Neilson,

Most, but a few more recent photo lab printers expect images sent to the printer to be in sRGB colorspace. So, unless you can find information to the contrary, with your monitors calibrated and profiled, set Photoshop's color setting to sRGB as the workspace profile. That will likely get you as close as possible without actually calibrating and profiling the printer itself, which more than likely is not a supported function in the software that drives the printer.

Nelson, you might try here:

http://www.drycreekphoto.com/icc/using_printer_profiles.htm

Which is Dry Creek Photo's website. It looks like they may have profiles for the Noritsu.

neilson,

Part of the problem may be that what you see on the monitor is not exactly what you see in print. This may be caused by a mismatch between your monitor settings and the kind of lighting you use to view your prints. I suggest you read my article on the subject of digital darkroom lighting at www.solux.net/ies_files/Digital%20Darkroom%20Lighting.pdf

Also, the Huey won't allow you to choose your own color temperarure and gamma values and that may be necessary to get the needed monitor-to-print match.

Frans Waterlander
pixographer/printer

Dry Creek Photo actually generates printer profiles. but it's not clear if they are still doing it. I suggest contacting Ethan Hansen and asking about paying for a profile for your Noritsu.
Here's a link to the custom profile information page on Dry Creek Photo.

You may have read incorrect information if you think that one profile fits all the Noritsu printers. Each printer needs it's own profile.

Quote:
Nelson, you might try here:

http://www.drycreekphoto.com/icc/using_printer_profiles.htm

Which is Dry Creek Photo's website. It looks like they may have profiles for the Noritsu.

Thanks for all the speedy replies guys! Much appreciated.

Frans, i researched the Huey a little further and read about the color temperature problem associated with it. Would the Spyder2pro by colorvision amend this? Also, our office is lit by flurescent lights, with no natural lighting. Are hoods for the monitors essential? What solution does everybody recommend to this problem. My employer has told me to do whatever it takes and she will fit the bill. Do i need to have the printer profiled? How do i go about creating a custom profile for the noritsu? Converting to SRGB seems to be more accurate than Adobe RGB, but it is inconsistent. Any extra help would be great, and thanks again for everything so far.

NEILSON

neilson,

The ColorVision Spyder2PRO allows you to choose your own values for monitor gamma and color temperature. You may want to read or reread my article on digital darkroom lighting, particularly the remarks about fluorescent lighting, a big no-no in my book. I recommend SoLux lighting or viewing booths equipped with low-voltage tungsten halogen bulbs, pricey but the ultimate solution. Monitor hoods are essential.

I'm not familiar with Noritsu printers, but I would think that high-quality profiles should be available from Noritsu or 3rd parties without the need for you to generate your own. I also would hope that the Noritsu printer will work flawlessly with the Adobe RGB color space, but who knows.

Frans Waterlander
pixographer/printer

Neilson,

If you look at illustrations of hooded monitors I believe you will see that making one that works effectively is really quite easy and inexpensive. Just get some heavy, black on both sides, mount-board to cut out panels for the top and both sides. Hinge the three pieces together using black gaffer's tape (available from Calumet Photographic). Then attach the hood to the display's bezel using Velcro tape so it can be removed if necessary, and the mounting does not damage the display.

It would of course be an advantage to custom profile the Noritsu. However the Noritsu driver software has to support turning off any internal driver image color adjustment to make profiling function. With some commercial printers I have found this can be a challenge if the parent company does not have a driver version that supports a "no color adjustment" optional setting.

But if this is possible with the Noritsu, then you can have a pro color management service make a profile for the Noritsu. there are lots of services available listed on the web via Google. But one I know and would have confidence in is http://www.chromix.com. The procedure on your end is fairly simple. You will need to download their target image file and print it with "no color adjustment". Then send them the printed target and they will generate a custom profile from the data read from the target image.

If you get Shutterbug the current August issue has an article on the ColorVision PrintFIX Pro which will give you a more complete picture of the custom printer profiling process.