colour management - 98 vs XP

[Colin Walls]

I have been using PS7 for quite a while on Win 98. I print my pictures on an Epson 1200. I have been very happy with the results.

The images on the screen and the print have always been close enough. I figured that I'd worry about all the colour-management only when I had a problem ["If it ain't broke, don't fix it"].

Recently I upgraded [format, clean install] to Win XP and reinstalled PS7. Everything seemed fine until I printed an image which I had previously printed before the upgrade. They are very different. The new one is much more "washed out".

Does XP do something different to 98?
Could I have had something which "set up" my printer before that I lost in the upgarde?
Any other suggestions?

[Eric Purkalitis]

The XP print driver and video driver might be throwing things off. Check the advanced settings under the display settings for settings such as gamma. Also try using the adobe gamma utility and different color settings in photoshop.

[Colin Walls]

Thanks for the input Eric.

I discovered that, with CM turned off, if I use Image|Mode|Assign Profile..., I can set one specific to my printer. This makes the image on the screen lighter [i.e. a much closer match]. I can then adjust it to get it right and it prints OK.

Problem is I don't really understand what's going on or what got broke in the first place.

[Eric Purkalitis]

Did you have Adobe Gamma starting up with windows before or now? Check your startup folder under programs in the startmenu (love windows naming). If you had it on before and not now (or visa versa) that'll make a big difference.

Also, aside from newer printer and video drivers, your monitor might have an effect. Some multisync monitors recognize different input sources and store the settings for each device. It might be seeing the updated driver as a new source and resetting the brightness contrast settings.

I got sick of putzing around with lots of color management settings, but wanted something pretty dumb. I Ended up buying the monacosys ezcolor system. It does the job pretty well.