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Navigating The Epson Printer Driver With Photoshop



Successfully managing color for digital printing requires that the color in an image file be converted from its device-neutral color space to a device-specific color space. (Typically this occurs by converting from Adobe RGB 1998 or Pro Photo RGB  to a device-specific color space defined by an ICC profile characterizing a specific combination of printer, ink, paper, and driver.)

Using Photoshop, you can either convert color in an image before you send it to a printer driver or after you send it to a printer driver.

Choose one method of color management – not two. Easily made, a classic mistake is using both. Double color management typically results in a print that is too light and magenta.

The Epson printer driver provides many ways to manage color conversions and get reasonably good color. Two methods offer the best results; the Photoshop route and the Epson route.
How do you choose either of these methods?

Let Photoshop’s Print window (under Color Handling) guide you – Let Photoshop Determine Colors and Let Printer Determine Colors. (While the principle is the same for most printers, interfaces will vary. Here’s information for the most current Epson interface.)

If you choose Let Photoshop Determine Colors under Color Handling, select a profile for Photoshop to make the conversion with (a paper/ink/driver specific profile not the interface default of Working RGB) under Printer Profile, choose a Rendering Intent of either Relative Colorimetric or Perceptual, and then click Print Settings. In the Print window choose the correct Printer and then change Copies and Pages to Print Settings. Select the correct Media Type, uncheck High Speed, and choose the highest printer resolution available. Finally, change Print Settings to Color Management and select Off (No Color Adjustment). The Photoshop route turns Photoshop’s color conversion on and turns the printer’s color conversion off.

The Photoshop route tends to hold slightly more saturation but it’s rendition of neutral colors and gray balance is usually not as good as the Epson route. The Photoshop route is the route to take when you want to use a custom profile. Use it if you are printing with either third-party inks or papers which require the use a custom profile to accurately describe the behavior of the alternate media.

If you choose Let Printer Determine Colors under Color Handling, choose a Rendering Intent of either Relative Colorimetric or Perceptual, and then click Print Settings. In the Print window choose the correct Printer. Change Copies and Pages to Print Settings to select the correct Media Type, uncheck High Speed, and choose the highest printer resolution available. Finally, change Print Settings to Color Management, choose EPSON Standard (sRGB) under Mode, and select Color Controls. The Epson route turns Photoshop’s color conversion off and turns the printer’s color conversion on.

The Epson route tends to deliver a significantly improved rendition of neutral colors and gray balance with slightly less saturation. Try it when printing neutral colors. Use the Epson driver’s Advanced B&W Photo feature for black and white images.

Each route works well. Each route yields slightly different results. Test them to see the differences. (Note that you cannot see the differences between printing routes when softproofing; you have to make physical proofs to see these differences. They can significant.)
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How To Avoid Double Color Management – Epson Printers


Get This – Correct Color Management
Avoid This Double Color Managed
Is your print too light and magenta? Double color management. It’s a classic mistake. I sometimes make it myself when I’m working too fast. So that you know what to look for, I recommend that you make the mistake deliberately, once, and only once, if possible.
Don’t do this …

And this …

What’s the right solution?
Check your software (Photoshop or Lightroom) and printer software (Epson driver) settings, reset them, and print again. Choose one method of color management – not two.
Read more in my online resources.
Learn more in my digital printing workshops.

7 Great Great Resources For Developing Your Creative Mindfulness Practice


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Want to become more perceptive?
Want to improve your concentration?
Want to optimize your performance?
Want to reduce stress?
Mindfulness can help you do all of these things and more.
Some people think meditation is Buddhist; it’s pan-cultural.
Some people think meditation is religious but many forms are non-denominational.
Some people think meditation is doing nothing; there are many active forms.
Some people think meditation requires a lot of time but a few minutes a day offer many benefits.
It’s likely that there’s a lot more to mindfulness than you think.

Apps

These apps are an easy way to start and sustain your practice.

Check out these apps …

Headspace (breath awareness-based)

Chopra (mantra-based)

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Books

I recommend these books for their approachability and practicality.

