Mac OSX 10.6 Problems

Mac OS X version 10.6 - Problems with Custom Printer Profiles (TIP- Print this web page for easy reference.)

Several Mac users have encountered problems trying to create or use custom printer profiles. There appear to be some common denominators --

They are all running Macs using OS X Snow Leopard (version 10.6.2 and earlier). The newest release, version 10.6.3, may solve the problems described here. We will know soon enough.

Most are printing their images using Photoshop CS4.

The problems seem to be limited to Epson printers.

The most current thinking indicates that this problem is with the interface between printer drivers and Snow Leopard, and also the way in which CS4 operates in the new 10.6 environment -- it is not a problem with the printer profiles. There are other Mac users -- also using Snow Leopard and CS4 -- who are having no problems at all. But they are not using Epson printers. They are using printer models from Canon or HP and getting satisfactory results. For these folks, their custom profiles seem to be working just fine. A little web research makes it quickly evident that there are LOTS of problems that have been reported out there by Mac users -- primarily with Snow Leopard, Photoshop CS4, and the interface with certain printers and printer drivers (particularly Epson). And apparently, the tech folks at Apple, Adobe, and Epson have been scrambling to figure out how to fix the problem.

The problems encountered by various users occur at two points -- (1) when trying to print the target image for measurement and evaluation -- the critical first step in the process of creating a custom printer profile; and (2) when trying to print images with custom printer profiles -- many of which were created and worked just fine before the introduction of Snow Leopard in August 2009. In the months since, there have been three updates to the original release of 10.6, and some of the printing and printer driver issues have been addressed by these releases. If you are running Snow Leopard, It is imperative that you have installed the latest version, which is now 10.6.3. Finally, there appear to be some workarounds that will allow you to get satisfactory results with your custom printer profiles.

Before going any further, there is one more thing you must do -- Check your printer manufacturer's website to make sure that you have the most current printer driver for your operating system. It is probably a good idea to check the Adobe Photoshop website as well, to make sure there are no updates you should install.

Workarounds for Printing a Target Image & Using a Custom Printer Profile:

Following are some key excerpts from two articles. One is entitled, Solving Recent Profiling Issues With Apple Computers, Epson Printers, and Photoshop, by Mark Dubovoy, which appears in the Luminous Landscape photography forums. The other article is called, Prints look too dark using printer driver with Leopard or Snow Leopard, written by the technical support staff of X-Rite®, and posted on that website's support pages.

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What Is the Problem?

Mark Dubovoy's article starts off by explaining that he has recently upgraded his MacPro to Snow Leopard and downloaded the latest Epson driver (6.55) for his Epson 9900 printer. In doing so, he also decided to re-profile the papers he normally uses. In Dubovoy's words, he encountered "...a total disaster. All my profiles were terrible and the test prints I normally make to check new profiles looked horrible. I was at a complete loss. In general I am very meticulous, and I have never before experienced any color management issues that were not easily resolved."

In trying to diagnose the problem, the author went through the usual steps of trying to create a target image. He says, "A quick look at my prior prints of the profiling target versus the new ones immediately revealed large visual differences. It was obvious that a huge amount of color information was being clipped. My prints of the target were bad prints... and therefore the calculated profiles were also bad.

But, why were the prints bad? I could not figure it out. The usual process is quite simple, and thoroughly familiar to anyone who has made a profile:

Open the (untagged) target in Photoshop.

Tell Photoshop to “leave as is, don’t color manage”.

Go to File>Print.

In the print dialog select “no color management”.

In the printer driver turn off color management

That is exactly, precisely what I was doing, but the system was not obeying the commands."

The author checked the Adobe, Apple, Epson and Luminous Landscape forums and found hundreds of posts from folks having problems with profiles using Epson printers and Apple computers. This is obviously a serious issue, and not just an isolated case. He goes on to say, "There were many things said in the forums about the problem originating in newer versions of the OS, Photoshop, and the Epson drivers, so as a test, I grabbed an old laptop with OS 10.5, I installed CS 2 and the latest Epson driver for the 9900 (6.55) . With this combination, I was able to print a perfect target."

Defining the Issue That is Causing the Problem

The article explains the issue as follows: "If you are using an Epson printer and Apple computer with the latest operating system, the latest version of Photoshop (CS4) and one of the latest Epson drivers, you cannot print a file with no color management. I know that this sounds almost absurd, but it is a fact. A clear consequence of this is that making a profile becomes impossible (however, there is a workaround, read on).

Please note that I am being somewhat vague on naming specific printer models, OS versions, and driver versions. The reason is that it appears that this is a very complicated issue. Different people have problems with different printer models, OS versions, and driver versions. The problem also seems to appear with Photoshop CS4, but not earlier Photoshop versions like CS2 or CS3."

Dubovoy began a quest to find the solution to this problem. He started by trying to contact all the right people at Adobe, Apple, and Epson; also, some of the most notable experts on color management.

