[lexiandlala]

ok, newbie here and need to step by step explanation.

I am looking to design in Photoshop CS4 and then print to my Epson WF1100 inkjet onto a white cotton tee and have the colors match or come damn close. so far everything has been great until....

I had a design with some hot pink text and the printed version came out purple. it was not until someone told me to increase the yellow in that part of the design that I got it to come out as close to pink as I could get.

I have played with the printer settings in every way shape and form, i.e. photoshop manages color, printer manages color, no color management.

Do I design in RGB or design in CMYK? What is an ICC profile and does that apply to my situation?

The main color I'm having trouble with is hot pink or pink in general.. it comes out purple on the printer.

Is there a GENERAL setting that i can apply to my printer and use that every time I print a design out or is this something I'm going to have to change every time?

thanks so much!!!

 

[Lnfortun]

I am not familiar with CS4. I do have Photoshop v3 and Photoshop Elements v2. They both have calibration help to do color management so that the monitor and printer output will be close.

The image attachment shows Photoshop v3 Calibration content page. I would imagine it carries over to CS4.

 

[anderson30]

Use Adobe RGB in photoshop, then in your Epson printer Advance Settings in Color Mode use Adobe RGB

 

[cleos]

Besides CS4, what monitor do you have? are you working with PC or Mac? did you calibre your monitor and what profile are you using?

 

[BroJames]

Alex, first, a properly calibrated monitor does help. Still, do not expect any printer to print out the color of any image with 100% accuracy. It is just not possible. The color on the monitor is generated by light and the color printed is generated by ink. It is also affected by the ICC color profile used.

If color is very important to you, I suggest you print out all the colors of the color profile you prefer(on a fabric similar to the one you will be printing on) so you can see how it looks in print. This will also enable you to select the printed color you want. I forgot how to do this so try google. In corel you can use VB macros though to print color swatches.

You can also search for CMYK, RGB, Pantone charts (those with color values) and print them on a cut fabric similar to the ones you will be printing on. Some are more than 10 pages long. I am referring to something like this.

By referring to the printed fabric, for example, you need to have the 4th yellow shade(4th down on the 2nd column) as it appears in print you know you need to set a RGB value close to 255, 255,102.

Not the most elegant way to do it but should solve your problem.

 

[lexiandlala]

Thank you all very much. I am using a MAC and not sure when or if the last time my monitor was calibrated.

How do I find out what profile I am currently using? And you say find the one I prefer, so I find one and how do I tell Photoshop to use this one in particular?

Sorry for all the newbie questions.

 

[lexiandlala]

ok, I did a monitor calibration or so I went through the steps with the instructions in Photoshop.

I still can't figure out which color profile I have. IN CS4 I am designing in RGB Mode.. now on the printer settings am I supposed to pick "Working RGB" or "Adobe RGB" and should it be Photoshop manages colors or Printer manages color or no color management?



when I open the print window it says: From the top

Color Management - Document is chosen (profile: US web coated (SWOP) v2

Color Handling - Printer manages color

Printer profile - Working RGB - sRGB IEC61966-2.1

Rendering intent - Relative Colorimetric

Proof Setup - working CMYK

Is there a general rule/setting I should have these at to print my transfers?

 

[PositiveDave]

There are some colours that you can't print, these are your out-of-gamut colours.
The newer Epsons have a vivid magenta, specifically to try and get the barbie-pink colours.
The colour atlas is good, you should have a decent ICC profile, but you still won't be able to print anything more magenta-y than your magenta.

 

[brotherpiano]

If color is very important to you, I suggest you print out all the colors of the color profile you prefer(on a fabric similar tot he one you will be printing on) so you can see how it looks in print.

I agree absolutely. One can never really trust what you are seeing on a screen, use this system and you'll be confident that odd reddish yellow you put in your photoshop doc will come out pink.

 

[brotherpiano]

Make sure you print the color chart on the same media (in this case your "white cotton tee") that you intend to make your final print. Different media receive ink in different ways.

Oops, my main response hasn't posted yet. I guess I'm still being vetted =]

 

[lexiandlala]

what about the settings I posted before... should I change anything or are those standard to use for printing?

 

[BroJames]

I am not that familiar with the settings but I think you can decide better based on the print results.

In relation to what I posted earlier, I am just wondering if shirts like this will sell (I once printed a color wheel) but here's a printed color chart.

The print is called funtones or a fun version of pantone colors. If these shirts do sell then you can save your screens for printing on different fabric surfaces. You need more designs for the other colors though.

Source: http://www.snowshop.us/index.php?category=T-Shirts+-+S-S

 

[anderson30]

ok, I did a monitor calibration or so I went through the steps with the instructions in Photoshop.

I still can't figure out which color profile I have. IN CS4 I am designing in RGB Mode.. now on the printer settings am I supposed to pick "Working RGB" or "Adobe RGB" and should it be Photoshop manages colors or Printer manages color or no color management?



when I open the print window it says: From the top

Color Management - Document is chosen (profile: US web coated (SWOP) v2

Color Handling - Printer manages color

Printer profile - Working RGB - sRGB IEC61966-2.1

Rendering intent - Relative Colorimetric

Proof Setup - working CMYK

Is there a general rule/setting I should have these at to print my transfers?

Since youre using an Inkjet printer the best possible settings is the ADOBE RGB. Changed your proof setup in RGB. The Epson printer in advanced settings then use Adobe RGB in the Color Mode.

another thing is that Photoshop must manage all colors not the printer. Epson printer recognize the Adobe RGB that is being used by your document.