Topic: Lightroom CC Printing Issue - Help Please...!

[Late Developer]

First of all, I need to make it clear that:

(a) I'm VERY new to inkjet printing (set the printer up 25 March 2017 - i.e. 2 days ago)
(b) I am have VERY limited IT skills (generally)
(c) I am sure that the fault will lie with me and will be an easy fix (oh, please let it be an easy fix.....!  )

Equipment and Software I'm using:

- Epson CS-P600 Printer
- Apple i-Mac running latest "Sierra" OS
- Adobe LR "CC" app - latest version downloaded
- I post-process scanned negs in LR CC use the LR "Print" module to print
- Spyder 4 to calibrate my screen

The Issue:

I've loaded the drivers for the printer and also downloaded ICC profiles for the exact paper stock I intend to use.  I have even produced some half-decent prints - so everything "seems" to be well with the world - but it isn't; not quite. 

Although I've watched YouTube demos from Adobe (and Canson - the paper manufacturer I'm using), when I go into the Printer Settings box (bottom left of the LR CC Print module), the Print dialog box doesn't offer me the option to select the correct paper and also turn off "Color Management".

If I can't turn this off, LR CC won't allow the profile I've loaded to operate correctly and I get colour casts.  Apparently, it allows the printer to control the "Color Management" not the profile loaded.  Unloading and reloading profiles and drivers has made no difference and I specifically want to print via LR CC.

I have printed some black and white photos + one colour photo - and they've come out okay-ish, but I'm not prepared to waste any more paper or ink until I have this issue resolved 100%

So, I would be extremely grateful if anyone who knows what I need to do to get to where I want to be could provide me with the "Idiot's Guide" to what I need to do - ideally with very simple to follow instructions and screen shots.  This is driving me nuts and, genuinely, ruined my birthday weekend.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help save my sanity......

[02Pilot]

I can't help I'm afraid, but I can commiserate at least. I struggled with several programs before finally purchasing Corel Paint Shop Pro. That, at last, allowed me the control I was looking for to make sure that one and only one color management profile was operating, easily scaling and locating the image, and making final adjustments before printing. Even so I never was able to get B&W to look right (i.e., without unwanted color casts) until I just started printing it in greyscale.

Getting over the initial hump with inkjet printing was painful, but at least now I feel like I can reliably produce decent prints. I know there's much more to learn, but it feels much less daunting once you can fall back on the basics. Good luck.

[Late Developer]

Thanks O2P, a bit of moral support is much appreciated.

I'm so close with this one, it's just so frustrating.  I know I'm missing something pretty basic but can't seem to find out what.  I think that all I need to do is to get the Print dialog box to:

(a) let me set the media type correctly
(b) give me options of "Print Mode" and "Color Mode"

it'd be "job done".  But how ?

I'm sure someone here will know 

[Francois]

I'd love to help but only use Windows...

Could it be that in the osx printer drivers tab there is an option to let the printer manage the colors that overrides the Lightroom controls?
That should be in the system's control panel itself.

[Late Developer]

I'd love to help but only use Windows...

Could it be that in the osx printer drivers tab there is an option to let the printer manage the colors that overrides the Lightroom controls?
That should be in the system's control panel itself.

Thanks Francois.

The ICC profiles are stored in the Apple Color Sync folder and, as far as I'm aware, the OS doesn't try to control colour management - other than storing the calibrations from my Spyder 4 in screen preferences.  Bearing in mind my screen is calibrated and I'm happy with the way the proposed output looks, I want the paper manufacturer's ICC profile to perform colour management without the printer sticking its oar in...!

I've posted this question on an Adobe forum and one suggestion is that the Mac has automatically prevented the printer's involvement.  However, I'm sceptical about this as what if I want to reverse it and have the printer to control colour management? I should have the option to choose - surely?  Add the fact that the YouTube demos clearly show that there's a button to turn "Color Mode" off and on (i.e. have no colour management or have colour management).

Thanks anyway. Paul.

