Photoshop CS3 - Epson Stylus Photo R3000 Color Management Problem

Question

I just purchased an Epson Stylus Photo R3000 to replace my R1800 which finally had print head clogs which could not be fixed. I had some christmas photos that I wanted to print and when I attempt to print one particular image I am getting inconsistent and incorrect results. When I print from Photoshop using Photoshop Manages Colors and selecting SPR3000 Premium Glossy to print on my Epson glossy paper the image comes out much too dark. If I print the same image from Aperture using Aperture manages colors and the same profile the print is lighter and closer to my calibrated monitor but a blue shirt is still too purple. To get the print correct I must use "Printer manages color", use Colorsync in the printer and select the SPR3000 Premium Glossy profile.
I downloaded the PDI_Target_AdobeRGP image from George Ballard's website and printed it both with photoshop managing colors and printer manages colors. The two images are close but the photoshop manages color printing method results in a print which is a little too dark while the printer manages color selection is almost perfect.
I have never had this problem before and have always head excellent results using Photoshop Manages Color. I suspect that perhaps the profile supplied by Epson has a problem.
I am using OSX 10.8.2, Mountain Lion. My monitor is recently calibrated using a Spyder 3.
Does anyone have suggestions regarding fixing or diagnosing this problem?

Answer 1

I take it you are seeing "Photoshop Manages Color" in the print dialog box?  Epson drivers are pretty good, so I'm not surprised you are getting somewhat better results with "Printer Manages Color".  The key is to apply the RGB and CMYK profiles used in Photoshop in the driver dialogs.  For instance, if you've set the RGB work space in Photoshop for Adobe RGB, then ( I would ) use the same profile in the driver.  Some images perform well in sRGB; but I typically stay away from sRGB because of its limited color gamut.  I've used "Colorsync" in the print dialogs, but there are several other options you can try to get closer.  The Blues and Reds you see on screen will sometimes not be able to be printed with certain printers because of their limitations.  However, you've said you didn't have problems before and now with this new printer you are seeing new problems.  Try contacting Ballard again and see if he has any recommendations.  He might even be able to calibrate that printer for you.  Or, try a third party calibration service like ColorHQ.com.  If you apply an RGB profile in Photoshop, like the Adobe RGB profile, then you are somewhat having Photoshop manage color in the application.  By selecting "Let Printer Manage Color" in the print dialog, you are telling the driver to honor the color coming out of Photoshop and you can confirm that by selecting Adobe RGB in the print dialogs.  I would experiment with all of the RGB profiles ( Colormatch, ProPhoto, Adobe RGB, and sRGB ) to see which one performs the best using the print driver.