This is basically about color managemenat workflow, and the first rule is that you can have CS2 control it, or the printer, but not both at the same time. I think most folks here will agree that you should let CS2 run the show. Here's how it works:

In CS2-

1. Edit>Color Settings>Settings = North American Prepress 2

2. File>Print With Preview>Options: Color Handling = Let Photoshop Determine Colors; Printer Profile = (Select the profile for your printer paper); Rendering Intent = Relative Colorimetric. (Note: If you're using Epson paper, you can download the ICC profiles from the Epson website.)

3. Also in Print with Preview, click the Page Setup tab and select your paper size, layout and printer.

I'm not familiar with the 2400, so I'm assuming that some of the steps on the 2200 printer dialog page are similar:

1. Check the tab labeled "ICM"

2. Under ICC Profile check "No Color Adjustment"

You may also want to turn off Edge Smoothing and High Speed to improve the quality of your prints, although if you're printing at anything less than 1440 dpi I'm not sure it makes that much difference.

For best results, your original image should have a color profile of "Adobe RGB". If it's anything else, like "sRGB", don't bother changing it now, you won't gain anything. But, for future reference, Adobe RGB is the best profile for print media, and sRGB for the web.

OK, in order to make all the above really work for you, your monitor should be calibrated. There are several calibration devices/applications out there, such as Eye One from Gretag Macbeth, or Spyder2 from Color Vision.

Hope this helps some......

thank you. the only thing i can't seem to understand is the printer pfofile idea. there are sooooo many choices...which one do i choose? what's there now in photoshop's print preview page is working RGB-sRgb Iec61960-2.1 ( my camera is set to sRGb (canon 20D))
i do use epson glossy paper.
i do calibrate my monitor just wondering if i can just continue my old calibration or if i should keep calibrating
you can't imagine how much i appreciate your taking the time out to help me...:)thank you.

At the top of this page is a bar with "Techniques" and an arrow. Click on it and then type in the search box 'printer profiles' or 'color management' and you will get a long list of articles in the archive you can read that will answer most of your questions.

Go here for the 2400 printer profiles:

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/suppo...foType=Overview

Select your OS (Windows or Mac), then click on "ICC Profiles" and follow the on-screen instructions. After downloading/installing, make sure the profile for your glossy paper is in the Printer Profile window in Print With Preview. (There's usually a lot of stuff in that Printer Profile menu and you may have to scroll down a bit to find yours.)

You might have to cut and paste the above link.....

epson r2400 glossy paper shows but it was there before i downloaded what you recommended. on my desk top the icon says epson11-713 should that be the name that i see on the list when i hit print preview-because i don't.
i do appreciate your patience!

Epson 11713 is what you should see in the "Printer Profile" window in Print with Preview. Can you scroll down in that window?

scroll i can but it doesn't come up. it's on my desktop though was i supposed to do anything other than unzip it?
thanks (again!)

OK, I really don't understand why an icon for the profile should be in your desktop. However, after unzipping the downloaded file, you have to click on the "setup" file to load the profile. You may be able to get to "setup" by clicking on that desktop icon, otherwise it should be in the same folder where you dowloaded the zipped file.

Just wanted to add: Here's where you should find your printer profiles (assuming you're running Windows XP):

C:\WINDOWS\system32\spool\drivers\color

found many profiles but not the one i downloaded and unzipped. i do not see any place to setup. unless the profile is epson glossy photo paper..there is nothing that has the same name as the file i unzipped...i'll keep trying. and thank you...

With a company like Epson with many different printer models, the file name has to be unique (numbered) to distinguish it from profile files for many other different printers all of which are profile for Epson Glossy paper. So the actual filename does not show up in the printer profile dialog in Photoshop or the printer driver, just the embedded media description name. In some cases if you mark that descriptive name like Glossy Photo and right click on it the filename will pop up in a desktop window.

