SAW Posted December 13, 2020 Share Posted December 13, 2020 Hi, I am wanting to print out a few macro images but I only have a basic Epson XP-342 printer and I can't find any ICC/preset to use with the Soft Proof in Affinity Photo. I am using Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper. Is there a preset already in the soft proof profiles I could use to get me close to what I need. I know I am limited with this printer but don't want buy a new one until I know I want to print more at home. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walt.farrell Posted December 13, 2020 Share Posted December 13, 2020 35 minutes ago, BofG said: You could use any of the "coated cmyk" type profiles, but to be honest you aren't going to gain much from it in terms of colour accuracy, the best you'll get is a very rough idea versus rgb, if that is what your document is. Epson printers usually expect RGB documents, not CMYK. 3 hours ago, SAW said: I am using Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper. Is there a preset already in the soft proof profiles If you're not seeing it, and you have an RGB document, you may need to download one from the Epson website. (But I'm not sure whether Epson supplies them for your printer.) Quote -- Walt Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases PC: Desktop: Windows 11 Pro 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Laptop: Windows 11 Pro 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU. Laptop 2: Windows 11 Pro 24H2, 16GB memory, Snapdragon(R) X Elite - X1E80100 - Qualcomm(R) Oryon(TM) 12 Core CPU 4.01 GHz, Qualcomm(R) Adreno(TM) X1-85 GPU iPad: iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 17.7, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard Mac: 2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sonoma 14.7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walt.farrell Posted December 13, 2020 Share Posted December 13, 2020 Just now, BofG said: next best thing is a "generic" coated cmyk one for soft proofing against an RGB document. Why is a CMYK profile good for proofing an RGB document? Quote -- Walt Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases PC: Desktop: Windows 11 Pro 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Laptop: Windows 11 Pro 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU. Laptop 2: Windows 11 Pro 24H2, 16GB memory, Snapdragon(R) X Elite - X1E80100 - Qualcomm(R) Oryon(TM) 12 Core CPU 4.01 GHz, Qualcomm(R) Adreno(TM) X1-85 GPU iPad: iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 17.7, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard Mac: 2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sonoma 14.7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAW Posted December 13, 2020 Author Share Posted December 13, 2020 My image is sRGB. I have found a company that will make a specific ICC profile if I print of there test sheets with my paper and send it off to them but not sure if it's worth it for my printer as it's pretty basic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris26 Posted December 14, 2020 Share Posted December 14, 2020 My two-penneth, if it is worth it, is very simple. I do this always with new papers even if I have custom profiles. Simply print one test image and compare with what you see on the screen. This is the only way to know anything for certain. Here is a link to professionally made test images, just download one colour and one B/W - they are free, I have used them often and they are excellent for testing the integrity of colour and tone appearance on your screen with the print-out. http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/printer-test-images/ As a side note soft proofing is only really useful for when you are sending your files to an outside printer, in which case you can ask for their ICC profile and soft proof with their setup, but if you have control over your own printing, then a test image is the most accurate and re-assuring way to go. walt.farrell and SAW 2 Quote Microsoft - Like entering your home and opening the stainless steel kitchen door, with a Popup: 'Do you really want to open this door'? Then looking for the dishwasher and finding it stored in the living room where you have to download a water supply from the app store, then you have to buy microsoft compliant soap, remove the carpet only to be told that it is glued to the floor.. Don't forget to make multiple copies of your front door key and post them to all who demand access to all the doors inside your home including the windows and outside shed. Apple - Like entering your home and opening the oak framed Kitchen door and finding the dishwasher right in front you ready to be switched on, soap supplied, and water that comes through a water softener. Ah the front door key is yours and it only needs to open the front door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris26 Posted December 14, 2020 Share Posted December 14, 2020 24 minutes ago, BofG said: Surely the only thing you can learn from that is whether your printer matches your screen, nothing about whether either is colour accurate. If they don't match then you still know nothing, as it could be either one or indeed both that are inaccurate. Here's an extreme example, I have a printer that has run out of colour ink and so is printing only in black, and an old black and white screen. Now when I view the print out against the screen I see that it's all perfect You need at least one known good quantity (ie profiled against a defined and consistent data), and proper viewing conditions, to make any kind of qualitative comparison. It is possible to simply make your screen and printer match each other, but then what happens when your printer eventually needs replacing? Your whole library of carefully adjusted images now needs completely redoing. Hi BofG, well you quoted an extreme case of negligence here in this context with regards to your first paragraph, so obviously nothing will work. As for your second paragraph; It is assumed that one intelligently sets up both the printer and the profile and the document in a sensibly colour managed workflow, IE, Your screen viewing conditions are consistent when editing, (IE, not taking your laptop all over the house into different yellow and blue lighting conditions, you can not avoid evening and daylight work though) ;Photo is RGB, not cmyk, printer is set to Application manages colour, correct paper is set in the printer for the same paper that you have chosen to print on. When all settings are complete, then print. And yes, then under these conditions comparing print to screen is the most accurate way to go. My apple was colour profiled every month for both night work and daylight work, I used test image once to check and saw for example that Blacks were printing a wee bit too dark so when it came to print I always new in advance that a gentle curve adjustment with a blend mode of luminosity would be all that I needed to get print and screen match. It's that simple. However if the OP has no idea about a colour managed workflow and has still to understand these things then I suppose doing a test image will not benefit him at this moment. Quote Microsoft - Like entering your home and opening the stainless steel kitchen door, with a Popup: 'Do you really want to open this door'? Then looking for the dishwasher and finding it stored in the living room where you have to download a water supply from the app store, then you have to buy microsoft compliant soap, remove the carpet only to be told that it is glued to the floor.. Don't forget to make multiple copies of your front door key and post them to all who demand access to all the doors inside your home including the windows and outside shed. Apple - Like entering your home and opening the oak framed Kitchen door and finding the dishwasher right in front you ready to be switched on, soap supplied, and water that comes through a water softener. Ah the front door key is yours and it only needs to open the front door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris26 Posted December 14, 2020 Share Posted December 14, 2020 8 minutes ago, BofG said: @Chris26 I see, I had read your first reply in the context of the original question, where the OP said they have no printer profile to use, as such test images won't help. I then got a bit carried away with my extreme negligence example As far as I know, once you install a new printer, it installs automatically profiles for its own company paper, in this case Epson, then Affinity should pick up on these profiles to be accessed by the softproof dialogue. I wonder if SAW is aware of this? Quote Microsoft - Like entering your home and opening the stainless steel kitchen door, with a Popup: 'Do you really want to open this door'? Then looking for the dishwasher and finding it stored in the living room where you have to download a water supply from the app store, then you have to buy microsoft compliant soap, remove the carpet only to be told that it is glued to the floor.. Don't forget to make multiple copies of your front door key and post them to all who demand access to all the doors inside your home including the windows and outside shed. Apple - Like entering your home and opening the oak framed Kitchen door and finding the dishwasher right in front you ready to be switched on, soap supplied, and water that comes through a water softener. Ah the front door key is yours and it only needs to open the front door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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