Camera sRGB profile+HP Printer: print in CYMB or RGB? Which Setting in the Sub-menu?

[eric_rosenwald]

I'm using a Canon t3i with an Apple Macbook Pro and HP Color LaserJet CP1518ni. I have the Canon camera set to take RAW images with sRGB colorspace.

When I go to print the photos, under the Color Matching drop-down menu, I'm given the following radio-button options: "ColorSync" or "In printer". If I choose "In printer", I'm given no further options. If I choose "ColorSync", I'm given the following choices:

hp color Laserjet CMYK v402
hp color Laserjet Gray v402
hp color Laserjet RGB v402
Other Profiles...

"Other Profiles..." includes a long list of color profiles, one of which is "sRGB iec61966-2.1"

If I choose "ColorSync", the default "automatic" setting is:
hp color Laserjet CMYK v402

Should I just go with the automatic, or something else? Should I just choose "In printer"? Given that I'm taking the photos with a camera setting of sRGB, should I go with that sRGB one in the "Other Profiles..." list? I want to print these images as faithfully as possible, with the correct settings, given my equipment set-up.

Thanks for your help,
Eric

 

[Big Mike]

Firstly, setting 'sRGB' (or AdobeRGB) when shooting in raw, is pretty much meaningless. Raw files don't really have a color space.

But what are you using to convert the raw files? When you save or export your raw files, that is when you can choose the color space for the resulting file (jpeg, tiff, psd etc.)

As for printer settings, it will probably depend on what program you are printing from. If you are using Photoshop or Lightroom, I'd let the software control the color, rather than the printer.
The best way, would be to create a custom profile for your combination of printer/ink/paper, then use that.

And of course, if you don't have your monitor properly calibrated, most of this would be moot because the file may not match what you're seeing on the screen.

 

[KmH]

Lots of experts recommend setting your Raw converter to ProPhoto RGB, doing as much of your editing in ProPhoto RGB as possible, and then assigning a color space appropriate for the image use.

For prints sRGB is commonly used, but some printers can print the wider color gamut that Adobe RGB encompasses.

For printing many image editing applications provide for 'soft-proofing' which provides on your computer display a close approximation of what a print will look like.
That saves using up paper and expensive ink. HP estimates the cost of each color print made by your printer at $0.17 each, and monochrome at $0.032 each.
Soft-proofing also allows representation of the print as it would be on different papers.
But to do that you have to profile each paper in the printer, or down load the paper profile (ICC profile) from the paper maker if it's available for your printer.

Your computer display can be calibrated using a colorimeter, and hopefully your laptop display is an IPS type display.
The printer profile has to be made using a more expensive spectrophotometer, but a spectrophotometer can also be used to calibrate your computer display, a scanner, and/or a projector.
A recommended colorimeter - X-Rite CMUNDIS ColorMunki Display
A recommended spectrophotometer - X-Rite CMUNPH ColorMunki Photo

You may find this group of tutorials helpful - Tutorials on Color Management & Printing

For a more in-depth discussion this book has only been available for about 2 months now - The Digital Print: Preparing Images in Lightroom and Photoshop for Printing
You might also find this book useful - The Digital Negative: Raw Image Processing in Lightroom, Camera Raw, and Photoshop