David, when I go into System32>Spool>Drivers>Color, one of my 2200 profiles is "SP2200 Enhanced Matte_MK". Should he be seeing something similar for the 2400? (I don't have one for glossy paper.)

Bill,

You don't have a profile for Epson Glossy Paper with the 2200, nor is there a profile for Epson Glossy Paper for the R2400. The reason is Epson Glossy paper is coated for use ONLY with water soluble dye inks and should not be used with any pigment ink printers including the R800, R1800, R2400, 2200 and 2000P. When Epson released the first pigment ink printer, the 2000P they made Premium Glossy Paper with a coating that will accept pigment inks. It is the only Epson paper that is glossy besides a recent DuraBrite Ink Glossy that might work with the R2400 (but no Epson profile for that paper and the R2400). The Epson Glossy Photo paper will work with the Epson C Series printers because the black ink in the C series printers has some dye in it, but it does produce some surface artifacts anyway, so they came out with a special DuraBrite Glossy paper that performs better with the pigment inks of the C Series printers.

Actually, eventually using the inexpensive Epson Glossy Photo paper with either a 2200 or an R2400 may cause some problems with the printer because the ink does not adhere well to the paper and some ink residue could accumulate in the printer. And much better image print performance with the R2400 would be achieved with an inexpensive paper if a Matte paper is used. like Epson Heavyweight Matte, even Epson Photo Quality Inkjet paper if really cheap is essential.

David,

Well now I'm confused because the Epson driver/download page definitely shows a glossy paper icc profile for the 2400. The link is:

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/suppo...latform=Windows

(Probably have to cut and paste that.) I know there's no glossy profile for the 2200, nor have I needed one since I print on Heavyweight Matte or Enhanced Matte. I was just looking at the 2400 profiles while trying to help "shvig" solve his problem....

Bill,

I just downloaded the file and found that it is a "ganged" set of profiles for the Epson Premium papers including Premium Glossy, it does NOT include a profile for the standard Epson Glossy Photo paper that has been available for many years for their dye-ink printers.

Thanks, David - that explains the mystery. I'd forgotten about the standard glossy paper....

so in plain english what kind of paper should i use so i don't kill my expensive 2400? i don't have to use glossy but i would like the option. matte is good too just please be very specific which paper i can use without problems both glossy and matte. anyway, thank you i changed the setting for printing and the color is good! thank you!

The R2400 has media setting and profiles for all of the Epson Premium papers, glossy, Luster and Semi-Matte if you like RC papers, as well you can print on just about every Epson brand matte paper, there is a bunch from modest and inexpensive to high performance fine art papers that are more costly, and you will find there is an installed profile that will work for the paper.

In addition there are many independent papers you can use that are compatible and the paper company like Moab Paper has downloadable profiles for the paper for the R2400 printer.

To get any idea of what is available you might visit http://www.inkjetart.com

David, just out of curiosity, does the selected profile automatically switch the printer between the MK and PK cartridges, or is that still done manually like the 2200?

thanks

Bill,

To be candid I don't recall exactly what switching between Photo Black and Matte Black involved with the 2200 (its just been too long since I used one), but with the R2400 you still have to manually switch out the ink cartridges between PK for RC paper and MK for matte papers, and reset the driver system so the change is recognized and the support for the media you will be printing is available. But with the R2400 the cartridge design is such that you can make the switch, tape and store a partially used cartridge and re-install it, all without any appreciable loss of ink.

I do this pretty rarely because I avoid the RC (resin-coated) papers like the plague, I'd as soon print on newsprint or toilet paper, and only use RC papers when I am testing a printer because I have to deal with everything it does usually.

OK, David, that's pretty much the same as the 2200 - thanks!

Hey I came accross this site the other day when posting about a problem with a MP3 player I had bought off e-bay it could be useful for your problem as well. http://www.theusermanualsite.com/manuals/mfg/epson/epson_printer_product_list.html hope this helps

Al