Datacolor User to User Support Group.

Try this:

Starting with the basics, when you are printing your target patches to be
read, be sure the settings in the Epson print driver are correct. I would
set them to "Watercolor Paper - Radiant White"; Photo 1440dpi; No High
Speed; No Edge Smoothing; with the Color Management set to ICM; ICC profile
to "No Color Adjustment".

Then print the target from PrintFix Pro (and I always double-check from the
"Select Print Fix Pro Target" page to be sure the settings have remained the
same. I also have found that printing the 3-page target makes for easier
reading than the large 13x19 target the 2200 will print. Be SURE to use the
same paper as you set in the Epson driver.

After setting the white calibration using the white reference block on the
base of the PrintFix reader, measure each target. I place the target pages
on a piece of black blotter paper to avoid extraneous reflections when
measuring. After all measurements are complete, I go back over the on-screen
pages to be sure that one patch has not been misread - it's pretty easy to
see as the square will be "off" in color in relation to surrounding squares.
More than once I have mis-measured one or two squares. I have also found
that using the audible "click" when measuring helps avoid errors. You should
hear TWO clicks for EVERY measurement. If you don't, re-measure the square -
trust me! These procedures apply for the Black & White calibrations as well.
Once measurements are complete, be sure that the "advanced" options in
PrintFix Pro are all set to neutral (this would be the sliders and B/W
reference measurements).

When you have saved your profile, you need to be sure that the settings in
the Epson print driver remain the same for any printing. If you use PS, as I
recall, use "no color management" for your monitor (this allows your Spyder
calibration to be the default viewer), and load your PrintFix Pro profile to
the output section of PS. Be sure that all options are OFF. I no longer use
PS for printing (Qimage is the only way to go, IMHO), so I'm working from
memory, but it is very easy in most programs to either double profile or
select color options that will alter your prints, especially if you are
playing with "localized" adjustments. Again, more than once I have left
something changed that I played around with and should have just left alone.
The hazards of too many choices!

Once all of the above is correct, I would print the PrintFix Pro calibration
targets using PS and compare them to the targets printed out of PrintFix
Pro. The target files can be found at C:\Program Files\ColorVision\PrintFIX
PRO\Targets on a PC. For a MAC - ??? If the prints are not the same as the
ones printed from PrintFix, I would first check that the printer is not
clogging and the inks were OK.

After all of this, I do the whole profiling process again and name the
calibration file #2. Print a test target or photo on the type of paper you
have profiled using both the original calibration and the #2 calibration
(changing NOTHING ELSE on the computer) - if they are not EXACTLY the same,
either you measured wrong or your printer is malfunctioning (and there are
probably other obscure reasons, too, but I've not had to go past this point
to solve the problem). I've done this procedure for my 3800 for 12 papers at
this time and my prints are spectacular. I also did it for many papers on my
now sold 2200 and was very happy with the results. And even my old 1270 can
put out a pretty good looking print!

Hope this helps\ufffd\ufffd


pjs
kansas "the flat & happy state"
"the better the photographer,
the bigger the wastebasket"
pjs 1972