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Bair Art Edition's Tutorial on:
Epson Professional Printing Workflow
Suggested Driver Settings
For this module we assume that you have:
Now you are ready to print the file after all that preparation. Hit Print.. and proceed.
The driver settings you will use are dependant upon the operating system that you use.
Click on the operating system that you use:
Mac OS9 | Mac OSX | Windows
Mac OS 9
The driver looks like this:
You'll notice that the paper (media) type has been changed to Premium Luster, but other than that, these are the default settings. And they are bad settings, at least in relation to the quality and control that we are seeking in this tutorial.
The most detrimental setting in this window is the selection of "Automatic" Mode. Instead you must select "Custom" and click on Advanced.
Doing so will bring up the Advanced window, which looks like this:
You'll notice that I have selected "No Color Adjustment"!!!!!. If you, back when we were selecting ICC Profiles, have selected a printer/paper profile in the Print Preview, then you better select no color adjustment now! Otherwise you are double profiling, and trying to switch from RGB to CMYK twice!
You'll also notice that you can specify the Media Type here as well. More important, however, is the ability to select the Print Quality and Speed. For most prints you'll never need to go above 1440 dpi. Go to the Output resolution page for ideas on the right dpi for your image.
Hit OK, or you can also save the settings for future use as well.
After that, the dialog should look like this, and you should be good to go:
Mac OS X
The Printer Driver in X is very different from OS 9. It looks like this:
First make sure you have the correct printer selected. You can use Presets, but be aware that they end up defaulting quite easily!!
The pull-down menu currently labeled Copies & Pages is what you'll be using to hop around and do all of your settings:
Most of the options there will not be necessary, you can check them out, but for now, make sure you at least do the following. Go to Print Settings first:
Make your window match mine in this category: Advanced Settings. This will allow you to set output dpi and print speed. Go to the Output resolution page for ideas on the right dpi for your image.
If you are printing on a roll, make sure you set your roll paper options next, don't necessarily follow my settings, just see if they work for you:
Now, make the last major adjustment (which we leave until last because if you do it first, it sometimes resets when you make other adjustments after setting it). It is under color management, and the setting is No Color Adjustment. This is VITAL!!! As you have selected an ICC Profile (back when were in Photoshop's Print Preview window), you then made a specific color adjustment involving RGB to CMYK translation for your specific paper/printer combination. If you now don't select no color adjustment, you'll be making the color adjustment twice, resulting in a characteristicly magenta and blown-out print.
With that, you should be ready to print.
Windows Settings
The windows driver has the functionality of the page setup built right in, as well as other functions. However, our main goal (now that we have set the color adjustment by using an ICC Profile) is to set the driver to do "no color adjustment" itself.
The driver, by default, looks like this, with "Automatic" print settings:
That is bad! (At least for the quality and control we are looking for). Click on "Custom", and a button labeled Advanced... will appear, click on it:
In the advanced window you will have several color control options. Again, our goal is to set it for "No Color Adjustment." Often in Windows drivers, that option is immediately available, as it is in this example:
However, at times it will not be available unless you first select "ICM" and then select "No Color Adjustment" in the window that comes up as a result.
While we are here in the advanced menu, you will want to set the appropriate dpi and print speed as well. Most images will never need a higher setting than 1440 dpi.
You're now good to go, let her print!
More Printer Settings:
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