David Fontana
Learn to Meditate: A Practical Guide to Self-Discovery and Fulfillment

David Fontana
The Meditation Handbook: The Practical Guide to Eastern and Western Meditation Techniques

Mark Thornton
Meditation in a New York Minute: Super Calm for the Super Busy

Thich Nhat Hanh
The Long Road Turns to Joy: A Guide to Walking Meditation

Shakti Gawain
Creative Visualization: Use the Power of Your Imagination to Create What You Want in Your Life

 

Find more on Mindfulness here.

22 Ways To Find Inspiration


How do I find inspiration?
Let me count my ways.

1             Walk in nature
2             Visit a new place
3             Plan a future trip
4             Read
5             Listen to music
6             Watch movies
7             Look at artwork
8             Review my finished images
9             Review my unfinished images
10           Make new images spontaneously
11            List new creative things to try
12           Try something new creatively
13           Sketch ideas
14           Free associate
15           Brainstorm
16           Meditate
17           Daydream
18           Dream
19           Play like/with a child

How do you find inspiration?
The next time that doesn’t work, try one (or more) of these things.

I recommend you practice some or all of these things regularly.
Don’t wait to run dry.
Keep yourself overflowing all the time.

Find more resources on Creativity here.
Learn more in my digital photography workshops.

Save 20% On Imagenomic's Noiseware Pro


Get 20% off Imagenomic products with this discount code JPC2007.
Noiseware is the most robust noise-reduction software available. Ironically, while it offers the most sophisticated feature set, very often the default settings when you first open an image are all you’re likely to need. In many cases, very little, if any, additional tweaking is necessary.
In part, this is because Noiseware analyzes the images you process and creates “profiles” or saved settings that it uses every time you open a new image. It intelligently learns your needs by tracking your past images and analyzing your new images. You can also use Noiseware’s tools to create your own profiles, which can be saved and reused. You can save your own Preferences for how you’d like Noiseware to behave and learn. Noiseware also offers 13 default settings (like Landscape, Night Scene, Portrait, Stronger Noise, etc.) and allows you to save your own custom settings, which can be created from scratch or by modifying the provided presets.
Noiseware’s ability to target noise reduction to specific aspects of an image is what makes it unparalleled. You can adjust Noise Reduction based on Luminance or Chrominance; higher settings produce stronger noise reduction. You can target Noise Level based on Luminance or Chrominance; higher settings tell the software there’s more noise. You can target Color Range; Noise Reduction and Noise Level can be customized by hue—reds, yellows, greens, cyans, blues, magentas, neutrals. You can target Tonal Range; Noise Reduction and Noise Level can be customized for shadows, midtones and highlights. You can target image areas based on Frequency (or amount of detail); Noise Reduction and Noise Level can be customized to High, Mid, Low and Very Low frequencies. Finally, you can enhance detail, first, by using Detail Protection to reduce the effect based on Luminance or Color, and second, by using Detail Enhancement, which provides Sharpening, Contrast and Edge Smoothening.
Noiseware’s ability to provide this level of selectivity is extraordinary. It allows you to easily customize noise reduction for separate areas of an image without making complex masks. You’ll want to do this. Here’s just one example, among many, of why you want to do this. Smooth image areas reveal noise much more readily and they support more noise reduction, while highly textured image areas hide noise, but don’t support as much noise reduction without compromising apparent image sharpness.
Read my full review on Digital Photo Pro.
Find Imagenomic’s Noiseware here.
Read more in my digital photography resources.
Learn more in my digital printing workshops.

Mary Ellen Mark – New York Street Photography


Cheryl Dunn has completed a powerful documentary on the elusive spirit of New York photography. Cheryl was commissioned by The Seaport Museum, New York, to make a documentary about photographers who have used New York City street life as a common thread in their work. Produced by ALLDAYEVERYDAY, Everybody Street premiered at the museum in part with the exhibit Alfred Stieglitz New York, and was released in segments by The New Yorker magazine.
In order of appearance, photographer vignettes were Clayton Patterson, Joel Meyerowitz, Martha Cooper, Mary Ellen Mark, Bruce Gilden, Luc Sante, Bruce Davidson, and Rebecca Lepkoff. The film also features Tim Barber, Jeff Mermelstein, Ricky Powell, Jamel Shabazz, and Bonnie Yochelson. Dunn shot the street footage in New York City on a 16-mm. Beaulieu.
Find out more about the project here.
Find out more about Mary Ellen Mark here.
Find more photographer’s videos here.