Color & Tone Mismatch in Printing

[optical]

I have just started printing the photos I have taken in the last few months on an Epson 1290 printer. The photos looked great after adjustment with Photoshop - right tone, level, color, histogram etc. But the prints looked terribly different in color and tone. Colors were different (blue denim jeans appeared faded)and photos appeared lighter in tone. Any suggestion to rectify the problem?

[scottbergerphoto]

The first step is to calibrate your monitor. Start with Adobe Gamma, free with most Adobe products. It's in the Windows Control Panel after installation. Then upgrade to a hardware device for calibration like a Colorvision Spyder. If your monitor isn't calibrated, your wasting your time adjusting color.
The second step is to get the right software/printer settings. The simplest thing to do to start is to set the output of PSE2 or Photoshop to Printer Color Management, and set your Epson Printer Driver to sRGB or ICM after selecting the correct paper in the pull down menu.
Good Luck,
Scott

[john_houghton]

You will find a lot of information in the articles at http://www.computer-darkroom.com/. There are tutorials for colour management on different versions of Photoshop and reviews of the 1290 printer.

John

[optical]

Thanks for the very useful advice and web site.