[Digikam-users] Printers with full Color Management

[Geert Janssens]

On Tuesday 1 September 2009, Milan Knížek wrote:
> Geert Janssens píše v So 29. 08. 2009 v 10:47 +0200:
> > On Friday 28 August 2009, Caspar Maessen wrote:
> > > Op vrijdag 28 augustus 2009, schreef Milan Knížek:
> > >   > NB the profiles, which were prepared for MS Windows or Mac OS, are
> > >   > of no use in linux.
> > >
> > > Is this true?
> >
> > This seems odd to me as well. Can you give more details about this ?
>
> The only chance for using the profiles prepared for the vendor's driver
> for MS Windows would be, if the vendor created a driver also for linux
> (with the same behaviour) or if the existing linux driver imitated the
> original MS Windows driver pretty well.
>
> I use EPSON printer and EPSON does not provide linux drivers. Gutenprint
> is told to be actually better than the original MS Windows driver (which
> of course means, that it behaves differently).
>
> Have a look also here:
> http://jcornuz.wordpress.com/2007/12/06/printing-3-printer-color-management
>/
>
> In other words, when you find an ICC profile on the internet, you also
> need to know the circumstances, which existed for its preparation. E.g.
> camera icc profile prepared for Adobe Lightroom will most probably
> provide different colours in UFRaw. Not saying worse or better, but
> different. But yet - if you do not have anything better and are happy
> with the result, do not worry.
>
> The only lucky exception are the display icc profiles. You can use tools
> to calibrate the display in MS Windows and then use this icc profile in
> linux. The reason is that it seems that the display driver works the
> same. If your calibration tool is supported by argyllcms, you can check
> yourself (this great pack of cms tools work on linux and MS Windows,
> too).
>
> hope this helps.
>
Doh, I used to know this.

Yes you are absolutely right, the piece of software interfacing the hardware 
is as critical to the output as the hardware itself. Change the software (for 
example, change from Windows to Linux) and you most likely have to recreate 
ICC profiles. Just liky you have to recreate ICC profiles if you change your 
physical printer.

Thanks for making me remember...

Geert