Re: Epson Printers/Colorsync/OSX
Re: Epson Printers/Colorsync/OSX
- Subject: Re: Epson Printers/Colorsync/OSX
- From: Chris Murphy <email@hidden>
- Date: Thu, 10 Oct 2002 23:53:14 -0600
"Cris Daniels" <email@hidden> writes:
Mac OS X includes the latest version of Apple's ColorSync, color
matching
software. This new version of ColorSync is designed to automatically
tune
itself to produce the best color output based on the users display
monitor and
display settings. Apple OS X new architecture defaults to ColorSync
on, and
since this new feature is designed to match each users unique monitor
and
display settings, it creates the color difference between the screen
colors
and the printed colors<
Well this is misleading sorta. First, on 10.1 it wouldn't have affected
anything untagged anyway. And with 10.2 untagged is assumed to be
Generic RGB (a D65, 1.8 gamma space) which is what a Mac is largely
assumed to be anyway - then uses display compensation with the current
display profile as the destination profile.
However, Epson's not using ColorSync by default on either OS 9 or X (or
ICM on Windows as far as I can tell). They use their proprietary color
management, and use Photo-realistic mode. So ColorSync isn't doing a
conversion as far as I can tell (with these settings, I get the same
results in OS X and OS 9; which tells me ColorSync isn't being asked to
do anything at print time).
What in the world is this? what if the monitor profile is trash? If I
change
monitors I can expect completely different prints?
Not on 10.2. The assumed source is Generic RGB. On 10.1 and earlier
(including OS 9 and ealier) it was the display profile. So on those
OS's, yes you'd get different results from each workstation for the
same file (in a traditionally non-color managed app), but in 10.2
they'd print the same. Of course, how close they match your display
depends on a.) the display profile being accurate, b.) the print
profile being accurate, and c.) the appropriate profiles being used for
conversion using ColorSync, which again is not the default behavior of
the Epson printer drivers.
If the monitor isn't
properly grey balanced am I to assume that Colorsync magically knows
this and
will actually render a good greyscale?
No.
How is this even usable in a ICC
workflow when my output profile gets hosed by a magic wand? This
sounds like
Microsoft technology. Does the newest Colorsync truly behave like this?
A lot of the marketing propaganda, I think, has made the real behavior
of ColorSync on OS X more difficult to understand. It's a lot better,
it's going good things, but it's not some automatic or magic wand
that's waiting to randomize everything you print. Honestly I think
Apple's marketing on this may sound cool to consumers, but to
professionals it sounds like a potential disaster.
The only thing that's a potential disaster that I can pin my finger on
at the moment is that if you print anything to a PostScript printer
from an application that does not generate its own PostScript like
QuarkXPress, or the Adobe apps, or Freehand - a PostScript CSA will be
included and will cause the printer to do internal color conversions.
Thing is - most of what you'd print from such an app would be RGB in
which case the printer's RIP has to use a built-in CSA which is
probably totally wrong. So at least with 10.2 you get a decent CSA
(source profile) sent with the job. Thing is, you can't tell the driver
to NOT do this as far as I can tell. You just have to cross your
fingers and hope for the best, or make a PDF and print it from Acrobat
turning off all the color management options (and PostScript color
management options too).
Ultimately what this will enable is a good CSA (source profile) and
good CRD (destination profile) for the printer to chew on, instead of
nasty built in profiles when printing things like web pages, or from
iPhoto. Without this mechanism, you'd get nasty output as you had no
reliable means to control PostScript color management which WOULD
happen if you sent such a printer RGB content.
Chris Murphy
Color Remedies (tm)
Boulder, CO
303-415-9932
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