NOTE: most inkjet printers expect RGB inputs so, be sure that you are printing from an RGB Mode file. Otherwise the printer will convert it to RGB and you may not like the results!
For my HP Printer, when I am using printing profiles as I am below, I shoot and print in the ProPhoto RGB color space.
Should your prints come out dull and lifeless you may also try converting your image to sRGB color space which is smaller than ProPhoto RGB and may work better on your make and model of printer.
For a more detailed discussion of this subject, I recommend the book, Easy Color Management in Digital Photography by Brad Hinkel. Here is his website where you can read a sample chapter and don’t miss downloading the free test image!
If you are already having problems printing from Photoshop CS3 and want a ‘fresh’ start, hold down the shift, option, and command keys while you launch Photoshop and say yes when it asks if you’d like to “Delete the Photoshop Settings File”.
In CS3 goto the print dialog box [command-P]
Select your printer from the Printer: popup menu, i.e. Photosmart Pro B9100 series
Click the Page Setup button
again, next to Format For: select your printer, i.e. Photosmart Pro B9100 series
also, select the appropriate paper size (there may also be another sub menu for borderless, etc.) and orientation
click OK to save these Page Setup options.
Now you will be back in the CS3 pint dialog box …
From it’s top right – Output/Color Management popup menu select Color Management
Assuming your are making a final print click the Document radio button.
From the Color Handling popup menu select: Photoshop Manages Color.
For the Printer Profile, pick the one that is appropriate for your printer/paper combination.
I’ve had good results using profiles for many papers for the HP B9180 printer which are available from the HP at:
http://h30267.www3.hp.com/country/us/en/support/photosmart-b9180-icc.html
Note this HP website explains exactly how and where to add custom profiles to your Mac. Follow their directions, carefully.
Also, Ilford offers more profiles for their pro papers for this printer here:
http://www.ilford.com/profiles
i.e. For this example, I’ll use the commonly available paper – HP PSPro B9100 – Advanced Photo Glossy for the popup menu,
Rendering Intent: set this to Perceptual (best for photos)
Check the Black Point Compensation check box
On the bottom of the center of this CS3 Print dialog box …
Check the match print colors check box
Also, you can select to Center Your Image, and/or Scale to Fit the media, and/or setup your dimensions here.
Now click the Print button to go to the Mac OS printer dialog box.
If you only see two pop-up menus, click the down pointing triangle
Set the printer popup to the same one you choose in the Photoshop dialog, i.e. Printer: Photosmart Pro B9100 series
It is VERY IMPORTANT to set the popup menu to Paper Type/Quality!
Here you need to pick the same ICC Profile that you did in Photoshop’s print dialog , i.e. Paper Type: HP Advanced Photo Paper, Glossy
Set the Quality popup menu to: Maximum DPI
Set the Source popup menu to either the Main Tray or Specialty Media Tray.
Much of this can be recorded the first time for each paper type …
Click on the Presets: popup menu and Save As, naming this preset for all of these settings for that paper, i.e. Advanced Photo Paper, Glossy
Then after this, at least in the Mac OS printer dialog you can select the correct preset and all of the rest will be OK. Unfortunately, you will still need to make the appropriate changes (ICC Profile, etc.) in the Photoshop print dialog.
Now, go ahead and click the Print button!
BTW Once you get used to the above settings, although they appear in slightly different places, the same settings work well in all of my other Mac programs including: Nikon Capture NX, LightZone, iPhoto ‘08, etc.
Just remember that you want the Application to manage color and NOT the printer.
It took me many trials (and errors) to figure these settings out so, give them a try and if you find a better setting, please let me know!
