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Custom Ink Jet Printer Profiles

Modern ink jet printers are remarkable machines but because they are mechanical devices they are subject to performance variations, and even two examples of the same model are unlikely to print every colour exactly the same way. Custom ICC Profiles used as part of a colour managed workflow can linearise these variations and ensure that your printer is producing the very best results of which it is capable.

We offer a remote printer profiling service using our GretagMacbeth Eye-One spectrophotometer and software which can generate an ICC profile for your specific printer/ink/paper combination. A correctly profiled printer can produce neutral black and white prints, and colour prints without colour casts and with the widest gamut possible.

How to order a custom profile

What is an ICC Profile?

Simply a special type of file which describes how your printer prints colour. It is interpreted by Photoshop (or other imaging software) as a “correction factor” and used to adjust the colours in your picture to correct for the characteristics of your printing set-up. For example, if your printer prints slightly too magenta, then the profile will reduce the amount of magenta in your picture during printing to compensate. It does not alter the original image file in any way - it’s used only during actual printing or soft-proofing.

The characteristics of the ink and paper as well as the printer all affect the final result so any one profile corrects for a specific combination of printer, printer settings, ink and paper. So you need a separate profile for each combination you use. “Generic” profiles are offered by printer and paper manufacturers (such as Epson and PermaJet) which can produce reasonable results, but the finest results will always be obtained with a custom profile written especially for your particular equipment and materials.

What are the advantages of using a custom profile?

• Reduced paper wastage - what you get is what you see (providing your monitor is also profiled) and the need for test prints should be all but eliminated.
• More accurate colour - because the actual output of your printer is measured, it can be calibrated over a wide range of colours. In addition, the overall gamut may be increased over the manufacturer’s generic profile.
• Ability to use a wider range of paper - the printer manufacturer’s profiles are designed to suit their own brand of paper. A custom profile allows you to use any paper of your choice, giving you access to a wider range of paper surfaces, quality and price.
• Ability to use non-OEM inks - the availability of inks other than those of the printer manufacturer gives you a choice of quality and price, and a custom profile ensures the best possible performance.

What a custom printer profile cannot do

• Match the print to a badly set up monitor - your printer profile may be accurate but if your monitor is not also correctly profiled your prints will not match it.
• Correct for bronzing and metamerism - these effects are inherent characteristics of the particular ink and paper combination you are using, and some combinations may exhibit unacceptable levels of either or both. (Bronzing is an apparent change of colour with viewing angle; metamerism is a change of colour in different illuminations e.g. sunlight and artificial light.)

How do I get a Custom Printer Profile?

The answer lies on the Profile Ordering page ...