Printer color issues

I have a HP Deskjet 3050A J611 that the color is way off when it prints. During the original set up I saw that the color was off and when you put it the sample sheet on the scanner to scan in it wouldn't recognize. So I don't know how to fix the print color to be what I see on the computer.

Hi Hoosiergirl,
Is the Model # for your printer J611g?
I am linking a troubleshooting document for Print Quality Issues for a Deskjet 3050A - J611g. Click Here I recommend that you take a look at these steps for guidance on solving the problem you are having. It is a good idea to run the cartridge cleaning utility (Solution 6, Step 4) up to 3 times. Cleaning the cartridge contacts as described in the link can also be helpful. Let me know how it goes.
Good Luck !
Also, remember a click on the Kudos star to the left is a quick "Thanks" for a helpful post.
Please select the "Accept as Solution" button on the post that best answers your question.
I appreciate your input ! ___________________________________ _____
Thank You,
Rich
Expert

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Adobe CS3, Mac & Epson 1400 Printing Color Issues

So I've been reading the forums for some help on getting my new Epson 1400 to print colors properly and my attempts to send just PDF's to the printer also fail on color matching. Stuff sent to an actual press come out fine with the colors I'm working with through Illustrator, In Design and Acrobat, but when I try to print at home, I can't get a setting that works consistently from attempt to attempt. I have downloaded and updated the latest drives from Epson's site (but they are gibberish to me, GPHW? PSPP?) to no avail. It was suggested to print from Acrobat when all else fails, but I'm still having a heck of a time getting anything to remotely match a print done a week ago or more if the pantone colors are used.
So, I'm using 10.5.8 on a Dual processor, powerpc G5 with max memory and significant hard drive space. The printer is the Epson 1400. Any suggestions welcomed on how to get accurate color.. unfortunately it's critical because my own business collateral seems to shift to an awful color - the rest of my projects could probably get by, but not my business materials!
I believe I've tried every possible combination of settings on Acrobat and InDesign to try to get correct color with the supplied Epson printer profiles. What's funny is I used to have a low-end epson installed, like a 380 or something, and when I used those profiles, it got better color. I accidentally deleted them and can't figure out what might work better. I'm guessing some other printer's profiles might just work more effectively... And it sounds like upgrading to CS4 won't help (and might make things worse) .... is this a CS problem, or an Epson problem, or a mac problem???
Help!

I have been rather fortunate, I have been getting excellent color matching on my Epson.
I am wondering about your settings when printing to the Epson, since that can make a difference in how the color is translated when printing.
You say the prints come out accurately when sent to the printer - BUT, you have also stated that this is from an actual press. Pantone colors do not always look the same when printed out in process, there can be a HUGE color shift. If your printer has one, look at his Pantone solid to process book so you can see the differences in your chosen colors.
I did look at yours and there is only a slight color shift, have you checked your CMYK settings for your spot colors on your computer? I remember having that issue before. The CMYK value I have for 3155 in my Pantone Solid to process is C:100 M:0 Y:24 K:38 and 397 is C:10 M:0 Y:100 K:11. If your printer has these settings, then their colors will be more accurate if they are double checking to make sure the correct pantone formula is being used.
In your print settings, are you printing a proof? what are you choosing for the Color Handling? I have been using Document RGB - sRGB IEC61966-2.1 with good luck. You may need to try those and see which profile works best for you.
Hopefully this helps some.
Message was edited by: macgurl_70 I forgot to ask, it reads like you are having them printed on an offset press - the pantone colors will always be more vivid and correct since they are using a specially formulated ink and not a cmyk (or rgb) mix of colors. Also, when they are printing - the plates will print the spot color as one plate for that specific ink - and NOT four plates for the CMYK, giving them the most accurate color. No matter what printer you choose, it will not print EXACT pantone colors, so check on the shift in that pantone guide (I didn't see much of one, but they were definitely not as vivid).
Update: I just installed the Gutenprint drivers for my Epson, so my InDesign would print out correctly on large sheets of paper. I am working on color calibrating the output with that driver now.

