Digital Outback Photo - Photography using Digital SLRs


 
 

Digital Outback Profiling Service

 
Get the maximum quality from your Inkjet Printers.
Custom Profiles make a difference!
 

NEWS:

Epson Profiles for the 2200

Epson posted profiles for the 2200 on their page. There is also a PDF that describes the driver settings.

Give these profiles a try before you order custom profiles.

 
NEW Profiling Options
 

We generally create profiles for the D50 viewing situation. Yes, the new Epson Ultrachrome printers have less metamerism, but is it still there. That is why some might want to get the profiles targeted for D65 viewing light (outdoors).

This table shows the possible metamerism casts (easy visible if you print B&W):
Indoors
Sunlight
     
D50
quite neutral
slight green cast
     
D65
slight magenta cast
quite neutral

All our customers can now specify whether they want the profiles targeted for D50/D65 or both (at $20 extra).

 

All our previous customers can also buy the upgrade and get the second D65 profile without sending a new target. We keep all data for at least 3 months and the printed targets for about 1 month. All you need to do is pay for the upgrade (see in payment section) and send us an email.
 
 

We only profile these printers

Epson printers using pigmented inks: 2200/4000/7600/9600.

Canon S9000 (or equivalent)

For different printers ask. Our equipment can be used for many types of printers we just want to understand first which kind of printer you want to profile and that we might not be able to help you as much as with Epson/Canon printers.

For Windows users there is one more reason to use custom profiles for Epson printers. Read the article by Bruce Fraser "Canned Profiles, Custom Profiles, and Pretend Profiles".

 
Testimonials
 

"The Epson enhanced matte profile for my Canon 9000 is perfect (works fine for Velvet Fine Art, too). I've got shadow detail for the first time, and the colors are spot on. I don't know why I waited so long to get a custom profile, it was complete simplicity to install. It's well worth the $80. Thanks again."

Rob Porter (profiles for the Canon 9000) 1/17/2004

"You know, I was always hesitant making a large print knowing that many times I would have to do it over with the output not quite what I had hoped. I have now gone through 3 boxes of Epson watercolor and 4 boxes of enhanced mat and haven't had to re-run a print. So I am satisfied. At this rate I'll pay back the cost of the profiles in no time...I have 3 more papers on the way..."

Bob Thomas (Three profiles for the Epson 2200) 4/12/2003

"Thank you for my profiles, I have just found time to use them, and I am amazed at saturation tone and neutrality of these profiles. Thank you for a great professional service, I will be profiling other papers in thenext fewb days and sending you the targets."

Geoff Graham (Three profiles for Epson 9600) 4/7/2003

"I just tried one of the 3 Epson 9600 Ultrachrome paper profiles (Premium Luster @ 720 dpi) you sent me, and the result is superb...the print is a virtually perfect match with my calibrated Viewsonic PF795 monitor image. Thank you!! Thank you!! This is the first time I have achieved this level of precision in printing (I've only owned my Epson 9600 for a couple of weeks), and the paper savings alone (not to mention peace of mind) over the next few months will more than cover the $160 cost of the profiles. "

Ian Adams (Three profiles for Epson 9600) 9/23/2002

"These are the best profiles I used on my printer (Canon S9000). I previously tried profiles which came from Monaco Easy Color and known Internet sites. Your profiles are better, especially for
Epson HeavyWeight Matte Paper were the output is now outstanding when compared to my previous attempts. I am a very satisfied french customer.

Fabrice Lefebvre (Profiles: Canon S9000 3 different papers) 9/12/2002

"I was initially disappointed with the Epson 2200. The prints just looked flat and the colors weren't quite right compared to my 1270. The profile Uwe made me for the 2200 has changed that. The colors are spot on and the prints have a richness and vibrancy that wasn't there with the stock profile. I am VERY happy with the profile."

John Hollenberg (Profile: Epson Premium Glossy for Epson 2200) 9/02/2002

"The profiling service by Uwe at outbackphoto.com is not only affordable, but easy and straightforward. Most importantly, Uwe makes every effort to satisfy his clients. Give it a try and I am sure you will be pleased!"

Juan Pons (Profile: Epson Premium Luster for Epson 2200) 8/23/2002

"I'm actually very VERY pleased with the initial two profiles you've made up for the Enhanced Matte and Premium Luster (Epson 9600 printer). Just cannot bring myself to spend $3000 for the Eye-One! Especially now that I've got you to make them up for me."

Paul Prachun (Profiles: Epson Premium Luster and Enhance Matte for Epson 9600) 8/24/2002

"I am delighted with the profiles Uwe Steinmueller made for my new Epson 9600 Ultrachrome printer. These superb profiles have enabled me to obtain the maximum quality from my new printer. The colors are nicely saturated and the contrast is excellent. I now get in print what I see on my calibrated monitor. And, best of all, with these profiles I am able to create prints which are truly stunning!"

Alain Briot (Several Profiles for Epson 9600) 8/29/2002
 
 

How do we work?
 

We use the new Eye-One spectrophotometer, new improved targets by Bill Atkinson and Profile Maker Pro 4.1 software (about $4,500 investment).

Our current price

  • $80 paid before the order gets processed
  • $180 for 3 profiles in the same order (save $50)
  • FREE email technical support (no refund possible)

 

We cannot do special tweaking as this would need to be on location.
 
Note: You have only the license to use the created profile on your printer and are not allowed to distribute it in any way. These are the license regulations which come with the GretagMacbeth software and are probably easily to understand.
 
Steps to follow
 
0. Profile your Monitor
 
Without a profiled monitor you will have no idea what the print should look like. A printer profile not wrong just because you see a very different result on paper as on the screen. Save you money if you don't have a reasonable monitor profile.
 
