I am embarrassed to say that even though I was a professional photographer for 30 years and have printed thousands of color prints in darkrooms of old that I can not get a decent print out of my Epson R300. First off the software is out dated and it appears Epson doesn't support this printer anymore secondly I don't know or have forgot how to do a test strip and then make adjustments.
I am using Photoshop CS yet I did upgrade to CS3 and have yet to use it, which is frustrating since I could have waited since now CS4 is out.

I noticed this product but the reviews make the support from this company sound painful

[www.amazon.com]

Is there a simple and easy tutorial to get my Mac and printer to print using either version of my Photoshops?

Thanks

I can't help you, but I will await response from the more knowledgeable members here, as I also cannot make a decent print from my R800. Everything turns out having a green tint.

I wonder if our issues have any commonality.

You might start here (it's free)...

[av.adobe.com]

But, Russell Brown's extensive tutorials are here...

[www.russellbrown.com]

edit: You should also view the Video Workshop disk that comes with the program and the loads of help from the "Help" menu in the title bar!

Also, there is a manual calibration...

"In Mac OS, use the Calibrate utility, located in the System Preferences/Displays/Color tab."



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/10/2009 06:52PM by M>B>.

unfortunately your experience in the color darkroom doesn't translate very well to digital - i'm speaking from experience.

you don't do test prints, instead you calibrate your monitor. eye-one is a good screen calibrator

this looks like a good explanation of how to get a print that matches your screen (if its properly calibrated)

[www.computer-darkroom.com]

---

Welcome to the world of printing.

One of the big questions you will eventually have to answer for yourself is - How good do I want to get?

You can take a big first step by just using a profiled monitor, profiled printer/paper combinations and learning how to adjust using soft proofing.

After that you are on a never ending road chasing perfection. The journey can be a ton of fun but the balance between perfecting your skills and productive output is yours to make.

Here are a few resources in addition to the ones already mentioned:

Michael Reichmann offers 1 on 1 one day workshop
[luminous-landscape.com]

Charlie Cramer and John Caponigro offer master's classes
[www.charlescramer.com]
[www.johnpaulcaponigro.com]

John also offers an Advanced and an Expert level course.


The dummies book you asked about is by Scott Kelby, available for preorder.
[www.amazon.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/11/2009 10:20AM by pipiens.

Can any local stores help set up or diagnose printer problems? Like the Apple Store, a local computer store or some other organization?

I've never gone the calibrated screen route, and I've never had to. I don't do proofs, I just do basic photographs. All my previous printers have been fine with what I do, the output a pretty good representation of what I have on the screen. This Epson R800 doesn't.

I downloaded a greyscale image and when it printed out, it was greenscale.

I'm getting ready to trash the Epson, but hate to feel that I wasted $400 on it. So I'd like to try and resolve the problem. Though if I can't I would be in the market for a new photo printer.

Hi Sam

What application are you using to print with? What is managing color? The printer? Photoshop ? Who's media are you using?

Epson has some profiles for the R800 here:
[www.epson.com]

Russel Brown's simple video did the trick! - Thanks!

This is what I did per his instructions:
I selected the correct" Source Space" Adobe 1998 or SRGB depending on my image-
and selected the correct "Print Space" - SPR300 Glossy Photo Paper
I turned off Color Management within the Epson print menu so I now have full control in Photoshop - this is big because now I know to adjust my color and contrast in Photoshop only.
I selected the correct "Media Type" - Glossy Photo Paper
and selected "Best Photo"

It was great to find out that "High Speed" simply means the head is printing as it moves both directions, so now I will always leave that checked.

The last thing I discovered after testing the printer, is that I needed to clean the heads.
I had to do 19 head cleaning and test print cycles to get my ink heads cleaned. I now have a reminder on my calendar to clean heads or print something at least once a month to prevent clogging.

I can see how deep this can get if i was doing exhibition prints and wanted to calibrate everything but for my current needs - I am all set.

Thanks to all!