'ImageTune' Calibration Support:

Printer Profiling

Printer Profiling:

Just as a monitor profile ensures that the image colour data is accurately displayed on screen, the printer profile ensures that the image data is accurately reflected in the print.Given good original image data, there are five factors which affect your judgement of the print quality:

1. The printer mechanism itself and its mechanical accuracy.
   
2. The nature of the paper surface and any coating it may have.
   
3. The inkset and its colour accuracy and consistency
   
4. Viewing conditions - light temperature and brightness (affects both monitor and prints)
   
5. Last, but certainly not least, your own eyesight and visual perception (Are you colourblind?)

You can download the Printer Test Images to check how well your printer outputs an image with known 'correctness'. More critical users will find that a bespoke printer profile for a particular ink/paper combination will significantly improve print quality, even when using the original manufacturers materials, as not even all printers of the same model have exactly the same characteristics. Specific profiles also ensure excellent prints when using non standard materials such as heavweight art papers or canvas or an alternative inkset to the original manufacturers inks. See The Difference.

We offer a simple, low cost, printer profiling service which only requires you to print a 'target' using the materials you wish to profile and send it to us by post. We will return a profile to you by email together with installation and use instructions.

Hardware or software profiling?

Ordering profiles