 
1. Payment
 
1.1 Single Profile
 
 
$90 for a single profile
 


 
$20 for upgrading to get both D50/D65 for one Profile
 


 
1.2 Two Profiles in one Order
 
$150 for 2 Profiles in one Order
 


 
$35 for upgrading to get both D50/D65 for 2 Profiles in one Order
 


 
1.3 Three Profiles in one Order
 
$190 for 3 Profiles in one Order
 


 
$45 for upgrading to get both D50/D65 for 3 Profiles in one Order
 


 
We will then name you an address where to send the printed targets (see below).
 
2. Download targets
 

We use new enhanced targets from Bill Atkinson. (Readers who own an Eye-One can download the reference file and Bill's readme here)

The targets come in two variations. Please only send one(!) set:

a) 2 targets to be printed on 2 letter sized papers (A4 targets ZIP file)

b) 1 target to be printed on one A3 sheet of paper (A3 target ZIP file)
 
3. Printing the Targets
 
We only describe here the way how to use the targets with Photoshop and the Epson drivers. If you use a RIP then you have to follow the instructions which comes with the RIP.
 
Do not change the targets in any way (no resizing, no change of DPI, ...). Then don't color manage while loading these targets into Photoshop (no profile assignment or conversion). The prints have to be made in landscape mode so that 100% of the target is printed on the paper.
 
3a) Settings for your Epson Printer
 
These settings are probably different for all your different papers. Keep the information about all settings as you will also use exactly the same settings once you utilize the new profiles.
 
 

Select a paper that is exactly your paper (in case of Epson papers) or one which comes close. In case your driver does not support 1440/2880 DPI for your paper set the printer to "Premium Luster Photo Paper". Again these settings will be all the same once you use the profiles!

REMEMBER (write down) these settings for all targets you print!
 

In the advanced dialog use the following options:

  • "No Color Adjustment"
  • 1440/2880 DPI (might be lower if you aim for speed, but a profile made for 1440 will not work for 720 and vice versa.
  • High speed off
 
3b) Settings in Photoshop
 

Then you use as target profile "Same as source" in Photoshop (You find the dialog in Photoshop 7 under the menu item "Print with Preview"):

which means that Photoshop is not doing any profile-to-profile mapping and print the target as is.

Settings for use with ImapringRIP are shown at the end.
4. Send the printed targets
 

You then send the printed targets to us by usual mail (best in a stable mailing tube or well protected, write "do not bend" on the envelope). Also write which paper, printer, ink (matte or photo black), DPI was used at the bottom of each sheet of paper (also 1-2, 2-2 if you use two letter sized prints).

Please also specify the viewing target D50 or D65 (or both if payed the upgrade). Default will be D50.

Note: Do not write on the back, left or right side of the target! Do not roll thicker fine art papers (e.g. watercolor paper) otherwise we have a hard time due to curl.

Also it is a good idea to send me a short email that the target prints are in the mail. That way we can notify you when they are late (10 days after we get that email).

Here is our mailing address:

Uwe Steinmueller
P.O. Box 24724
San Jose, CA 95154-4724
 
5. Creating the profiles
 

If we have got both your payment and your printed targets we will create the profiles and send them back to you by email.

If the print is of poor quality or we encounter other problems we will contact you also by email.

 
6. Using the profiles
 

Put the profiles into your WINDOWS\system32\spool\drivers\color (PC) or ColorSync (Mac) folder and restart Photoshop. Mac users please read the note at the end of this page.

For each paper ensure that the Epson driver settings are EXACTLY the same as at the time of printing the targets.

Now you enable color management in Photoshop and use as print space your new profile.
 

Important note on the Epson Printer Preview: Some users complain about a magenta cast in their prints. But actually they are not really printing and just look at the Epson preview.

The Epson Preview will be magenta and that is ok as this preview is not(!) color managed. But if real prints (the ones on paper) are magenta you most likely have double profiling. In this case ensure that the printer driver really does no color management what so ever.
 
 
 
 

NOTE: Read these great articles by Bruce Fraser "Realizing Good Intentions with Rendering Intents" and "Soft Proofing in Photoshop 6.0".Then you also can try to use "Relative Colorimetric" as Rendering Intent. In our experience the prints gets a bit darker (so brighten up your photos before you print). Which rendering intent to use is very dependent on your photos and your personal style.

Please also read our note on "Print Matching".
 

Note for Mac Users: A useful tool if you work on a Macintosh is the Drop€ColorSyncProfile utility which will make profiles created on a PC ColorSync compatible and thus usable on a Mac.

Drop the profiles in the COlorSync folder located in the System folder. That's with Mac OS 9.2 and earlier. Drag and drop the pc profiles on the Drop€ColorSyncProfile utility and they get converted automatically.

Sometimes the profiles show not up in Photoshop for Mac OS 9 users. In these cases the filename of the profiles might be too long. Try to shorten the name, this might do the trick.
 
Settings for the popular ImagePrint RIP
 
To print and use profiles with ColorByte's ImagePrint RIP is pretty easy for use with the Epson 2200/7600/9600 printers.
 
a) System setup (same for regular printing and target printing)
 


System Tab
 

System: your monitor profile

Printer: your printer profile (if you use IP in a client server configuration be sure that these profiles are also on the server available)
 
b) Bitmap setup for target printing
 


Settings only for printing the targets!
 

RGB: None (IP does not use any profiles, that is what you want for printing your targets)

 
 
c) Bitmap setup for regular prints
 


Settings for normal printing
 

RGB: Adobe RGB (1998). We had also some profile called Adobe RGB (without 1998) and do not know where it came from. Don't use it!

Rendering Intent: Your choice, give "Relative Colorimetric a try.

Embedded: We have is on "ignore" as all our files are Adobe RGB anyway and this feature does not work properly in client/server mode.