Apparently, just about everyone he contacted joined in the effort and tried to help figure out what was going on. The author offers exceptional kudos and thanks to Eric Chan, who is a computer scientist at Adobe Systems, where he works as an engineer on the Camera Raw team. Eric helped to diagnose the root problem and formulate the following "workaround" solution.

The "Workaround" Solution

In Photoshop CS4:

Open (untagged) profile target image in CS4.

Edit -> Assign Profile... -> Adobe RGB. Click OK.

File -> Print...

Set Color Handling = Photoshop Manages Colors.

Set Printer Profile = Adobe RGB.

Set Rendering Intent = Relative Colorimetric.

Uncheck Black Point Compensation.

Click Print...

In the Printer driver...

Disable color management

Open the menu drop-down to select Color Matching.

If you are able, choose Epson Color Controls, Vendor Matching, or some other similar option. (Choices you see may vary depending on your printer driver)

DO NOT select ColorSync. (See the example below) (However, if ColorSync is pre-selected and unchangeable, then continue on with ColorSync. This should work okay.)

Print the target image...

Choose whatever other driver settings you normally want to use for printing on your chosen paper (e.g., 16-bit, appropriate media type, thickness, High Speed = Off, etc.). Then Print.

Dubovoy's article states that it does NOT matter that Adobe RGB is used as the profile in the workaround. You could just as successfully use Pro Photo RGB instead, for example (the default color space in Lightroom). He says, however, that it DOES matter that you choose the exact same profile in the “Assign Profile” dialog box and the “Print” dialog box (in CS4). Also, it is important to make sure NOT to choose “Working RGB-xxxx” as the printer profile.

How to Print Your Images Correctly with Your Printer Profile and Photoshop CS4

To print your images correctly with your new printer profile, follow these steps in CS4:

Open your image in CS4

Edit -> Assign Profile... -> Adobe RGB (or other source profile, if applicable). Click OK.

File -> Print...

Set Color Handling = Photoshop Manages Colors.

Set Printer Profile to the custom ICC printer profile you wish to use

Set Rendering Intent = Relative Colorimetric -or- Perceptual

Select Black Point Compensation, if desired.

Click Print...

In the Printer driver...

Disable color management

Open the menu drop-down to select Color Matching.

ColorSync will show as pre-selected and unchangeable. This is okay -- this setting will work correctly.

Select the same paper type and quality settings that you used when you printed your target image.

Print your image...

What is the Technical Explanation?

From Dubovoy's article:

"Advanced users who wish to build their own custom profiles (or have custom profiles made via a service) need to print untagged profile target images. Conceptually, the pixel values in these target images need to pass unmodified from the printing application (e.g., Photoshop) to the printer driver. There should not be any type of color transformation applied to the profile target image. So far, so good.

However, when printing from Photoshop CS4 in “No Color Management” mode on Leopard (10.5) or Snow Leopard (10.6) to a recent Epson driver, the OS appears to be applying a color transformation (via ColorSync) to the profile target image data before handing it off to the printer driver. Specifically, the OS is converting the image pixel values from the Media Type-specific profile to sRGB. For example, if you are using an Epson Stylus Pro 3800 and have set the Media Type in the driver set to Premium Luster, then the default profile “Pro38 PLPP” will be shown in the “Advanced Color Settings” of the driver. ColorSync then performs a conversion of the target image data from Pro38 PLPP.icc to sRGB, then hands the result off to the driver. The result is a bogus target print. Regrettably, it is not entirely clear at this time what is triggering the conversion.

In the meantime, the workaround described above allows profile targets to be printed, regardless of OS version or driver version. Effectively, the workaround does this:

Tag the (previously untagged) target image with a profile; doing so doesn’t change the pixel values,

Ask Photoshop during print to perform a conversion to the same profile (e.g., Adobe RGB to Adobe RGB), which effectively does nothing (i.e., null transform), since the source and destination profile are the same, and

Tells the OS not to perform any additional conversion, since the application (Photoshop) already handled the color transform; the OS then hands off the Adobe RGB-tagged image as-is to the driver, with no modification.

The end result is that the profile target image pixel values go straight through the system with no change, which is what we’ve been trying to achieve all along. This is why it does not matter whether you choose Adobe RGB, ProPhoto RGB, etc., for this workaround. The central idea is to (1) cause Photoshop to avoid doing a color transform (implemented by making sure the source and destination profiles are the same), and (2) to convince the OS that the data being provided by the app has already been color transformed, and hence the OS won’t interfere.

The reason you don’t see these issues when printing from Photoshop versions CS2 and CS3 is because they use the older Apple print APIs, which are now deprecated in Leopard and Snow Leopard."

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The excerpts and information included above were taken from two articles that are published on the web:

Solving Recent Profiling Issues With Apple Computers, Epson Printers, and Photoshop, written by Mark Dubovoy in November 2009. The article appears in its entirety as a tutorial on the www.luminous-landscape.com website.

Prints look too dark using printer driver with Leopard or Snow Leopard, written by technical support staff of X-Rite® in November 2009. The article appears in its entirety on the technical support pages of the X-Rite® website, www.xrite.com.