Error when adding profile to Color Mgmt Page

Caillah · Feb 2, 2009

I have a Canon Pixma 4200. I have been unable to associate the color profile for the Canon printer papers. I am currently using the Canon Matte Photo Paper and when I attempt to add the profile to the Color Management page I get this:
Microsoft Color Management System Error:
Windows failed to associate the profile 'CNB78DBA.ICM' with the device 'Display: Ben Q FP202W (Digital) - Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS'. the printer name is invalid. This is the same for all paper options.

At this point in time my profile is linked to my monitor the Ben Q FP202W and so I expected to see the color of the print closer to the color seen on the camera and on the screen. I have done "by eye" calibration both with online programs and with the Corel PSP Photo XP calibration but still the colors are too red/brassy and not as crisp as it should be. I am an amateur and can't at this point purchase an expensive calibration machine so getting it as "close as possible" is all I can go for. I also have an Invidia GeForce 8800 GTS graphic card and am wondering if I should be taking that into account.

Your help is greatly appreciated.

royalWITHcheese2 · Feb 3, 2009

How are you printing? Are you able to print from photoshop?

Caillah · Feb 3, 2009

I use Corel Photo XP and I am able to print from all programs. It is just that I am unable to load the profiles that are associated with the Canon Printer and the particular paper I am using.

Not all photos are very far off from the picture as it appears on the monitor but occasionally in some unique lighting situations the photo appears too red or brassy (outdoor scene, not indoors with artificial light). I have attempted to make changes in everything from the printer display screen to the print options in Corel and I still seem to be getting the same actual print.

royalWITHcheese2 · Feb 3, 2009

Caillah said:
I use Corel Photo XP and I am able to print from all programs. It is just that I am unable to load the profiles that are associated with the Canon Printer and the particular paper I am using.

Not all photos are very far off from the picture as it appears on the monitor but occasionally in some unique lighting situations the photo appears too red or brassy (outdoor scene, not indoors with artificial light). I have attempted to make changes in everything from the printer display screen to the print options in Corel and I still seem to be getting the same actual print.

Alright, I always print from photoshop so if you're up for it, I'll try and walk you through printing from there. You said you already have the printer profile downloaded?

Caillah · Feb 3, 2009

That would be great but bear with me as I have just enough knowledge to be dangerous!

royalWITHcheese2 · Feb 3, 2009

Caillah said:
That would be great but bear with me as I have just enough knowledge to be dangerous!

Alright, this is the only thing I could think of so if it doesn't work sorry. Go to my computer>c drive>program files>common files>adobe>color>profiles. Drop your paper profile in there. Once that's done open your photo in photoshop and go to file>print. In the dialogue box make sure you go through and select the right paper size and everything under page setup, and on the right where it says color handling select from the drop down menu "photoshop manages color". Then in the printer profile drop down directly under it select the profile you loaded.

I know it looks complicated so if you get stuck on a step just let me know.

Caillah · Feb 4, 2009

Ok, had a chance to check things out this morning. Since I am using Corel and not Photoshop, I had a look at the Common Files/Corel and looked for the color/profiles options. There is no color folder so I did and search for profiles and they are in the Python Library. But good news is I do have the profiles loaded somehow cause when I go in to Files/Color Management/Color Management, I get a box where I can "enable color management". I get to choose between Basic Color Management or Proofing. I have Calibrated the Monitor with Corel so I set the monitor on that one (I have a profile for my monitor too....not sure which is the better choice) and then I set the printer on the profile for the paper I am using.

My questions are:
1. If I set the info in Corel, what do I do in the Printer Setup area? How do I ensure it is not overriding the Corel settings? When I was doing the test prints, I played around in there too. (It is in the Printer setup area I was having trouble getting the profile loaded)

2. Is this an issue of using the "wrong paper". I am using Canon Matte Photo Paper (cause I have a Canon printer). I even made a special purchase of true Canon ink (I use the refill stuff for everyday printing). Maybe I should be using a more "professional" paper ?

I really appreciate your assistance.

royalWITHcheese2 · Feb 4, 2009

Sorry, I think there was a little miscommunication. I thought you had Photoshop and as an option could print from there.

As far as your questions go, I'm not sure about the first one because I'm not familiar with the program. As far as the second one, I've never heard of matte paper making colors look "brassy". You could try a different paper but there really isn't one type that's more professional. I think the main problem is the program is not telling the printer what type of paper is being used and that can drastically affect the outcome. That is something that Photoshop can dictate but I'm not sure if Corel can. See if there is a way to specify that you are using matte paper.

Caillah · Feb 4, 2009

Thanks for your assistance. I seem to have set up everything as it should be. I found a newsgroup now for Corel, so I posted a query there. It may be they can help me out. Maybe I should look at Photoshop next time I purchase a software program.

BTW, I love your work. I checked out your website and it is amazing.

royalWITHcheese2 · Feb 5, 2009

Caillah said:
Thanks for your assistance. I seem to have set up everything as it should be. I found a newsgroup now for Corel, so I posted a query there. It may be they can help me out. Maybe I should look at Photoshop next time I purchase a software program.

BTW, I love your work. I checked out your website and it is amazing.

Thanks, I hope you can find an answer and solve your problem.

Garbz · Feb 8, 2009

Not sure about your program in general but here's the answer to your 2 questions:

1) Whenever a program predetermines the colour settings for your printer, be it photoshop or photopaint, the colours are already correctly converted. You must DISABLE the colour management in the printer driver. If the colour conversion happens twice you end up with the wrong colours so either do it in the printer driver, or in the application.

2) Canon supply multiple profiles for multiple different papers with their printers:
Canon ICC Profile Guide Read this guide in full. Parts of it are photoshop specific, but it also shows how to setup print drivers and gives a description of each profile at the bottom.
Ignore the crap about AdobeRGB it's marketing rubbish in this case. If the sRGB gamut really couldn't display the colours then you would not see a difference at all in any of their before and after photos. Either way, tackle one problem at a time and focus on the printing.

Hope this helps