Requesting information with 9000 mark II

Hello.

I recently bought the Canon Pixma 9000 mark-II printer, and the results are stunning. However, I'll cut right to the problems:

First off, the greens (that of foliage and plants) is coming out rather yellow-tinted, despite efforts made to correct it. I've tried changing settings in both the printer AND Lightroom (what I print with) to no avail. It's proving difficult to get rich/deep greens.

Secondly, the Green ink-tank, even after 50+ pictures, is still 100% full. Even on inspection it is completely full. I'm starting to assume that the printer is using a mix of Cyan and Yellow to make green rather than using the green ink-tank. (This is also supported by the fact that they yellow emptied rather fast)

I may be having an ignorant moment, but any information is appreciated!

Welcome to the forum.
You really need to start by calibrating your monitor and printer; anything less is just guesswork. In the stickies in this forum you'll find a wealth of knowledge.
I'm sure Rene will be along (It's a him, not a her) with info.. but please do consider calibrating and not guessing. Several places now rent color calibration gear.. it's WAY cheaper than trian and error with that spiffy new printer.

Good Luck

Follow up post
http://www.borrowlense​s.com/category/calibra​tors

I should have also mentioned that if there is no green in the picture, it matches perfectly with what is on my monitor. Every color BUT green matches to my monitor. (This also happens on my other computer)

And yes, they've been calibrated.

This is fixable by simply just tweaking the green prior to printing, but I would rather educate myself first.

Goden wrote in post #10474231
I should have also mentioned that if there is no green in the picture, it matches perfectly with what is on my monitor. Every color BUT green matches to my monitor. (This also happens on my other computer)

And yes, they've been calibrated.

This is fixable by simply just tweaking the green prior to printing, but I would rather educate myself first.

OK, you say you have tried different settings in LR and the printer -- try setting LR to let the printer manage the colors and set the printer driver to manage things but no other adjustments -- what is the outcome?

tonylong wrote in post #10474301
OK, you say you have tried different settings in LR and the printer -- try setting LR to let the printer manage the colors and set the printer driver to manage things but no other adjustments -- what is the outcome?

Outcome is: All colors are within acceptable limits, everything is good. Green is still not rich/deep enough and is yellow-tinted.

Goden wrote in post #10474377
Outcome is: All colors are within acceptable limits, everything is good. Green is still not rich/deep enough and is yellow-tinted.

Maybe your green inktank is defective or the shipping plastic on the green tank
is not removed properly. Try another green tank if you can.

Or the holes are not free (obstructed) to eject the green ink.

Good luck.

Goden wrote in post #10474377
...Green is still not rich/deep enough and is yellow-tinted.

No surprise here. If you use proper softproofing technique before printing, you may find a big color shift in the most intense greens. And yes, it's common for the yellow ink to get used up at a much higher rate than green.

You need to view an image such as this one while softproofing and see if there any major color shifts.

HOSTED PHOTO
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ChasP505 wrote in post #10475544
No surprise here. If you use proper softproofing technique before printing, you may find a big color shift in the most intense greens. And yes, it's common for the yellow ink to get used up at a much higher rate than green.

You need to view an image such as this one while softproofing and see if there any major color shifts.

Hosted photo: posted by ChasP505 in
./showthread.php?p=104​75544&i=i99596570
forum: RAW, Post Processing & Printing

I shall need to request more information on this softproofing thing.

Goden wrote in post #10476212
I shall need to request more information on this softproofing thing.

Here's a tutorial:
http://tv.adobe.com …soft-proofing-your-image/

To troubleshoot your color problem, you'll need to address possible causes one by one. Is it a mechanical issue with the printer? Is it a software issue with the printer? Is it a defective ink cartridge? Are your print settings correct?

I usually start by eliminating the hardware as the root of the problem, by printing a standard printer test image while allowing the printer to do the color management. If this prints OK, you can look at other possibilities. (That's where the fun begins)

Remember that color management when it comes to printing, is not really about perfectly matching what you see on your monitor screen, but PREDICTABILITY for the print output.

Goden wrote in post #10474377
Outcome is: All colors are within acceptable limits, everything is good. Green is still not rich/deep enough and is yellow-tinted.

Note: this was done letting the printer manage the color, and only the greens is showing problems.

One thing to try is creating a new document and brushing it with some solid colors including, of course green. See if they print colors that are in a good ballpark -- in other words, all the colors are actually printing, even if not matching your screen exactly.

If everything but greens are good, then it sounds like you have a bad color cartridge or at least one of the colors is low. If, though, some colors were low you should get a warning from your driver.

Have you tried a printer driver test page, following cleaning/priming? This should also show you if one of the colors is not printing properly. You can do this more than once and see if multiple cleanings clear things up. If the page prints properly, then you'll have to go back to looking at your software. But if the test page is bad, it's the cartridge.

Someone mentioned cleaning the print head -- you could try this, try an alcohol solution and a lint-free rag and see if it helps. Last resort, try a new cartridge.

tonylong wrote in post #10477534
Note: this was done letting the printer manage the color, and only the greens is showing problems.

One thing to try is creating a new document and brushing it with some solid colors including, of course green. See if they print colors that are in a good ballpark -- in other words, all the colors are actually printing, even if not matching your screen exactly.

If everything but greens are good, then it sounds like you have a bad color cartridge or at least one of the colors is low. If, though, some colors were low you should get a warning from your driver.

Have you tried a printer driver test page, following cleaning/priming? This should also show you if one of the colors is not printing properly. You can do this more than once and see if multiple cleanings clear things up. If the page prints properly, then you'll have to go back to looking at your software. But if the test page is bad, it's the cartridge.

Someone mentioned cleaning the print head -- you could try this, try an alcohol solution and a lint-free rag and see if it helps. Last resort, try a new cartridge.

All color tanks are full. (Or at least at 3/4). Several of the tanks have been replaced with use over time, but the green is still the one that was supplied with the printer as it's still at 100%.

Head cleaning and checks have all been done and everything checks out fine. Even the green looks fine when doing print checks.
I'm finding it odd that every color EXCEPT green is coming out astoundingly accurate to what is on my monitor.

Goden wrote in post #10476212
I shall need to request more information on this softproofing thing.

LR won't do softproofing.
Do you have Photoshop?

Goden wrote in post #10477794
I'm finding it odd that every color EXCEPT green is coming out astoundingly accurate to what is on my monitor.

What happens when you print a standard green sample (RGB 0-255-0) ? Does it get brighter? Darker?

On my system, I've accepted that my printer doesn't handle greens very well and is limited to the sRGB gamut for green tones. But I KNOW and can predict what will come out of the printer.

I know there are many 9000 mk II users on POTN based on the number of "Help Me" posts. Why isn't anyone chirping in to say whether they experience the same issues with green printing?

I'll chime in here. I recently got the 9000 mark II as well, and have the exact same issue. I have a calibrated monitor, profiled printer using Spyder Print 3, have used profiles for many years.
All that being said, when I print a picture with green in it (for example green moss on rocks and leaves) the printer leaves these colors almost grey green. When making the same print at Costco the greens are a perfect match with my screen.
I have worked with Datacolor for three weeks making sure my profile and all the other printer settings and CS3 settings are correct.
After 100+ prints I also have had no use of the green cartridge showing. Doing a nozzle check and manual head alignment says everything is OK.
What's up??? I'm at my wits end and ready to "can the Canon" for my old Epson 2200.

Thanks in advance for any clues.