[newbie] Printing - colors are strangely subdued

Question

I have searched, but wasn't able to find an answer.
I'm new to lightroom (love it), and am printing to a regular color printer (not a photo printer).
If I print my .jpg from IE, it reflects colors pretty accurately.    If I print from LR (which I'd prefer - it sizes the photo better to fit on one page) the colors are very very subdued, and don't look at all like what is on the screen.  Same printer each time.
I'm using default settings, nothing fancy.
Guidance for a newbie would be very much appreciated.
Thank you,
Jessica

Answer 1

Hi Jessica,
Try it Dorin's way first. It's fast, easy, and cheap and if it works and solves it for you that fast, you're done.
But on my system, sRGB is not even a possible setting when I select Other under Print module > Print Job (bottom of right hand column) > Color Management > Profile.
If it's not for you, either, or if you try and it doesn't help, there were two other things I did which fixed it for me.
First, I have a Canon printer, and I download a color profile from the Canon website that matches my specific model printer to both the Canon paper I'm using (Canon Photo Paper Plus Glossy) and a setting I pick for Print Quality under Printer Properties, a sliding scale from 1 to 5--in my case, I use setting 2. I download the profile I need (which will be a file ending in .icm) to my C:\Windows\system32\spool\drivers\color folder, and then when I click Other under Print module in LR, I can select that .icm file I downloaded. Then from Print module in LR, I have to click the Print button and Properties > Main tab, and set Paper to Photo Paper Plus Glossy and set Print Quality: Custom > Set button > Quality: 2 and Halftoning: Diffusion > OK. Now, LR, Windows, and my printer are all set on the same page.
The settings that work for my Canon printer would likely be very different for your printer, particularly one made by a different company. You wouldn't even likely see the same options under your printer settings. But this gives you an idea how you can get LR and printer on the same page regarding the paper being used and the color settings.
The other thing that can be vital to resolving this common issue of matching what appears on the monitor to what comes out the printer with Lightroom is getting a color calibrator, a device you attach to your computer and run every so often with the included software.  I find that the free software color calibrators you can find such as the one Adobe provides where you set your monitor based on how things look on the screen don't do nearly as good a job as a hardware color calibrator. Many pros use very expensive ones, but even a $100 one such as the Spyder3 Express on amazon.com can make a huge difference in getting really good prints. It is very important with color calibrators to read and follow all the instructions in the box and in the software very carefully. Some people just try to plug in a color calibrator and use it shortcutting the instructions and then are surprised when the device makes the monitor or printed color look worse.