Printer profile: Use Huey-generated profile or paper-specific profile?

[gfmucci]

I just finished calibrating my monitor with a Huey Pro. It created a profile that resides in the "printer profile" folder.

The Red River paper I have also has a specific profile that is located in my "printer profile" folder.

When I print on the Red River paper for which I have a specific profile, should I select the Huey-generated printer profile or the paper-specific profile?

Is there any situation where the other (whichever other) profile should be used?

[redriverpaper]

Hello,

The Huey Pro is a monitor calibration tool. It does not generate printer / paper ICC profiles for printing. The only place the Huey profile will be used is for calibration of your monitor. Don't choose it in the printing workflow.

For best results after you calibrate your monitor, work in the Adobe RGB space in Elements. When you are ready to print, choose the Red River Paper ICC profile we provide from our website in the print dialog box.

More info on the process is here:
http://www.redrivercatalog.com/profiles/downloads.htm

You can always call us at 888-248-8774 for help. Just ask for tech support when you call.

Drew Hendrix
Red River Paper

[gfmucci]

Thanks.

I was wondering why the Huey calibration results turned up in the "printer profile" menu. I wonder what use that serves?

[Codebreaker]

I'm not sure what you mean by Printer Folder - could you supply the full path name.

In Windows ALL profiles go into the same folder which is something like...

C:\Windows\System32\spool\drivers\color

The Huey tools do not create Paper Profiles, only Monitor Profiles.

Contrary to Redrivers advice, having an image in AdobeRGB is not always beneficial. Many printers can only cope with sRGB. Many Paper Profiles are less than AdobeRGB. In reality it matters little if your image is sRGB or AdobeRGB since a Colour Managed system will always convert the numbers to the colour space of the Printer/Paper. If you start with sRGB it isn't going to get any larger.

If you get really picky then using large colour spaces which then get downgraded to a smaller colour space, due to the printer/paper combo, can cause some problems. Personally I've not noticed this effect.

Colin

[gfmucci]

I'm not sure what you mean by Printer Folder - could you supply the full path name.

In Windows ALL profiles go into the same folder which is something like...

C:\Windows\System32\spool\drivers\color

The Huey tools do not create Paper Profiles, only Monitor Profiles.

That's the file. The Huey "monitor profile" lodged itself in that color driver file along with the Red River, Adobe RGB, Apple RGB, and all the other "printer profiles" that show up on my Elements 6.0 Edit/print dialogue screen in the "Printer Profile" list. That list contains 59 options, all but three or four of which existed before I made any changes. The 10 Canon profiles are there, plus the Red River I installed, and now the Huey "monitor profile" is listed there too.

So, since you mentioned that ALL profiles go in that same folder, that jibes with the fact that I now have a MONITOR profile in my "printer profile" (name given by Elements) drop down menu list.

[ricklepage]

Yes, it probably should be clearer, especially in Elements, but Windows is in charge of managing all the profiles for the different devices, and Elements doesn't make any assumptions about which profiles are intended for which device.

When you go to print, use the appropriate profile generated for the paper and the printer, which you'll get from the paper manufacturer. The document profile (AdobeRGB/sRGB) is sort of like the 'key' for the image; the monitor profile generated by the Huey is intended to manage the display, translating the 'key' data as close as it can; and the paper profile translates the colors in your image to the printer based on the 'key' it is given by Elements.

I'd be less concerned as well about sRGB/AdobeRGB - I think there are valid reasons to go with AdobeRGB, especially if you're using a higher-end photo printer, but the truth is (as Colin states) you'll probably get good results out of any properly managed color system.

Rick

[eweidman]

That's the file. The Huey "monitor profile" lodged itself in that color driver file along with the Red River, Adobe RGB, Apple RGB, and all the other "printer profiles" that show up on my Elements 6.0 Edit/print dialogue screen in the "Printer Profile" list. That list contains 59 options, all but three or four of which existed before I made any changes. The 10 Canon profiles are there, plus the Red River I installed, and now the Huey "monitor profile" is listed there too.

So, since you mentioned that ALL profiles go in that same folder, that jibes with the fact that I now have a MONITOR profile in my "printer profile" (name given by Elements) drop down menu list.

In Elements (I have 6&7) what are the steps to get to the Printer Profile list? TIA, Ed Weidman

[Codebreaker]

Ed....

In the Print Dialog pop-up window you first need to set the Colour Handling to let Photoshop Elements Manage the colours. Then below, there is a drop down box - Print Profiles - which will list all the profiles installed on your machine.

In PSE7 there is a bug in that the vertical scroll bars of the drop down box don't always appear. In which case you can use the UP/DOWN arrow keys to scroll the list.

Colin

[eweidman]

Thanks Colin. It worked just as you outlined. Thanks so much for your fast & informative Reply. Ed.:):)

[gfmucci]

Thanks Rick and Colin. I actually believe I'm beginning to understand some of this stuff. Just "no quiz in the morning." That'd be too much pressure.;)