Pixma Pro-100 still printing too warm in black and white

[mporter012]

Hi! 

Ok - here's what I'm doing. 

I calibrated my 13" Macbook Pro monitor using a Spyder5Express. I'm using Ilford's Galerie Prestige Silk paper along with its ICC profile and I open up the Black & White image in PS CS6. Resize & sharpen for output. I convert the image's profile to sRGB. Soft proof the image using the correct ICC profile with "Black Point Compensation" checked. It appears to be slightly less punchy in the blacks but the image is still acceptable. Under the print settings, I ensure Photoshop manages color and the printer profile is set to the paper's ICC profile. Additionally I set the media type to "Pro Luster" which I think matches the paper (although I'm not sure about this...). I'm not really sure what effect the media type has on the final print as well... 

What I'm getting is warm prints that are leaning heavily towards magenta and I'd say it's printing a 1/2-1 stop dark (in darkroom lingo). Compensating for the darker image is an east fix. I cannot for the life of me get rid of the magenta-sepia tint. Should I send out a print for custom ICC profiling? How should I go about with getting the correct tones and exposure during soft proofing? I usually adjust via Levels and Color Balance but I feel like I'm just guessing. 

Help me!

[jrhoffman75]

I don't use Photoshop much so I can't help with the settings. I'm not sure you need to do the profile conversion step if you are printing.I never did the few times I used PS.  Have you installed Canon Print Studio Pro?  It handles all the required settings. 

[ebiggs1]

I am not a Mac user, jrhoffman is.  He can get at the Mac part way better than me but in PS, you should be able to change any setting you want.  Have you added a little cooling filter to each print?  You must remember the Pro-100 can not print true B&W.

It (Pro-100) like most color printers use all the ink tanks to make black.  It simply is not possible to make the 256 grey scale with one or two, even three black/grey cartridges.  IMPO, the Pro-100 has a red or warm bias to it.  Built in by Canon.

Also the choice of paper will greatly effect your B&W prints.  Some papers will do a horrible job.  Red River can assist you in choosing special B&W paper for the Pro-100. You can call or email them for their suggestions. Maybe Ilford does the same, I don't know.

I am not a big fan of the Spyder5Express.  As you have learned it didn't get your darkness correct. Perhaps your monitor is still too bright.  I worked for Hallmark Cards and they spent 1000's of dollars and countless hours to try and calibrate monitors.  When three simple adjustments seemed to work just as well. Brightness, contrast and grey-scale!

[jrhoffman75]

Heres a link to a good website for info and a test image.

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

Download the test image and the open it in Preview on the Mac. How does it look; adjust your brightness till you get a good balance on the greyscale steps. I set my brightness on a MacBook Pro and MacBook Air to about mid-range.

Then, open the image in your photo program and print it without making any adjustments to the image - just set your printer settings.

How does the print look - I have done this with four friends that I hooked on the PRO-100 and the print has always come out spot on.

Get back to us after you do this.