CM using HP Z2100 44"

Question

I'm having color problems printing to the HP  Z2100 44" printer.
Mac 10.6.8
Most recent HP driver and utility,
Recent self-calibration for HP instant dry gloss paper.
Printing from Acrobat.
If I choose Acrobat to handle color management, and choose the correct paper profile. And indicate in the HP dialog that the Application is handling color. And choose correct paper in the HP print dialog. Print colors are too dark. Grays are neutral.
If I choose Printer to handle CM in the Acrobat print dialog, and in the HP dialog I choose Printer the to manage color, the ONLY choice I get for source Color Space in the HP dialog is Adobe RGB. (file came from sRGB source) The resulting prints look more accurate, but any gray area has a strong pink cast.
If any one is using a mac with this printer, any advice is much appreciated.
Thanks.

Answer 1

Acrobat Preferences can be edited to "Preserve Embedded Profile" or "Ask When Opening" from .tiff; since there are no choices for .ppt files conversions, Acrobat is probably maintaining the sRGB from Powerpoint or is not applying any color management in the PDF, so Illustrator is left with the job of converting upon opening the file.  I'd like to know what your Illustrator Color Settings are.  There is a big misconception out there that sRGB has a larger color gamut than Adobe RGB.  In print, the preferred RGB profile is Adobe RGB because of its larger color gamut and its ability to map better to CMYK.  In inkjet, certain inkjet printers may have a larger color gamut than other inkjet printers, especially if they use addtional color catridges like the Z2100.  If the driver is limiting you to Adobe RGB, then there may be some information not installed.  Check your installer disk for other RGB profiles.  Since you are limited to Adobe RGB, then you should refer to Illustrator's Color Settings.  You may have to do some tests and experiment with a few different scenarios out of  Illustrator and its Print dialogs.  A RIP may not be necessary since you are working with RGB files, so Illustrator might be better using an RGB color space.  Let's assume Acrobat has not converted to Adobe RGB and has no color management applied.  In Illustrator, set the RGB color setting to "Ask When Opening" and set the work space to Adobe RGB.  Open a PDF from Acrobat converted from PPT.  Illustrator should ask you, when opening the file, what RGB profile do you want to use ( assigned or working ).  Select working RGB ( which is Adobe RGB ).  Send that to Print and see what happens.  Do this for every RGB setting available in Illustrator's Color Settings "Working" space ( i.e., Colormatch RGB, sRGB, etc. ).  Assuming your monitor is calibrated and supplies you with fairly accurate color representations, see which print matches the original PPT the closest and set that as your workflow for similar projects.