HP 7520 Printer Color Issues

As this problem appears in more than one application, I can only assume it's something in the Mac OS or HP driver that's causing it.
Lately, my photos have been printing too dark from iPhoto, so I played around with a lot of combinations of settings, but really haven't corrected it yet.
One thing I have noticed is that the current HP driver seems to have gone a bit "generic" when it comes to choosing the correct photo paper type in the Media and Quality section of the Print dialog settings. Didn't the specific types of HP photo paper used to appear in this section? For example, I'm using HP's Premium Plus Photo Paper, but it's not listed in the Media and Quality section. The choices in this dialog are now:
Brochure Glossy Paper
Brochure Matte Paper
Everyday Glossy Paper
Everyday Matte Paper
Inkjet Premium Paper
Photo Advanced Paper
Photo Glossy Paper
Photo Premium Paper
Plain Paper
Transparency
I can only assume I'm supposed to use the Photo Premium Paper setting with the HP Premium Plus Photo Paper, but the paper type names don't match exactly. It seems to me that, in older versions of the OS, the specific type of HP paper was listed, and, in this case, I would have found a selection for HP Premium Plus Photo Paper.
Has anyone else noticed this? Is there a way to add more specific paper types to the Media and Quality list?

As it turns out, part of the issues I noticed were as a result of the driver I was using for my HP AIO 7520. I had connected it up wirelessly to reduce cable clutter (even though it sits only 4 feet from my iMac).
After doing some digging around on HP's support site, I ran across one post that mentioned the Airprint drivers from HP did not have all the features of the USB driver. I was a bit surprised, as I couldn't find any mention of this anywhere else on HP's site.
After posting a couple of questions in HP's support forum, I realized that's not the place to go for prompt or accurate help. Three days after my post, an HP employee suggested I read up on color matching, and provided some support links. I knew this wasn't top-notch support when I noticed the articles she'd provided were over 8 years old. Anyway...the employee didn't think my dark prints were as a result of the driver.
Well, it turns out she was partially correct. I still have dark printouts, but after installing the USB driver for this AIO and connecting it up, I found I was missing a LOT using a wireless connection. The USB driver includes selections for all of HP's photo paper (the wireless driver only shows generic photo paper selections)...a color matching setting missing from the wireless driver...and a few other things (the HP Utility being accessible from the print dialog, for one) that aren't in the Airprint driver.
So...I was at least able to confirm that the color match settings in the print dialog weren't the cause of the problem....I couldn't even get to them before, but have since tried both ColorSync and Vendor settings, with no change in the printout.
I'm starting to think that maybe I do need to invest in a monitor calibration device!

InDesign export to PDF Print color issues

Hey there,
I'm working on a document in InDesign, have been for many hours now. So far whenever exporting to PDF print there have been no problems. Now all of a sudden, if I change a color in the InDesign file and export to PDF, nothing actually changes on the PDF anymore.
Any idea what's going on? Did I accidentally change a setting or something?
Example: Say I have a shape that's Black. I export it, it's black. Now, I go into the document and change the shape color to Yellow, export it; still black.
Regards,
SL

Chrome's built-in PDF browser does not even begin to conform to the PDF specification. It might be fine to read PDF files from the simplest of Word documents, but not output from any graphic arts source.
(The same is true for Apple's Preview application under MacOS and their PDF viewer under iOS!)
- Dov

Print Color Issues Upgrading to CS 4 from PSE 5

I am using the trial version of CS 4 Extended and have been finding that my pictures print much darker than they appear on my monitor. When I print the same image using PS Elements 5 the image comes out as expected. I played with one image and had to increase the Brightness from 50 to 100% to get a similar print result.
I am using an Acer monitor, an Epson Stylus Photo R800 printer, and have calibrated my monitor using Eye-One Match. Are there setings I need to change in CS 4 to get the print I expect?

In addition to aBrody's sage advice, take a look at these:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106941
http://www.macmaps.com/upgradefaq.html
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/installswupdates.html
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/backuprecovery.html
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=5757385
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=5666369
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=5646414
Bottom line. Make a bootable backup/clone to another volume, test it to ensure that boots the machine, and works like the original. That allows you to revert to the previous good state without having to reinstall anything. For some folks (including me during beta-testing), the upgrade and A&I installations on top of a Tiger build are not removing system-level components or updating their permissions, appropriately. In that case, E&I, followed by migrating, seems to fix things. If the upgrade or A&I install hosed things up, do the E&I thing, and then file a bug report with Apple.
Join the Apple Developer Connection (ADC)—it's free and available for all Mac users and gets you a look at some development software. Since you already have an Apple username/ID, use that. Once a member, go to Apple BugReporter and file your bug report WRT to installation problems.

Hp Color Laser Jet 5550dn Print Quality Issues

Good Afternoon,
I have a Hp Color Laser Jet 5550dn that has some print quality issue. I've attached a black and white scan, but the color is a light blue to blue that form the blotches. On the back of the page there are blue and pink streaks.
I can print more sample pages or print them in color, but anyone have any idea what could be going on here?

