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Grey prints Green on Canon Pixma Pro-100 - HELP!

holmal
Apprentice

I have had a Canon Pixma Pro-100 for a couple months and have had no problems. All of sudden, anything grey is printing as green. I have been searching the web for help and have not been able to come up with anything. I typically print from adobe illustrator, but have tried in Preview and it's no different. 

Any thoughts/ideas/help would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks!!

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

ebiggs1
Legend
Legend

You can not set the printer to match the monitor.  You must set the monitor to match the printer.

 

First, you must not let the printer set anything.  Turn off every bit off control it has.  You can do this with the Canon My Printer under the Printer Settings tab.  Do you know how?  I will guess, yes, for now but if you don't get back to me.

 

Second, you need to have your photo editor (like Photoshop) handle all the print settings and color matching.  You know how to do this? I prefer Photoshop and I use AdobeRGB color space.

 

And lastly, it is essential you get some settings on your monitor that somewhat matches what the printer is printing.  Your printer may be doing exactly what you are telling it to do and you have no idea it is, because your monitor is so far off.  If you don't do this step, you can forget the other steps.  However, there are only a few things that you need to be concerned with. You don't need any fancy extra add-on to do this.  No additional software or gadgets, etc.  No monkeys, no spiders, nothing!

Most people set their monitors too bright.

 

You must get the gray-scale very close.  You need to get the brightness very close and you need the contrast very close.

 

After you do these things you can make adjustments to your prints by just looking at your screen.  Because you know the monitor and printer are on the same level.  One more point, you can NOT get a printer to print every color exactly the way you see it.  It isn't possible as all colors and adjustments effect all others.  My goal is to get the skin tones right.  That is what people notice most. Remember you are dealing with two different disciplines here.  One is colored light and the other is colored dyes.  They are not the same thing.

 

For instance, I know my Pro-100 tends to print slightly darker than what I see on the monitor (typical).  So, I automatically know to set it's prints 1/2 stop brighter in Photoshop, in my case.  It also prints with a slightly warn tone.  Most of the time, with portraits especially, this if OK but sometimes it is not.  In that case I adjust the "temp" setting slightly cooler in PS.

 

Make sure you have the correct ICC profiles and you are using Canon brand ink and paper until you get good with the printer.  Very, very important, otherwise you don't know if the printer is doing exactly what you are telling it to or not.

 

Important is, use the USB connection until everything is right.  You are just adding another issue when you try to set up the printing and the wireless all at the same time.  Just like using Canon branded products until it is a go.  Use a real printer USB cable.  Not just any old USB cable. Get everything right before you explore.

 

EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!

View solution in original post

57 REPLIES 57

 Canon My Printer is Windows only. No macOS counterpart. 

John Hoffman
Conway, NH

1D X Mark III, Many lenses, Pixma PRO-100, Pixma TR8620a, LR Classic

"Canon My Printer is Windows only. No macOS counterpart."

 

I am sorry for that.  It means the OP will have to rely on PS and the Red River CS department. They will help!

EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!

Thank you for all your help, guys. My only reason for thinking it might be a software or printer issue is that the problem didn't exist until it suddenly did recently--and not only on B&W prints, it's just more obvious there. But I will carry on as advised and give Red River a try (since one of their papers definitely prints greener than the rest). It hadn't actually occurred to me to ask them for help as customer service for mail-order companies usually isn't great, but I know people speak highly of them in that respect. If that doesn't work, I have lots of 4x6 paper for test prints and I'll muddle through.

 

Ebiggs, since you seem to have a similar but reverse issue to mine with the magenta cast, what adjustments do you find yourself using to counterbalance it the most? Tint towards green, I imagine--anything else that comes to mind?

 

Thanks again to both of you,

karl

 

 

 

Since you use a Mac and don't have Canon My Printer, you don't have as much adjustment ability as I do.  When you are in PS try pushing, after you have made all the other adjustments like levels, etc., the color balance to where you see the opposite of green on the screen.  This will be a hit and miss thing but hopefully you can find a happy medium.  You may never be able to completely get rid of the tint.

 

Keep this in mind one color, any color, affects all the others.  You can't just turn one off and another on. Also keep in mind you are using all the color inks to make a B&W print. 

 

And one more, perhaps a shift to a cooler tone like blue will reduce the greenish tint.  So, think outside the box when you do the color balance adjustment.  Varying degrees of warmth and coldness in your black and grey tones can affect prints.  You need to handle the saturation, warmth, hue, and luminance in all your B&W your photos. That you can do it in PS easily.  B&W  photographers need to do more work than color photographers!

 

And the last part of the job is paper. Do call Red River, they will recommend their best B&W paper for you.  They also know the Pro-100.

 

 

 

 

OK just one more, I promise just one more, I may have missed it, but you are using Canon brand inks?  That is mandatory.

 

 

 

 

I know, I know but I have had five of the Pro-series Canon printers and they all seem to have a preference to some color tint. I have two, number 6 and 7, Pro-100's right now both tint magenta.

EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!

