Black blowout in Adobe with Epson 3880

[CatherineR]

I assume this is an easy problem to solve, just not for me. Hi, I'm new to the forum and appreciative of the advice of experienced members. I am running PShop CS6 on a MacPro//El Capitan, all updates and printer drivers current. I am running images from a Hasselblad H4D-31 through two filters, first Color Efex Pro 4 and then Silver Efex Pro 2 so they will be B&W in the printout. The images on the monitor look fine but when printed out, regardless of the paper, the blacks are blown and instead print as lavender, green, or pale, pale blue. All inks are filled, all nozzles cleaned and heads fine. Epson can't solve the problem.

On close examination of the print, it looks like what reads as blacks on the monitor are holes without information or maybe even too much information. I'm grateful for any help I can get. Happy New Year, Catherine

 

[Mike Z]

Hello Cathrine,
I don't know what you mean by "holes with no information".
Do you mean that those areas read 0,0,0 with the eye dropper?
If you want to determine if the problem is a printer problem or a file problem you can send me a file and I will print it out on one of my epsons ( 11880 or 9900).
I won't be in the studio until tomorrow.
If you want to do this you can send the full res file to me via my web site:
Profilesstudio.com. In the lower left corner is a link to our ftp server.

Hope this helps,
Mike

 

[docmoore]

So when you state that the nozzles are clean and the heads fine ... that you have done the test print to check for dropouts.

My 4900 before it died from terminal clogs printed blacks as colors as the head for light black and photo black were clogged ...
multiple purges helped intermittently then not at all.

You did not state if you have flattened the image prior to printing ... also might change the mode from RGB to Greyscale on
a copy of the file and try printing it.

Last question is if you are using the Epson driver or PS to manage color. Conflicts if both are attempting to manage it may
be a source of weird behavior in printing.

Bob

 

[pflower]

If your nozzles are clear then this sounds like a profile problem. What exactly is your workflow. Presumably your final image is in some species of RGB colour space and you are printing with the correct profile for the paper you are using. That is the first place to look.

Try printing one of the problem images with "Printer Manages Color" and select the ABW option from the Epson driver. If that prints with neutral (or near neutral) blacks then at least you know that it is not a printer problem.

Actually just printing in a colour space with Printer Manages Color should work as well - if it doesn't then there may be a printer problem.

If you have subtle toning to your images and need to print in a colour space then look to your workflow - does your profile work with other images? Are you double profiling (i.e. have you made sure that you have chosen the correct paper profile and have turned Color Management off in the Epson Driver?)

I assume this is an easy problem to solve, just not for me. Hi, I'm new to the forum and appreciative of the advice of experienced members. I am running PShop CS6 on a MacPro//El Capitan, all updates and printer drivers current. I am running images from a Hasselblad H4D-31 through two filters, first Color Efex Pro 4 and then Silver Efex Pro 2 so they will be B&W in the printout. The images on the monitor look fine but when printed out, regardless of the paper, the blacks are blown and instead print as lavender, green, or pale, pale blue. All inks are filled, all nozzles cleaned and heads fine. Epson can't solve the problem.

On close examination of the print, it looks like what reads as blacks on the monitor are holes without information or maybe even too much information. I'm grateful for any help I can get. Happy New Year, Catherine

 

[Wayne Fox]

first step in troubleshooting issues like this is to print a known unmodified standard file. I recommend the one Jack made, here's a link to download it.

If it prints well then the workflow should be correct, so the files have problems. If it prints poorly, then the workflow/color management procedures are the issue.

 

[CatherineR]

How generous, Mike. I do appreciate your offer. In the meantime, I decided to simply sleep on it, often a productive problem-solving technique when I have exhausted myself. I got up the next morning and decided to look at the ink canisters (even though the tests were always fine). Sure enough there was a lot of smudging around Photo Black. I used a tooth pick with a cloth swab and cleaned it off, reinserted the canister and voila, the problem solved. Did I say I felt sheepish? Well I did, but everything looks right, prints fine and I have what I want. It took me two weeks to finally discover the solution, but that's the fun of what we do, too, I suppose. Best for the New Year and thank you again. Catherine

Hello Cathrine,
I don't know what you mean by "holes with no information".
Do you mean that those areas read 0,0,0 with the eye dropper?
If you want to determine if the problem is a printer problem or a file problem you can send me a file and I will print it out on one of my epsons ( 11880 or 9900).
I won't be in the studio until tomorrow.
If you want to do this you can send the full res file to me via my web site:
Profilesstudio.com. In the lower left corner is a link to our ftp server.

Hope this helps,
Mike

 

[CatherineR]

Thanks for this good reply. In the replies I've received I've already learned more than I knew. My response to Mike is above and the problem is solved. I'm grateful to everyone who offered fast help. I have a lot to learn. Cheers, Catherine

If your nozzles are clear then this sounds like a profile problem. What exactly is your workflow. Presumably your final image is in some species of RGB colour space and you are printing with the correct profile for the paper you are using. That is the first place to look.

Try printing one of the problem images with "Printer Manages Color" and select the ABW option from the Epson driver. If that prints with neutral (or near neutral) blacks then at least you know that it is not a printer problem.

Actually just printing in a colour space with Printer Manages Color should work as well - if it doesn't then there may be a printer problem.

If you have subtle toning to your images and need to print in a colour space then look to your workflow - does your profile work with other images? Are you double profiling (i.e. have you made sure that you have chosen the correct paper profile and have turned Color Management off in the Epson Driver?)

 

[CatherineR]

Thanks, Wayne, my problem is solved (see above) but I am most appreciative for all the fast help. So glad, too, I joined this forum given how much I have to learn. I have come to the right group I can see. Best and thanks, Catherine

first step in troubleshooting issues like this is to print a known unmodified standard file. I recommend the one Jack made, here's a link to download it.

If it prints well then the workflow should be correct, so the files have problems. If it prints poorly, then the workflow/color management procedures are the issue.