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Using ColorMunki Photo, PrintFab Toolbox for CMYK profiling

Posted: Wed May 04, 2016 11:03 pm
by Steve K
Hi again.

I finally purchased a ColorMunki Photo so I could create my own profiles with PrintFab Pro and my Epson XP-960. However, I can't get the ColorMunki Photo app to print out CMYK color charts, only RGB. I almost exclusively print CMYK proofs from InDesign and Illustrator, not RGB photos from PhotoShop.

I have tried numerous times to create a profile for Epson Glossy Photo Paper following steps in a post from ZEDOnet on this forum.

Here's what I'm doing:
  • 1. PrintFab Toolbox: I import a new color space, "U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2" which is the profile we use for offset printing in the U.S.
    2. PrintFab Toolbox: I create a new empty profile for Epson Glossy Photo Paper named "Epson XP-960 2880dpi 250ink Glossy".
    3. ColorMunki Photo app: I choose "Profile My Printer", creating a new profile for the "XP-960_Series_(PrintFab)".
    4. ColorMunki Photo app: I go to print out the color charts, choosing the PrintFab printer.
    5. ColorMunki Photo app > Print dialog box: I can't change the settings for Color Matching in the Print dialog box because it's grayed out. [See image 1.]
    6. ColorMunki Photo app > Print dialog box > PrintFab Settings > Main: I choose the proper dpi along with the empty media type profile I created with PrintFab Toolbox in step 2, above. [Image 2]. I get the pop up warning, stating that the profile is empty [Image 3] and that it should only be used for printing color charts. So far, so good.
    7. ColorMunki Photo app > Print dialog box > PrintFab Settings > Color: The "Intent" field is grayed out, as well as the Color Space field. Mode is set to "CMYK Proof". [Image 4]
    8. ColorMunki Photo app prints out a color chart, but it's labeled RGB, not CMYK.
    9. I scan the first sheet, then ColorMunki Photo app prints out a second sheet which I also scan, then it creates a profile. (I opened the ICC profile to confirm it had an RGB colorspace instead of CMYK.)
    10. PrintFab Toolbox: I import ColorMunki Photo app's ICC profile into PrintFab Toolbox by hitting the "Import color data..." button.
    11. InDesign: When I print using the newly created PrintFab media profile with imported color data from ColorMunki, the colors are off—much, much darker.
Am I doing something wrong? Is the ColorMunki app recognizing the PrintFab printer as RGB instead of CMYK, which causes the ColorMunki app to print RGB color charts instead of CMYK? Or does that not matter?

Thanks for your help!

Re: Using ColorMunki Photo, PrintFab Toolbox for CMYK profil

Posted: Tue May 10, 2016 8:20 am
by zedonet
Hello,

it is no problem that the ColorMunki app only offers RGB color charts. It does not matter if you use an RGB or CMYK color chart to create your ICC profile. Both types of profiles can be used for printing correct colors with RGB and CMYK documents - PrintFab calculates the necessary conversion between RGB and CMYK automatically. The PrintFab PDF manual contains a more detailed explanation in chapter "9. How to create individual color profiles".

Your screenshots look correct except that when printing the color chart, the "Mode" should be set to "Color (RGB)" and not "CMYK Proof". The "Color Space" is not relevant at this step, the ICC profile that ColorMunki creates can be used to proof with any color space later (U.S. Web Coated, ISOCoated, ...).

Re: Using ColorMunki Photo, PrintFab Toolbox for CMYK profil

Posted: Tue May 10, 2016 9:04 pm
by Steve K
Got it. I'll try it again, this time setting the mode to RGB when printing the color charts, then I'll report back.

Thank you!

Re: Using ColorMunki Photo, PrintFab Toolbox for CMYK profil

Posted: Thu May 12, 2016 11:32 pm
by Steve K
Switching the mode from CMYK to RGB did the trick. Now, the output on my Epson with PrintFab matched my final offset press print, spot-on. I hoped we could get it pretty close but it's better than that, it's perfect.

I could not be happier with PrintFab. Thank you zedonet!