We are encountering a similar problem. The streaking is coming fromt the Cyan cartridge and has continued for over a year now, despite numerous cartridge changes and replacing the transfrer case. It is progressively getting worse and I have yet to find a solution to this problem online. Any help or guidance would be appreciated.

CLJ 2605dn Colors Off, Print Quality Issue

My issue is that when printing colors, they aren't correct. The Magenta on a Supplies Status page is poor quality. Printing 'Reds' are also poor, but I'm not convinced the other colors are accurate, either, though not as poor and look fairly good. I won't rule out a bad Magenta toner catridge, though all the catridges are over 80% remaining.
When printing a self-created test print (ms-paint):
Red: lightly shaded and faded.
Blue: Solid, looks normal.
Yellow: Solid, looks normal.
Black: Solid, looks normal.
Grey: print and shade as expected, normal.
Green: prints as more of an aqua and is not true green.
Pink: very, very light and hard to see.
So, given these characteristics am I just looking at a defective Magenta toner cartridge, or could something else be going on, such as formatter or transfer kit? I'd like to logically rule out formatter and transfer kit before bying a new Magenta (it's at 81%).
If it is a defective Q6003A how do I get a replacement for it without just going out and buying a new one, hence risking the $ to do so?
Thanks in advance

The HP Laserjet 5200 Series are commercial printers. I recommend posting in the forum for HP Business Support for a better chance at finding a solution.
Here is the link to the Commercial Laserjet board:
http://h30499.www3.hp.com/t5/Printers-LaserJet/bd-p/bsc-413
If I have helped in any way, just click the Kudos star on the left. Also, if your issue has been resolved, don't forget to select Accept as Solution

Export color vs. print to file color issue with 2.3RC

Hi,
I'm having problems with exporting photos for web-site usage.
In short: colors get extremely washed out and plain when using "export to disk" (requesting sRGB color profile, in jpg-format). But, when "printing to file" using sRGB profile and rendering intent perceptual colors are reasonably close to what I see in LR. Yes, I know, sRGB is limited, but...
Why there is such a difference when both methods are using sRGB for generated jpg? Is it the fact that rendering intent can not be selected for "export to disk"?
As I can not control pixel dimensions in Print mode is not an option for my use (and I can not control sharpening with plug-in, but the color issue is there to begin with without any export plugin intervention).
In contrast, LR 1.4 export to disk gives reasonable colors, the color issue has appeared with 2.x series.
Running Windows XP SP3, LR 2.3RC, display calibrated with Color Vision SPyder 2.
Please help, this is driving me nuts :(

I think, that your examples shows the same problem as my observations.
It seems that your display has even smaller gamut than sRGB (on my notebook DELL D620 this is also the case) so after you calibrated it, both lightroom and color managed firefox shows more saturated colors than windows explorer showing exported image (as far as I know, export from library module works correctly, but win explorer is not doing conversion to your monitor profile, that's why image is undersaturated). This is correct. It is really hard to calibrate such a low quality display, which can often be found on cheap notebooks - I have my own experience with it. Blue shades are really weak so heavy corrections have to be done in the profile (generated with spyder in your case), which can result in purple skies (why? Read this: http://www.brucelindbloom.com/index.html?WorkingSpaceInfo.html).
Problem is with image printed to file. This should look same as file exported from library module given that you use sRGB both as a destination space in export from library and as a printer profile while printing to file. In your case LR printed your image using values corresponding to your monitor profile (even if sRGB was selected) which resulted in oversaturated image (because your display has smaller gamut than sRGB). In my case images printed to file are undersaturated (because my monitor has gamut wider than sRGB). But I'm sure this is a bug! Your monitor profile should not affect printing to file in any case if sRGB is selected as printer profile!
Summary: purle sky in LR and in color managed FF is ok, but purple sky in image printed to file is not ok. :-)
And my hint: do not try to calibrate this display... :-)
You can try to make some measurements of your UNCALIBRATED NB display using this freeware: http://www.homecinema-fr.com/colorimetre/index_en.php You will probably see a very uneven color temperature across grayscale and much smaller gamut than sRGB.
Let us know your findings.

