need help with icc/icm profiles and closed loop color system

hi, I was wondering if anybody could help me with a problem i'm having. :D

my work requires my scanned photos that have the same color/size as the origional but i'm having trouble getting the colors to look the same. I have two computers

epson 10000+ scanner / 2 minolta magicolor 2000 laser printers on a 1ghz p3 w/ a 19" p95f viewsonic monitor

the other is

epson 1650 scanner / epson C80 inkjet printer on a athlon 800mhz w/ a 17" CTX monitor

I have already replaced the adobe gamma loader with a better colorific one and calibrated it (althou I don't know how good it works) and I have most of the .icc and .icm profiles for the scanners and the printers. Also the color space used in photoshop is adobe sRGB with US prepress defaults and as far as I know it should not change the color.

My question is what can I do other than buying more software (the company I work for is to cheap to buy anything else cuz the "network guys" who installed the system said it has everything it need for a graffix workstation. )
Anyhow I want my printer to print what I see on my screen and not have a mismatch going on, it's not drastic but it's not the color it should be and I need perfect.

So what I guess I'm saying is does anyone have any tips on how to fix the problem? I am currently scouting the web for some kind of color chart or something to get me matching colors.

I'm thinking that I could use some kind of swatch or something to scan and print then change the profiles untill they match, but it sounds easier than it is (trying it as I type)

If anyone has ideas or recomedation i'd love to hear um, I've tried quicksilver (scanner software with color calabration) but no ones gonna buy it for me, if thiers some shareware or freeware that does the same thing do let me know.




;) lata btw nice forum

First off.....

NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER listen to the ...ahem..."Network Guys" where matters of color calibration or consistent color workflow are concerned.

Did I mention that you should never listen to the network guys?

Second, Buy David Blatner & Bruce Fraser's book "Real World Photoshop 6" and dig in. These guys are at the top of the game when it comes to color management. There's a lot to know about the subject....wa-a-a-a-a-ay too much to go into on this forum. I might also suggest heading over to the Adobe User-to-User Forums and dig in there as well. There are a lot of really knowledgable people there, including engineers for Adobe as well as the aforementioned Mr. Fraser.

Don't ever listen to the network guys....there might be 1 in 25,000 who know anything about getting the most out of Photoshop, let alone color consistency.

Try to find a new job and get used to working on Macs. This whole business of color consistency is a difficult subject to begin with, and Windows still really doesn't have a clue about it. I'm dead serious...Windows suck with color. Period. Full stop.

And whatever you do, don't listen to the network guys...they know even less about color than the Windows OS.

Let the flames begin! :D

U's right, get a mac and you'll be one step closer.

As far as shareware/freeware.... I don't think you'll find anything that will give you "prefect" color. We (were I work) spent $100,000 on color managment from the workstations to the printing presses, but the "PC" workstations still don't come up with a true match consistantly.

On the color laser you might be able to get close, but I would suspect you'll do more "chasing" it than actually "calabrating" it. The epson C80 on the other hand.... well, good luck.


I wish I could help you, but unless the place you work wants to make an "investment" in color managment, YOU, are fighting a losing battle.

Oh yeah, and like U23 said, the Tech/network people haven't got a clue. To prove that point, challenge them to come "sit down, and show you how to fix it".... If you have everything you need SURELY they can fix it...... right?

Thanks for the responces guys, I think everythings gonna work now I got them to buy me spyder ( http://www.colorcal.com/ ). About using a Mac insted of a PC yea I know macs are easier to just setup and use off the bat but I am one of those people who actually likes PC's over macs cuz of the customability and amount of software avalible that you just can't get on a mac. As soon as I get my calabration stuff I shouldn't have any more problems and it's cheaper than getting a mac. btw thier giving me another computer, printer and scanner and upgrading the computers I have now with more memory, the new computer is a P4 1.7ghz with a radeon 64 meg ddr, 512 megs of rambus and another 19" flatscreen. So I guess all my bitchin paid off :-)

laters

Mac has ColorSync. 'nuff said.


My company is buying me a Mac pretty soon, simply for color consistency. This fatty P4 1.5GHz is gonna be a ripstation for the rest of it's days. I can't wait.

The good thing is, you're on a closed loop, and it sounds like you've got pretty good PC equipment, so you shouldn't give up on it. just be sure to back up your settings once you find one you like.