Should the colours be THAT different from a Ricoh GXE3300?

[Fidget242]

Hi guys,

Feeling a bit disappointed in the new GXE3300 we just bought from BMS, I'm not sure if I'm just being over critical or if I'm just missing something. But I printed a hot pink design on my Epson 1400 with Artainium profile and then I printed the same design with the Ricoh using the powerdriver option from the same program (photoshop CS5) and the colours are nothing like each other, infact - the ricoh is actually PURPLE not hot pink. (and yes it's still a purple shade when pressed too).

Overall the Ricoh colours seem way off to me, the pinks are purple and the greens have a blue-ish tint. If I print something blue it's quite close to artainium but still darker, or maybe just more dull. Is there a way to turn the blue down or the pink up? I also tried printing from word incase it was a photoshop setting or something messing it up but no - same result.

Just to clarify a little, the epson 1400 using artainium is printing spot on, colours are perfect, so it isn't that the epson is wrong, it is definitely the Ricoh. Also I am printing using the powerdriver option in the printer list - not the ricoh option itself, and it doesn't seem to matter if I choose intense or realistic - it's still purple but different shades, lol. I even reset all the settings and profile information etc in Photoshop as a last resort but still purple pinks and blue greens.

Feeling a little downhearted to say the least, all the rave reviews and positive press this printer gets leads me to thinking I'm doing something wrong or missing something - I just wish I could find out what it was

[John G]

In Coraldraw you need to take Coral back to factory settings, I think - this could be the same in Photoshop. Best off ringing Martin at BMS, i'm sure he'll put you right.

[Fidget242]

Cheers John I've tried that already, I just made an odd discovery a few minutes ago though - if I print the images without the powerdriver (just using the GelSprinter option in the printer list) the image prints much better! It's a lot closer to the Artainium colours that's for sure, lol.

The pinks are still not perfect but they're towards the red more than the blue which looks far better, the greens are practically spot on although yellow is also a tad green. I'm currently tinkering with the Ricoh's built in colour adjustment options to try and get it closer.

It seems strange to me that it works better without the colour profile than actually with it though, why should that be?

[teknokat]

If you are using photoshop make sure you download the pdf tutorials from the sawgrass website to setup the powerdriver correctly and make sure rendering intent is set to perceptual, output intent set to realistic and color sure is not checked. I've printed some very pink mouse mats and the colours have been identical to the screen image by following the setup guides from the sawgrass website. If you've not already got the pdf's it might be worth a look to help you with your colour problems.

[John G]

We've had a few ricoh owners on the forum with similar problems and it seems to boil down to installation, either powerdriver or profiles.

[AJLA]

Have you sorted your colours Fidget202?

[Fidget242]

Nope not yet, haven't really had time to play around with it yet. Have you configured yours ok to match Martins print out yet?

[Ian Mc]

For my two pence worth, may I suggest downloading and configuring the profiles from Sawgrass' website?
http://www.sawgrasseurope.com/technical ... c-profiles

Once properly installed and set up, you should hopefully get much closer to the 1400 (although you shouldn't expect a perfect match). The PowerDriver's in built profiles are written over in the U.S, while the standalone ICC Profile for the Ricoh is actually written by the same team that writes the ArTainium profiles - meaning more likelihood of a match. This is probably how Martin will have suggested to set up, too, I would imagine.

Set up documents for the profile can be found at: http://www.sawgrasseurope.com/technical ... s/gxe3300n
Lastly, if you have any questions, feel free to PM me!

[AJLA]

Hi Ian, i'm really confusing myself, I thought the color management in Corel was supposed to be set at default.

Also I can't even choose the Ricoh option in step 2, it does say it may not be installed etc but it there.:frown:

[Ian Mc]

Hi Mandy,

It depends on the version of CorelDraw, and which method you are using to colour correct. If PowerDriver, you should have Colour Management Off. I believe this situation differs in Corel X5, though. When using the profile, the reverse is true - Colour Management needs to be enabled, and set up to apply the profile at point of print.

Over your second issue - It does sound like the profile hasn't installed. You've downloaded the set up file from the website, I presume? If so, have you restarted your computer / CorelDraw in the meantime? This can make a difference in whether you can see and select the profile.

If you need a hand, send me a PM with your telephone number and I'll be happy to help.