HP laserjet 200 color M251nw color issue

hey ppl, new here. we have an HP 200 color M251nw that will only print black and white. Well using the black toner cartridge and not the others. I've checked the printer properties and all color sections seem enabled. I am going to try an updated driver to see if that'll help. Seems like a setting not turned on..??? Any help with this is appreciated.
-J

Hi @techie211 ,
I see by your post that you are not able to print in color. I can help you.
Run a calibration on the printer.
On the printer touch the wrench, system setup, print quality, color calibration calibrate now.
Print a Diagnostics Page to see if you have the same results. Trying to determine if it is a hardware or software issue.
Go to Setup, Reports, arrow down and select Diagnostics Report.
Here is a screen shot.
I have provided a document with more steps for running a cleaning and checking print driver settings.
Troubleshooting Print Quality Issues.
Make sure the paper type is selected to the media that you are using, not the default setting unspecified.
Please provide the following information so I can assist you better.
What were the results of Print Quality Page?
What are the Ink levels?
What operating system are you using?
How to Find the Windows Edition and Version on Your Computer.
Mac OS X: How Do I Find Which Mac OS X Version Is on My Computer?
How is the printer connected? (USB/Ethernet/Wireless)
Have a nice day!
Thank You.
Please click “Accept as Solution ” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.
Click the “Kudos Thumbs Up" on the right to say “Thanks” for helping!
Gemini02
I work on behalf of HP

Printer not printing AND Matching Screen colors to Print colors. Any advice is apreciated!!

Hello - I have 2 questions regarding printing to an Epson and also regarding the monitor colors Not matching the print colors working from Photoshop CS4 on a Mac with a Maverick [ 10.9.3 ] OS. My issues are Not about my own printers or software. I have been tutoring a friend via phone in Photoshop; he has CS4 and is working on Mac OS 10.9.3.
1- We found that he could print nearly fine [ nearly accurate colors ] from Lightroom on his computer, version 5.4. But when he tries to print from Photoshop he cannot make a print. There is clear communication between the computer and the printer, as, when he sent the file to print, the printer [ an Epson 3880 ] responded by automatically changing to Photo Black from Matte. Then, it opens the rollers as if to print, but, it them stops and the menu [ on the Printer ] says 'Ready.' The paper is 4x6” Moab Lasal paper 300gsm. This issue of Not printing is only with this Moab Lasal luster paper, for which he Does have the IIC profile, and we always make sure ‘Photoshop manages colors,’ not the printer. To address the issue of the printer Not printing at all using a non-Epson brand paper, we have tried seemingly everything from deleting and re-adding the printer from the Library / Printers, resetting everything [ printer computer software etc ], trying different settings in the Printer window and the Print Settings window. Including changing the media profile, platen gap, etc.
2- My other and more important question is – after we Do get a print, we cannot match the monitor color to the print. [ We havE been able to get a print using Epson brand paper. Which is odd because we have the ICC profiles for both papers ]. To address the color matching issue, he has told me he calibrated the monitor with a Spyder, and here are a few other variables that I can relay that may or may not be affecting his color-issues:
He iS viewing his prints in a dayliglht-rated lighting environment
The monitor is an iMac glossy finish monitor, not an anti-glare
We tried working and printing from both an 8-bit and also a 16-bit color-space and also 16-bit printing
The color shift is slightly but noticeably toward Magenta.
His printer is Not calibrated
Please let me know what else we can do, any known glitches that may be an issue with his older version of CS, any tips you can suggest.
Thanks very much!

I don't have that printer and I'm not on Mac, so someone else has to step in there. Generally a green/magenta cast indicates none/double printer color management. But then I don't know what you mean by "slight".
The Spyders aren't the most consistent and reliable calibrators out there. I had a Spyder 3 sensor that I just threw away because it gave a distinct red cast (I have several other calibrators, so there was no doubt). Another potential problem is that with most calibrators you can only adjust the white point along the blue/yellow Kelvin scale, but not on the green/magenta scale. This is often necessary to get a good white point color. In this case you need to use the monitor's OSD controls, and if possible the "pre-calibration" function in the calibrator to measure and monitor it - if that function exists. And I don't know if this is possible with an iMac.
This is basically a question of getting the white point right, both on the blue/yellow and the green/magenta axis (and luminance of course). The goal is to get a visual match to paper white on screen. With the white point properly set, neutral color balance relates to that, and the rest more or less follows by itself. (In addition you should set the proper black point/contrast for full control, but that's not the issue here).

My 6100 printer has never been able to print color

From Day 1 it has told me the blue (cyan) cartridge is empty, even when I replaced the starter cartridge with a new one, and it always says that the other colors are "low." I have been printing only black and white words on a page, in fast draft mode, but the one time I tried to print color it failed -- a yellow headline came out white, no color at all. It always says cyan is empty. Now it won't print black and white at all. Am I supposed to spend $50+ on all new cartridges every time I need to print something?
Also, is there some cellophane tape I need to remove inside the printer? I can see a cellophance coating on the cartridge carriage inside the printer, but there is nothing in the instructions that says to remove it.
The inability to print color seems a defect to me. Can I make a return? I bought it two weeks ago.
Catherine
This question was solved.
View Solution.

