Profiles used with Photo Editing Software Only? Confused.

[osculate]

Gentlemen/Ladies,

I'm still lost. I did read the article Profiles 101 but I find myself still confused.
Are printer profiles only used in conjunction with a photo editing software that supports using profiles? I just can't add the profile to the printer driver software in the control panel and then the driver influences the output? I also don't understand the profiles themselves I guess. I can see the profiles in system\colors as icc files but when I download profiles from Epson I get an application which when run yields nothing I can discern. Hopefully some kind soul will help lead me in the right direction.

Sincerely,
R. Smith

 

[Grandad35]

Osculate,

The icc profiles aren't executable - they contain information that defines the limits of the device's color space (its color gamut) as well as "look-up-tables" that tell how to convert images so that they display properly when sent to your device. They are used as input data for various color management programs. As a very simplified example, suppose that the Magenta ink in your profiled printer is 10% "stronger" than OEM ink. The data in the icc tables will tell the driver to convert the data in your images so that the Magenta is reduced by 10%. In this way, the Magenta on your finished prints will be at the proper strength.

If you have a calibrated monitor, a color aware editing package (e.g. Photoshop) will use your monitor profile so that you see an accurate representation of the colors on your display. When you go to a store that has a line of TV's tuned to the same program, do they all look the same? In the same way that these TV's all show different colors, computer monitors don't all show the same colors - calibrating your monitor makes it conform to a standard so that you see about the same colors as other people with calibrated monitors.

In order to print an image, you also need a separate profile for your ink/paper/printer combination so that a color aware printing package (e.g. Photoshop, Qimage, etc.) will send corrected information to the printer. As discussed in "Profiles 101", there are several ways to use a printer profile, depending on your printing package. It is also possible to apply the profile twice (double profiling) if you are not careful.

The link given at the bottom of post #2 in the "Profiles 101" thread also discusses how to use profiles on Canon printers. Good luck.

 

[osculate]

Grandad35,

Thank you for that response... I guess I understand things a little better at least.
You mention using a "color aware printing package". Would the program I usually use, "Adobe PhotoDeluxe Business Edition," be one of these color aware packages?
And then could I make the appropiate changes (adding correct profile, etc) in the contol panel for the printer I'm using and things would work... assuming everything else was accurate? I'd like to try using profiles but would rather not have to buy PhotoShop.

R. Smith

 

[Grandad35]

Osculate,

I am not familiar with "Adobe PhotoDeluxe Business Edition", but it appears to be an older package (the links that I found talked about Windows 98/2000/NT). You can specify a profile in your printer driver for non-color aware programs - the following was copied from the "Profiles 101" post and should apply for most Canon printers. The Microsoft Photo Wizard isn't color aware, and this procedure is typical for all such programs.

Printing with Microsoft's Photo Wizard:
Change your default printer settings by Control Panel/Printers and Faxes, right click on the printer to get access to the "Properties" and "Preferences".
In Properties/Color Management (if this is a "shared" printer, this step must be done on the server):
Select "manual".
If the desired profile isn't listed, click "Add" to locate and include it in the list
Set the desired profile as the default.
Click "Apply".
___
In Preferences/Main/Color Adjustment:
Set the paper type and print quality as defined for the profile (these settings must be the same as they were when the profile was generated to get the same proper results)
Select "Manual", then click "Set"
Set all color adjustment settings to 0. They can be set differently if needed for special cases, but you will be modifying the results from the profile.
Enable "ICM" (this activates color management in the driver using the profile selected above).
___
Use the Photo Printing Wizard as usual, making sure that the settings selected above are still there.

If you do much printing, download the trial version of Qimage and give it a try.

 

[osculate]

Thank you Grandad35.