ColorSync Utility > (Printer) Devices Problems
ColorSync Utility > (Printer) Devices Problems
- Subject: ColorSync Utility > (Printer) Devices Problems
- From: Uli Zappe <email@hidden>
- Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2005 09:34:49 +0100
Hi,
Short version of my problem:
- How do you set the default profile for a printer (one of the CMYK,
sRGB and Gray Matching Profile entries in case of the HP Color LaserJet
5500) in the ColorSync Utility, and which one should you use as the
default?
Looong version: ;-)
More than a year ago I asked in this list how to assign an individual
CMYK printer profile for my HP Color LaserJet 5500 in the ColorSync
Utility. It turned out that this wasn't possible due to a bug in HP's
PPDs for their laser printers (CLJ 5500 and others).
Now, after a looong time, HP has finally managed to provide updated
PPDs where this bug is fixed
(ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softlib/software4/COL9784/ds-27630-1/
clj9500mfpinstaller-en.sit).
With the old PPD, there was only one entry for the CLJ 5500 in
ColorSync Utility > Devices.
Now, if you install these new PPDs and open ColorSync Utility >
Devices, you'll see the following:
Registered ColorSync devices:
Device Default
> Scanners
> Cameras
> Displays
\/ Printers
\/ ColorLaserJet 5500 *
CMYK Matching Profile *
Gray Matching Profile
sRGB Matching Profile
\/ Stylus_Photo_R200
SPR200 R210 Matte Paper-HW
SPR200 R210 Photo Paper
SPR200 R210 Standard *
SPR200 R210 Premium Glossy
SPR200 R210 Photo Quality IJP
SPR200 R210 ColorLife
> Proofers
As you can see, there are now *three* entries for the CLJ 5500, one for
RGB, CMYK and Gray respectively. Obviously, you can only assign an ICC
profile to its specific color space; since the old PPD only offered an
RGB entry, there was no way to assign a CMYK profile. Now, you can
easily assign an individual CMYK profile to the "CMYK Matching Profile"
entry. So this problem is solved.
However, this is where the new problems begin. ;-)
As you can see, of all printers, there is one "default printer" marked
by a blue dot (= "*" in the graphic above; in this example, the CLJ
5500 is marked), and for each printer, there is one "default profile"
marked by a blue dot (CMYK Matching Profile and SPR200 R210 Standard).
To the right of the area pictured above there is a "Make Default
Printer" button. You would think this button can be used to set the
default printer, but at least for me, it's always disabled; so I have
no idea why this button is there at all. But anyway, the default
printer setting is simply the one that you usually configure in the
Printer List Window of the Printer Setup Utility, so it's clear how to
deal with this setting.
*BUT* what about the default profiles for each printer? How do you set
these? I have found no way whatsoever to make another profile the
default profile (e.g. sRGB Matching Profile instead of CMYK Matching
Profile for the CLJ 5500).
Note that in the case of the Epson Stylus-Photo_R200 inkjet printer,
the listed profiles are *all* RGB profiles, but for different papers.
So I *think* (I have not verified it) they are chosen automatically
according to which kind of paper setting you choose in the Print
dialog. If this is true, then it would matter little which one is the
"default" setting.
But this seems not to be the case for the CLJ 5500 profiles. It seems
that now it's always the CMYK profile that's used for printing (I can
assume that because the CMYK factory profile HP provides produces
colors that are very different from the sRGB factory profile it
provides.) I had thought that maybe the profile is chosen automatically
depending on whether the document/image you print is in RGB or CMYK,
but this seems not to be the case. So now I'm quite confused again.
I guess the following questions sum up the problem:
1. How do you set the default profile for a printer (the CMYK, RGB or
Gray one in case of the CLJ 5500) in the ColorSync Utility?
2. Since CMYK or RGB is obviously not chosen automatically in relation
to a document with an embedded CMYK or RGB profile, which profile
*should* you actually use as the default? (Since so far I can't switch
between them, I have no way to test which setting would produce which
result.)
I see that the sRGB space of the CLJ 5500 profiles is much bigger than
the CMYK space. Doesn't that mean it would be reasonable to use sRGB?
What is the intended way to use this?
There is no Apple documentation at all for any of these questions. :-(
Thanks a lot for any insight!
Bye
Uli
________________________________________________________
Uli Zappe, Solmsstraße 5, D-65189 Wiesbaden, Germany
http://www.ritual.org
Fon: +49-700-ULIZAPPE
Fax: +49-700-ZAPPEFAX
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