Page 2 of 3

Re: fabric coasters

Posted: 17 Jan 2011, 15:32
by smitch6
yes everything else seems to come out fine
apart from black text seems to be blue
but apart from that everything else seems to be fine

when i get a spare 1/2 hour i'll have another go with a dif photo

Re: fabric coasters

Posted: 17 Jan 2011, 16:12
by Paul
i think this is down to your icc profile. have you install it corectly?

Re: fabric coasters

Posted: 17 Jan 2011, 16:37
by AdamB
unsupported inks = colour problems if no icc profile is available?

Been there, tried to figure it out, lost lots of sleep - didn't have the cash to by a 'dongle' to fix it - ended buying a complete new system with supported inks and never looked back!

Re: fabric coasters

Posted: 17 Jan 2011, 17:18
by JSR
I'd be tempted to tweak the levels on that picture. "Auto Levels" on FW4 brings back the right colours but it might be a bit severe, but a little manually tweaking could help.

Ideally you'd need an accurate profile, but the chances are that you won't get an accurate profile from your supplier (just a general one) so you'll still need to do some tweaking.

The problem is largely down to the relatively small colour gamut with sublimation inks. The issue with "near white" light colours is compounded if you're using a 4-ink system because the only colour light enough that the printer can print is the yellow - so it relies on it a little too heavily. Tweaking levels can help widen the gap between what is white and what is really yellow, and this will aid the end result into looking "not awful".

You'll find less of an issue with 6-ink systems because there are two other "light" inks (LM and LC) to help the yellow achieve a more neutral "near white" range of colours. The issue will still be there, it just won't be quite so bad. I had a similar issue recently when printing an indoor shot of a white (sorry "grey") horse. My 4-ink system that works superbly for most full-colour photos had a heavy reliance on yellow, but printing from my 6-ink system largely solved the issue. (Both of these printers have home-made custom profiles.)

Re: fabric coasters

Posted: 17 Jan 2011, 17:21
by AdamB
JSR;14331 wrote:....Both of these printers have home-made custom profiles.
did you do these profiles with 'the dongle' ? (pauls)

Re: fabric coasters

Posted: 17 Jan 2011, 17:28
by JSR
AdamB;14332 wrote:did you do these profiles with 'the dongle' ? (pauls)

Yes. I wish I still had it here because I feel sure I could have customised the profile based on the horse photo and that would have helped the 4-ink printer do a better job with it. It's just reinforced for me again that I must invest in one real soon (as soon as the post-Christmas lull is over).

Re: fabric coasters

Posted: 17 Jan 2011, 18:51
by smitch6
yes there's no profile for my ink and printer :(
its an epson s21 and ink from intelli-ink
so it looks like i will have to get the photo edited to try get it looking better

annoying isn't it
as i don't really want to pay out for another printer

Re: fabric coasters

Posted: 17 Jan 2011, 18:56
by smitch6
go on then whats the best value cheap sub printer that someone can recommend
i don't want to pays hundreds so don't start with all the silly prices pls :)

Re: fabric coasters

Posted: 17 Jan 2011, 19:00
by Paul
keep your printer and ink and get youself custom icc made ;)
cheaper. this way you can make some money to invest in better printer. custom icc will cost you from £20 - £35 so is cheaper then new printer and inks.

btw. I would ask Justin as I thik he had a play with this printer and he may have working icc for you ;)

Re: fabric coasters

Posted: 17 Jan 2011, 19:21
by Ian M
As I've said many times now I use an S21 with no problems at all & I use the D88 profile. As Paul says might be a good idea to have a word with Justin. Sorry but, I don't have a way where I can email you the profile.