TechNote (Archived)

Colors in printed images are different from colors on-screen (Photoshop Elements)

Issue

When you print an image from Adobe Photoshop Elements, colors in the printed image look different from the colors on-screen.

Detail

You printed to a non-PostScript printer.

Solutions

Do one or more of the following solutions:

Solution 1: Calibrate the monitor.

Calibrate the monitor by using Adobe Gamma (Windows) or the Mac OS Calibration tool. See Related Records or Mac Help for more information.

Solution 2: Apply a predefined color management setting to the image.

1. Open the image and choose Edit > Color Settings.

2. Choose one of the following color management settings:

-- No Color Management
This setting is intended to be used for creating web graphics. Photoshop Elements does not compensate for color shifts between the monitor and the printer.

-- Limited Color Management

This setting uses sRGB as the working color space, and is also intended to be used for creating web graphics. Photoshop Elements limits the number of colors in the image. The image may not appear as vibrant on-screen as it does if you use Full Color Management; however, it may more closely match the printed colors.

-- Full Color Management
This setting uses Adobe RGB (1998) as the working color space, and is optimized for creating graphics that you intend to print. It provides the maximum number of colors with which to work. If the printer profile cannot support as many colors as the working space allows, colors may appear faded when you print.

3. Click OK.

4. Choose File > Save As, and select ICC Profile (Windows) or Embed Color Profile (Mac OS) in the Save As dialog box.

Note: If ICC Profile or Embed Color Profile is not listed, deselect the listed profile, save and then reopen the image, and repeat step 4.

5. Save the image.

Solution 3: Configure the printer driver to manage color conversion.

1. Install the most recent driver available for the printer. Contact the printer manufacturer for information about available drivers.

2. Choose File > Print Preview, and then choose Show More Options.

3. Choose Color Management from the pop-up menu.

4. Choose Printer Color Management from the Profile menu.

5. In the Print Preview dialog box, click Page Setup, click Printer, and then click Properties.

6. Enable color management (these controls may be called Color Management or Color Controls, depending on the printer) and then click OK to close each open dialog box.

Note: There may be specific settings in the printer driver that are necessary for the printer profile to work correctly. See the documentation included with the printer or contact the printer manufacturer for information about using the color management controls.

Solution 4: Configure the printer profile to manage color conversion.

1. Choose File > Print Preview, and then choose Show More Options.

2. Choose Color Management from the pop-up menu.

3.Choose the appropriate profile for the printer in the Profile menu, and then click OK. (See the documentation included with the printer for help choosing the correct profile. If the correct profile is not available, choose Adobe RGB 1998.)

4. Click Page Setup, click Printer, and then click Properties.

5. Disable color management (these controls may be called Color Management or Color Controls, depending on the printer) and then click OK to close each open dialog box.

Note:See the documentation included with the printer or contact the printer manufacturer for information about using the color management controls.

Solution 5: Obtain an ICC profile created specifically for the printer.

Several third-party companies provide ICC (International Color Consortium) profiles created for specific printer models. Contact the printer manufacturer or search the Internet for more information.

Background information

Photoshop Elements uses pixels to represent images. When you view an image on a monitor, pixels are displayed using red, green, and blue light. When you print an image on a printer, pixels are reproduced using colored inks. Because a monitor operates in a different color space than a printer, the colors you see on-screen can vary drastically from those in the printed image.

Converting colors to a different color space involves translating the image colors to accommodate the color space of the printer. Color management maps colors to help ensure that colors on the monitor represent colors that the printer can reproduce. When an image has a color profile assigned to it, the monitor and printer display colors according to the settings in the profile.