B+W Photos have a purple tint when printed!!! why?

[Yellabelly]

I have an Epson Photo R300 and use PS version 6.0 or PSP version 11.
When I desaturate a colour photo and then print it or when I print a scanned B+W photo there is a purplish tint/cast to the photo rather than true B+W. I have also changed to greyscale rather than desaturate but still get the same tint rather than true greys or blacks

The on-screen view matches the original photo

Can anyone please tell me what I'm doing wrong.

I use original Epson cartridges
Thanks,
YB

[poah]

its because the printer does not have the inks to do it straight from the off. most printers will give cast when trying to print B&W which is usually green. my adive woul dbe to print small pics say 10cm wide and try to remove the cast using adjustments. my R2400 gives a slight green cast when printing B&W but I can remove it easily using the printer software.

[stigmundfreud]

also desaturating just will give you grey - you need to alter either levels or brightness/contrast to get it to pukka BW

On your printer do you have a matte or photo black cartdidge or is it all just colour tones?

[Yellabelly]

stigmundfreud said:

also desaturating just will give you grey - you need to alter either levels or brightness/contrast to get it to pukka BW

On your printer do you have a matte or photo black cartdidge or is it all just colour tones?

The Epson Stylus Photo R300 uses a black cartridge as one of six colour cartridges it is not matte and as the printer is a photo model I have to presume that it is a photo black.

I'll try altering the levels but the on-screen view is very close to the original also there is still the problem when printing scanned B+W which gives the same purple tint when printed.

Many thanks Stig
YB

[stigmundfreud]

ah

right I have the r1800 you probably have photo black

if you are using the epson easy print (I use it for all mine even stuff i flog, its aces) ensure the print setting is set to monocrome

when you go into easy print after selecting the image, paper and you have the bit where you can print - use image correction and set the image type to monochrome

[stigmundfreud]

of if using photoshop to print, go into advance settings during print and set to monochrome or it will try to interpret it as colour unless the colour space is read as bw

[2jamesl]

I get a green tinge! : /

[drivin_me_nuts]

I use an Epson 9800 at home and when I started printing a while back I found that there were some things that needed careful consideration

- the media. Some papers are less absorbent and will alter the final result
- likewise there are chemical reactions between inks and papers that change the colour of the inks
- what you see on the monitor does not have to match what comes out on the paper. Firstly because both monitor and print use different colour spaces (lights vs pigments) and secondly ambient lighting pc settings change the image state (and thirdy unless you monitor and printer have an ICC profile then results are pretty much luck more than anything else)

- What I have found uesful is printing a small black colour block from PS and then seeing how it comes out on the printer. That will give you a good idea as to what is going on with your printer. If it appears tinged - try with another paper or try changing the print settings (certainly switching to monochrome if that's an option would be a good idea)

[wendyg]

Are there any great ways of getting good colour accuracy from your printer?

I don't know what I could be doing wrong, but when I take a pic, the colour balance from the subject to the camera's LCD pic seems OK, the same from the camera to the monitor. But when I print it, it seems oversaturated and a bit overexposed, without any processing. It's a Canon Pixma ip6600D, which I thought would be OK for a beginner.

I've done the basic set-up things recommended, but that only seems to cover white-black levels, not colour.

Advice appreciated.

[drivin_me_nuts]

wendyg said:

Are there any great ways of getting good colour accuracy from your printer?

I don't know what I could be doing wrong, but when I take a pic, the colour balance from the subject to the camera's LCD pic seems OK, the same from the camera to the monitor. But when I print it, it seems oversaturated and a bit overexposed, without any processing. It's a Canon Pixma ip6600D, which I thought would be OK for a beginner.

I've done the basic set-up things recommended, but that only seems to cover white-black levels, not colour.

Advice appreciated.

yes there is, but it will cost you. What you will need to do is create what is called an ICC profile and apply it to both the monitor(s) and the printer. There are companies that supply the hardware and software for doing this. For example I use a Gretag Mcbeth Eye 1 pro. However, this is for the more serious type stuff. What you can do in the meantime is the following.

From your pc settings disable the Adobe Gamma settings. Then what you will need to do is try and create a control sheet for yourself. If you have PS or some other image making software create a rectangular matrix of colours. Include at least the 64 colours that you see when you go into MS word and select format->borders and shading and try and re-create this. Print it off. When it prints off compare to what you see on the monitior. You will probably see a big difference between printer and monitor. Keep the sheet as a comparrison. Now print the sheet for each and every different media you use. For example, printing on a matte paper, satin paper, glossy paper, watercolour type paper. What ever paper it is, print a sheet and you will get a good idea of how the monitor and the printer will be different. Now, tape over the contrast and brightness settings and leave them alone!

This method won't apply a profile to your monitor but at least you will get some better understanding of how your monitor and how your printer 'see' the same colour.

Cheers

[Yellabelly]

Many thanks for the responses, you guys never fail to impress. I will have a look see when I get home tonight. Particularly impressed with the idea of printing the black square or the colour matrix to check reproduction, such simple logic really but I'd not thought that one through.

Regards
YB

[Yellabelly]

stigmundfreud said:

of if using photoshop to print, go into advance settings during print and set to monochrome or it will try to interpret it as colour unless the colour space is read as bw

Sorted, it was the greyscale setting in advanced settings in PS that corrected it.
I tried the black square test and it proved the black printing as being OK.
Many thanks
YB