Please, any and all advice is greatly appreciated! I take your overall message about adjustments--I only realized through this process that while I don't have much home-printing experience in general, I particularly don't with black and whites, so I appreciate all the help. I've been trying to think outside the box when it comes to the adjustments, but it's good to hear someone more experienced reinforce that point.

 

And yes! Canon inks only!

 

One last question, do you find soft-proofing of help in your process generally? I know many people online swear by it, but when I enter the Red River profiles into a Proof Copy in LR Classic, I hardly see a difference from the Master image, at least when using satin papers. The profiles seem to guide me a bit with contrast and brightness, but as far as color goes they seem to be useless. I know there's no replacement for hard proofs and experimentation, just wanted to be sure I wasn't doing something wrong re: soft proofs & paper profiles.

 

Thanks again!

 

- karl

 

The extent to which you see a difference in soft proofing is dependent on the paper. A white paper base and a smooth gloss/luster surface will show less effect than a matte surface (which is more absorbent) and/or an off white/ cream paper stock. 

John Hoffman
Conway, NH

1D X Mark III, Many lenses, Pixma PRO-100, Pixma TR8620a, LR Classic

Karl,

All I can say is I feel for you.  It is not a defeat if you never get this. It is an issue Canon seems to have, and had, with this line of printers. I am not the know-it-all by far. I have, just like you, wasted a lot of ink and paper. I can't even remember the number of my first Pro printer, I think it was the Pro-9000. Same printer just a different number! Then an "A" model , and a  9500, and  etc.

 

I don't soft proof.  Do you have Lightroom also?  A lot of the color, HSL, can be done in LR.  It is even easier to use LR for that but print form PS.  Now Of course I am coming froma Win 10 machine so your Mac could be different.

 

1111.jpg

 

Of course the sample I am working on now isn't B&W but the HSL in LR is pretty easy.  That is where the color balance can be done. Remember you may have to make your picture look strange on the screen but hopefully it will print out right.

EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!

Karl,

Another thing our goals might be different.  I am only concerned with a sellable print.  Once I get to that point, I stop.  When the client is satisfied so am I.  Mr Hoffman likely knows very much more about printing to perfection than I. The example in my post was an attempt to make the print look old.  The client loved it so I stopped.  HSL is where that adjustment came from.

 

WHile still on topic, are you sure your monitor is showing you what you are printing?  On a Windows machine I can adjust the monitor.  I imagine you can also on your Mac.  It is imperative you get your grayscale correct.  Brightness and contrast are important too but grayscale is mandatory.  Monitors can tint the grayscale so you really don't know where you are with the printer.

EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!

Ernie brings up a good point., especially for folks trying remote diagnosis/help.

 

It is essential that as many variables as possible be eliminated.

 

Whenever is complete a computer upgrade, or get a new paper to try, I always print the test image from this site:

 

http://www.outbackphoto.com/printinginsights/pi049/essay.html

 

The image is opened in the photo software and printed without any adjustment, regardless of how the image looks on-screen. The intent is to send the digiatl data stright from the file to the printer. You should use a semigloss or luster paper with a white base.

 

It should produce an excellent print. If not, there are printer problems that need to be addressed.

 

Once the printer is outputting a good print then the output can be compared to the computer monitor. You want the monitor to look like the print - as close as possible, they will never be exact.

 

Then, going forward, you should have good confidence that what you see on screen will show up on paper.

 

I also calibrate my monitor. From doing research and verifying via actual output I have settled on 5800K as a white point (vs 6500K that most calibation software defaults to) since it is closer to the white of photo paper. I also use a contrast ratio of 287:1, which is what the experts say is the contrast ratio that the human eye can perceive- its a setting selection in the profiling software.

 

I'm sorry we couldn't seem to resolve your issue Karl. I am focused on what you are telling us - it was working fine and now isn't. That leads me away from a paper choice issue and more of a local problem.

 

I can't come to grips with the fact that you and I seem to get different print dialogue window choices when we both have the same macOS, driver version and photo software.

John Hoffman
Conway, NH

1D X Mark III, Many lenses, Pixma PRO-100, Pixma TR8620a, LR Classic

Hi John and Ernie,

 

You guys are really the best. There are a lot of good suggestions here, HSL among them, which I do mess with in LR Classic when trying to adjust for print. HSL, white balance, and tint seemed to be what made the most sense for color adjustments, though I've even messed with camera calibration trying to get rid of the green tint.

 

That said, you guys brought this around to monitor calibration so I have to ask:  I'm running a 2019 MacBook with the LG 5K monitor that Apple sells. The two look very similar to me color-wose so I haven't started messing with them, but I hardly have a trained eye. People seem SO divided online about whether or not newish Mac products should be calibrated or not. Some warn that one shouldn't even bother trying to print accurately without calibrating first. Others warn that amateurs (like me) might very well do more harm than good by trying to calibrate away from what comes out of the factory. If it's relevant, my very thoughtful girlfriend got me a SpyderX Pro for Christmas. It's sat under my desk in its box ever since because my inexperience leads me to the doctor's adage, "do no harm". 

 

I'd love both of your takes on this:  do nothing, do the software calibration you both mentioned, use the SpyderX and its included software, or some combination. 

 

Thank you both, again and again,

karl

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