All true. We may have been at the same trade event. Bill did fabulous work that is as good today as it was 9 years ago. After communication with several very helpful colorsync-users list contributors... Here is the story: I tried everything to get the system I was using to print correctly. I made several new profiles and helper profiles; asked colleagues to make profiles, thinking I had lost my skills; when to the colorsync-users and even went back to Bill Atkinson for advice. In the end I couldn't solve the issue to my satisfaction. But, just as Arthur Conan Doyle had Sherlock Holmes say: "Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth." Many list contributors told me it must be the software or drivers. I had uninstalled and reinstalled the relevant "stuff" so I was skeptical. It was the version of Photoshop I was using; how improbable is that? The printing and/or color management modules must have been corrupted. I loaded in an antique copy of Photoshop I had from about 12 years ago, and it printed perfectly -- again. I then downloaded the newest version of PS and "print quality" is back. Problem solved. Thanks to all that helped and/or felt my pain!! Tim Vitale Paper and Photograph Conservator Oakland CA 510-594-8277 -----Original Message----- From: Randy Zaucha Sent: Saturday, September 10, 2011 9:25 PM Subject: Atkinson Profiles All I can say is that I had a few treasured visits at Bill's place right after he made those profiles for the 9600 Epson. The ABC's of color management tell you that if you use the same printer/paper/ink combo that the profile will still be valid. Bill, as the stellar engineer he is, wanted to make the absolutely best profiles that could be made for the printer he had at the time. The process involved thousands of samples which involved his getting up in the middle of the night to put another chart on his Spectrolino. He told me he was dealing with the "warbles" in the gray balance of the device. Personally, I have physically read individual patches of color charts in the early days, but Bill went waaay beyond this. I actually saw him explode an Epson engineer's head explaining his technique at a trade event. I recommended a photographer friend to buy an Epson 9600 just because of the superb quality of Bill's profiles. He told me years later that it was a terrific printer and that other photographers used to bring their files to him to print because of the quality. I tested the gray balance on it and it was GRAY. My guess is that your 9600 is not in tolerance to manufacturer's spec or there is an operating system/application version issue. Randy Zaucha Managed Color