macOS Monterey ProGraf-1000 Pro Magenta Cast

[Proclivis]

I have a new ProGraf-1000 Pro and it has a strong magenta cast under all conditions:

- Ps CC and Lr CC up to date

- Using Canon and Mateo paper with their ICC profiles

- Screen is calibrated

- 16 bit mode on or off

- Printer managed or Application Managed

- Perceptual or Relative

I have the CUPS driver with rev 24.20 labeled Canon PRO-1000 series 2, even though the driver down load shows the latest as 22.20. I am not sure how it could be off.

Monterey is 12.4

The printer was calibrated during installation. It has never printed without a Magenta cast.

There are lots of suspicion about double profiling, but I have no idea how to prove or disprove this is happening. I would think that in printer managed mode this could not happen.

I'm not getting any streaking or other artifacts.

The cast is prevalent in tans and browns and not as noticeable in greens or whites. It is not subtle, it's very bad.

Are other people having problems or have found solutions? Has anyone just given up and spent the money to profile the printer to make it work?

[jrhoffman75]

Have you run a nozzle check to verify proper functioning of all cartridges?

Even though you have downloaded the Canon driver have you verified in System Preferences->Printers & Scanners that the installed printer is canon IJ series version and not AirPrint version?

[Proclivis]

I verified I am not using AirPrint. I can use profiles or not with this driver, including one from Museo.

I ran the nozzle check, and it is all clean.

I removed the printer, and reinstalled the driver, and no difference. I tried on another Mac with Monterey, same results.

Qimage behaves the same, and they claim it is impossible to double profile with their tool. I used let the printer manage the color just to simplify, and I still get the magenta cast.

I then tried a JPEG file rather than TIFF, same magenta cast.

All this depends on one initial color calibration using the special paper that came with the printer with the cut corner. I assume not much can go wrong with that process.

[jrhoffman75]

It seems that everything is set correctly. I don't have a Pro-1000 so I never have calibrated a printer.

I assume the calibration function is to compensate for variations in manufacturing tolerances for the printer.

Is there a way to reset the printer calibration to factory setting and then try printing without calibrating?

[Proclivis]

You can turn it off, but I have no idea how off the colors would be. I also just tested Canon's Print Studio Pro, so their own printer interface has the same problem. The only thing I did not do was pull the Magenta slider down in their interface. That just seems really stupid to use an ICC profile with calibrated printer and then make a massive correction with a slider. The whole purpose of self managed color is so the print matches the calibrated screen.

[jrhoffman75]

Give Canon a call at 1-800-OK-CANON (or appropriate support line if not in USA). 

[Proclivis]

Before I call, is there a test image for the printer, say one that would put down a square patch from each ink cartridge, that I could then take a photo of, and in Ps use the dropper to measure values, to eliminate bad ink as a problem? And the perhaps some mixed colors to test deeper? Or perhaps the result could be analyzed by Canon?

[jrhoffman75]

You cold try this:

1. Download and print this file of a Macbeth color chart. 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gretag-Macbeth_ColorChecker.jpg

You could verify the accuracy of the provisional file since the RGB values are provided.

2. Scan the chart into a file and open in Ps.

But, the validity of the test might be impacted by the scanner software - does it perfectly scan the original?

You could try posting over on the jtoolman Facebook page. A lot of printer gurus hang out there.  

[Proclivis]

Ok, so I got the image, and in Ps, the dropper gives very accurate values per the numbers on the image squares. Then I printed, and held it up to my recently profiled screen showing the reference. There are shifts in color, and in tone, but there is no consistency shift for all. Sometimes there is too much red, or too little blue, too much yellow, etc. Since I have not done this with a working printer, I don't know how close the match should be, but I am assuming a profiled display and calibrated printer should be pretty close, like a few percent. To my eyes, it is as if the printer did not calibrate properly, or just did not apply the calibration.

[jrhoffman75]

Download and print this test image. Open it in Ps (if that's your editor of choice) and print it. Do not make any adjustments to the image, regardless of how it looks on screen.

https://1drv.ms/u/s!ApNpngg2Z6dbhIYEVaNQBuYp2nUaWg?e=Ic1Da0

Print and compare to your display, as well as evaluating the items in the print. It has features that you can tell by looking if they are off or not - skin tones in people, the strawberries, golden aspens, southwestern US redrocks, etc.

My Pro-100 doesn't have calibration capability but I get very good correlation with calibrated monitor and correct ICC profiles.