" way of reducing the saturation... looks like I shall have to take it back to the shop as unsuitable.
I have tried using the software changes but as mentioned in my OP not a lot of difference...
RPMozley
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Re: new printer.... colour management problem

Well there's plenty of 'third party' profiles for you to try out. Only problem is it costs a lot just to print a test image and most times with these profiles there's no way of telling what it will do beforehand.
That's RPM to you!!
shutter
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Re: new printer.... colour management problem

OK... so where do I get these 3rd party profiles?  I don`t mind trying them out to see what they can do, and to make sure that when I print a pic, it looks , as near as possible , like the one on the screen.... at the moment... RED seems to be dominant in the "over saturation" and this is making a "normally" pale skin face look well sunburned before it actually goes brown...  if you can imagine that.
shutter
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Re: new printer.... colour management problem

Ah well..... got fed up  trying... so it is back in its box, and off back to PC world tomorrow with copies. and a refund is on its way....
Will have a go at a Brother DCP J 315W and see what that manages to do...
Oldjim
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Re: new printer.... colour management problem

Things may have changed - it is a while since I bought a colour printer - but I always thought that for good quality photo prints you needed a standalone printer not an "all in one"
Oldjim
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Re: new printer.... colour management problem

shutter
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Re: new printer.... colour management problem

Well, Well,..... all`s well that ends well......
Took the HP back to PCworld, showed them the pics I had printed, and they agreed it was crubbish... ... and came away with an Epson Stylus SX445W for the same price as the HP...
It took a while to do the setup, and a couple of bits that were not straightforward, cos the story board was not correct... but in 30 mins had it working and printed my first pic with no adjustments.... since then have done a couple of more pics, and there is quite a good colour management program with it... so I am pleased I can adjust the printer to coincide with the pic on the screen....
Hey.. I remember printers when that was all  they did... and it only took 5 minutes to unpack, it and get a pic printed !... Does anyone remember the fanfares for "Plug and Play" devices... whatever happened to that  ! ! !