Monday, September 12, 2016

Custom Printer Color Codes

I bought the new HP T120 printer specially to print 60" long photos. As can be seen in the previous post, the Monet garden came out pretty good. However, I did run across some limitations. The documentation did not support canvas media which is what I use. By not supporting a given type of media, that means that there aren't 'color codes' that tell the printer how to represent colors. In addition, the paper cutter wasn't powerful enough to cut the heavy cotton canvas I had been using. Information from another HP T120 owner indicated that he was able to use a lighter weight polyester woven material. I found that the cutter was able to trim this material. However, I was not pleased with the colors I was getting on a number of different photos. When reading a detailed article on printing in Outdoor Photographer, I ran across a discussion about 'custom color codes,' There are companies that can taylor your printer to your paper. They supply 'targets' that can be printed and sent to these folks which are scanned from which a digital file of codes is created. When the codes are installed on your computer, more accurate colors are printed. I tried several of these companies before I was satisfied with the results. Above is my latest print of the Chateau de Chambord which is framed and on my wall in my home.

Thursday, May 19, 2016

Printing Large Photos

Attempting to print photos up to 65" is not for the faint-of-heart.  I wanted to print the panorama of Monet's garden, shown in the previous post, at 16 by 60 inches.  Gallery wrapping adds another 4" in each direction.  I have been printing with an older 24" printer for several years with some success.  I generally print 18 by 24" photos for standard framing.  However, even though a sheet of paper 20 by 64" could be fed into the older printer, it failed to initiate a print job.  No information was available from HP since the printer was out of warranty.  I then bought a slightly newer but used 24" printer which would accommodate a roll of paper.  Unfortunately, it was damaged in shipment and couldn't be repaired. I contributed it to Got Junk.
I then bought a new HP t120 shown in the top photo.  It is wireless-capable and can print from any computer, iPad or iPhone in my home.  After considerable trial and error I have been able to print 20 by 64" photos on canvas suitable for gallery wrapping, below.