Hi CMBoston,
I understand you have not been able to print anything in color, and that you see a piece of cellophane tape inside. I would like to help you with this.
Please use the following document to troubleshoot the quality issue you are experiencing; Troubleshooting Print Quality Issues.
The cellophane tape inside the printer should only be removed if the setup guide instructed you to; otherwise, it is part of the inner mechanics.
I am not sure of the return policy where you bought the printer so I can not answer whether or not you can return the printer, but I can tell you that HP printers have a 1 year manufacture warranty. If you are still experiencing issues after following the steps in the document, call HP. The number to call HP is 1-800-474-6836 for Canada and US, or you can Contact HP Worldwide.
I hope this information resolves your inquiry.
Please click the Thumbs up icon below to thank me for responding.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.
Sunshyn2005 - I work on behalf of HP

HP LaserJet Pro 400 color M451dn Printing Color Streaks: HELP!

We recently replaced the ink cartridges in our printer, but now, it's printing color streaks on our paper. The weird thing is, it only does this for 4 pages every 4 pages. 4 pages will be okay, then we'll get cyan, magenta, yellow, and black horizontal stripes on the next 4 pages. We think it's because we replaced the Laserjet cartridges with a generic toner. Is there any way to fix this???

To get your issue more exposure I would suggest posting it in the commercial forums since this is a commercial product. You can do this at Commercial Forums.
I hope this helps!
R a i n b o w 7000I work on behalf of HP
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“Thanks” for helping!
Click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution!

HP Color Laserjet CM1015 MFP prints colors looking like 3D while single colors print fine.

HP Color Laserjet CM1015 MFP prints colors looking like 3D while single colors print fine. I have tried several calibrations with no change. I have reset printer to factory default with no success.

Hi AFace; hope you are doing well and sorry to hear that you are having this issue.
Your HP Color Laserjet CM1015 MFP is a commercial product. I will suggest posting and looking in the forum for HP Business Support for a better chance at finding a prompt solution.
You may find the commercial Laserjet board here.
http://h30499.www3.hp.com/t5/Printers-LaserJet/bd-p/bsc-413
Thanks;
RobertoR
You can say THANKS by clicking the KUDOS STAR. If my suggestion resolves your issue Mark as a "SOLUTION" this way others can benefit Thanks in Advance!

How to print color document in greyscale without it being really dark?

Recently had a customer come in and want some holiday letters printed out. They had a bunch of color photos in the document and when we printed that from Adobe Acrobat to our black and white copier, they came up REALLY black. Everything was much darker that it should have been.
Normally we work around this issue by placing the document into InDesign and printing it in Greyscale mode from there since you can tell it RGB, CMYK or Greyscale from InDesign. Problem is, if I wasn't here, nobody else would know how to do this and they would probably have to turn the customer away.
Our counter machine is a WindowsXP machine with the newest version of Acrobat Reader. I saw this link elsewhere here:
http://forums.adobe.com/thread/948555?tstart=0
But that doesn't work. When clicking on Advanced button in the print window for Acrobat Reader, the Advanced window doesn't have anything about printing in greyscale. The copier is a Canon iR 7095.
Any thoughts on what we can do? Basically, I want to be able to have the ladies that work the counter (and the counter PC) to be able to print color documents to the black and white machine without having a problem with the output and having to either come into my office and have me help with it, or having to turn the customer away.
Any thoughts?

go to Files --> Add Files to Upload

HP 7260: Photo tray = color issues (pink photos)

Hi,
I have a 7260 and it's working fine, as long as you don't use the photo tray.
Today I tried to print a couple of photos on advanced hp photo paper.
No problems at all, except that the picture is completely... pink.
So I tried to mangle with the color settings (in windows) and eventually ended up with 6 pink pictures.
Since I thought this was a settings error, I tried printing straight from the SD memory card.
I figured that if there was no computer involved, there wouldn't be any setting issues either.
And thus I ended up with 7 pink pictures.
I finally decided this would probably be an ink issue, but to make sure I tried to print the same photo on a regular A4 sheet.
And... no color issues there! Printing on regular A4 sheets works just fine!
Any idea how I could make the printer print the right colors on the right paper?

I suggest opening the Print & Scan System Preferences, then highlight your HP Photosmart printer in the printers list and delete it by pressing the minus sign. Now, re-add the printer by clicking on the plus sign and select the printer. Make sure that the 'Print Using:' pull down aut selects the correct driver for your printer. If it doesn't, pull down the list and manually select the correct driver using the 'Select Printer Software' option. Hopefully that will resolve your issue.
HP Printer Support for Mac OS X

Printer color issues

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