[Francois]

There's a switch for it somewhere, that's for sure.

I'm checking an older version of LR on Windows and when you go to the bottom of the print menu column, they have print jobs listed.
Under color management, it says profile: managed by printer.
When I click on it, it gives me the choice between printer and other. I select other and it opens-up a selection menu that lists the installed profiles I have on my machine. I can then choose the profiles I want to have appear on my machine... but it reads only the profiles that have been enabled through the control panel.


Is it the same on the mac?

[Late Developer]

Thanks Francois.

I was out last night so I haven't had chance to check if it's the same.  However, what you've found sounds promising and I'm really hoping it gives me the same option so that the ICC profile takes over.

Even then, according to Fotospeed, there can still be slight colour casts.  However, most paper manufacturers apparently offer a service to create a truly custom profile.  The user prints a "target" print using the profile they want and sends it to the manufacturers who use some spectrometer thing to check absolute accuracy and send a customised profile back to the user to load and use.

I'm not tech-savvy enough to understand the ins and outs of this technology but I am sufficient of a control freak to want to ensure that what comes out of the printer is as true to what I've created from my JPEG or TIFF on screen (which is calibrated regularly).

Thanks for your help and I'll report back once I've checked tonight.....

[Francois]

I know the colormunki also does print calibration. Maybe the spyder4 does too.

[Late Developer]

Thanks Francois.

I was out last night so I haven't had chance to check if it's the same.  However, what you've found sounds promising and I'm really hoping it gives me the same option so that the ICC profile takes over.

Even then, according to Fotospeed, there can still be slight colour casts.  However, most paper manufacturers apparently offer a service to create a truly custom profile.  The user prints a "target" print using the profile they want and sends it to the manufacturers who use some spectrometer thing to check absolute accuracy and send a customised profile back to the user to load and use.

I'm not tech-savvy enough to understand the ins and outs of this technology but I am sufficient of a control freak to want to ensure that what comes out of the printer is as true to what I've created from my JPEG or TIFF on screen (which is calibrated regularly).

Thanks for your help and I'll report back once I've checked tonight.....

Thanks Francois. 

Yes I get the same message but there is a message underneath that states:

" ! When selecting a custom profile, remember to turn off color management in the Print dialog. Black Point Compensation will be used for this print. "

On the videos I've watched, when setting up the "Print Settings" (the box on the other bottom left of the Adobe LR print module) there should be a box that offers me the opportunity to switch off color management but on my version, although I get a box popping up, under "Layout" option I don't get the option for "Printer Settings" and certainly nothing beyond that to allow me to select the "Media Type" in the way it does on the video or select Print Mode, Color Mode (which contains the "No Color Management" option that I need), or Output Resolution, etc.

The "Layout" options I get has a much more limited range of options and the "Media and Quality" box doesn't allow me to select papers in the way that video (and the paper manufacturer's instructions on the insert enclosed with the paper) says I need to.  I've checked that I have the latest version of LR and I do.

I just do not know how to make adjustments to the way Lightroom is set up that will provide me with the route to a "Layout" box that provides me with the options as per that in the video. 

At this point, I am at the end of my tether and really losing the will to live.  The video is below if you want to see what it should look like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0vSLp-Waso

Thanks for your help, Francois, it's appreciated but I'm sure somebody, somewhere must know how to fix this and I really need their help.

[Francois]

I'm still running 5.6 for Windows, so it's a bit different.
Also, don't forget that the Canson video was made in 2015... lots of adobe updates have flowed under the bridge by now.

When I get in print mode, on the bottom left and bottom right I get the Page setup... and Printer... buttons that open the same printer selection dialog box from the OS itself, but for different purposes. The page setup just sets-up your printer options. The printer button sets the options and then prints. The Print button prints directly without asking any questions. I select my printer and set its properties like needed.
Now on the bottom of the right vertical scroller, there's the print job options where I can set the resolution and profile to use.

From what I can tell, most of the settings you need will be in the OS printer control panel on OSX also.