Kodak 8660 and OSX problems

Rodney_Gibbons · #1 11-11-2003, 07:08 PM

Just upgraded my mac to OS X.2.8 from classic 9, but soon found out I could no longer print from photoshop to the Kodak printer.

I download the beta OS X driver from Kodak's website, and though I can get it to print now, I have no control over the tonal range. I used to control this using the printer tables under Classic 9, but have not access to them under the new driver.

When I called Kodak, they said they do not support OS X or the Beta driver (they developed). They said to email the driver developer (Kodak). Four days later -- still no reply.

Anyone know how to cure the problem with tonal range so my prints don't come out so flat?

MichaelMoenning · #2 11-12-2003, 01:15 AM

With the OS9 driver you could use Kodak's color tables and convert the color to the appropriate profile through the driver. The new OSX driver forces you to color manage the image before you send it to print. Here's what you need to do:

1. Get a profile made for your printer and monitor - a package like the Gretag Macbeth EyeOne is great for this http://www.i1color.com .

2. Once the profiles are made and saved to your Library/Colorsync folder, you will need to color manage the image (Convert the color profile) before you print. To do this you will need to make all the necessary edits to your file and save it.

3. In Photoshop under the "image" menu pull down to "Mode" and pull down to "convert to profile". In the destination space select your newly created profile for the 8660 printer. I have had the best luck with the rendering intent set to Relative Colorimetric and the Adobe ACE color engine settings in Photoshop. Depending on the image Perceptual is also a good choice. Save the converted file with a new name, I usually append with something like this DSC_001_8660.psd.

4. File>Print. You should see your color return to it's normal full-bodied state.

I have an 8660 running in OSX and I really enjoy not having to reboot in OS9 to print. If you need help with profiles or color management you can email me directly. Or, check out Ethan Hansen's site at Drycreekphoto.com. He is truly a wealth of info and posts regularly to the Apple Colorsync users list. Good Luck!

Mike [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

DanKuchta · #3 11-12-2003, 10:52 AM

Rodney:

As a policy, public betas are not supported by official channels at Kodak. The email address provided is to allow one-way feedback for suggestions or bug reports for the beta software. However, you're not entirely out of luck becuase some of us at Kodak do monitor these forums and are happy to help out when possible :-)

As for printer tables, they are no longer supported in any of Kodak's current products. They were introduced many years ago as a way to do some simple color management when operating systems did not have that capability. Now we support standard ICC profile color management since the OSs have adopted them as athe standard color management method (ICM on Windows, and ColorSync on Mac).

Just want to point out that the final version of the OS X driver should be available around the beginning of December. It would have been sooner, but we needed to make some changes due to the release of OS X 10.3. Once the final driver is released, you will be able to take advantage of the standard Kodak support channels.

-Dan Kuchta

Rodney_Gibbons · #4 11-12-2003, 04:31 PM

Dan, thanks for the reply.

Is there a way to get receive some ready made profiles without having to purchase epensive profiling equipment?

As many problems as I have had with my 8660 - mostly ribbon quality issues -- I'm not sure its worth investing a lot more money into for that kind of equipment.

FYI, the Kodak tech reps are referring users to the address on the beta page as a source for technical answers.

DanKuchta · #5 11-12-2003, 10:43 PM

Rodney:

>> the Kodak tech reps are referring users to the address on the beta page as a source for technical answers.

Thanks for that info. I'll get in touch with them to make sure they understand the purpose of that address.

>> Is there a way to get receive some ready made profiles...

The ICC profiles are designed to represent one "end" of the color management system such as a printer or a camera or a scanner. And Kodak's printers are shipped with ready made profiles that are placed in the right location on your system when you install the software. However, it's just responsible for color managing the printer end of the system.

If you have a digital camera, scanner, or other image source, the manufacturers of those devices should supply ICC profiles for them. If all the profiles are properly in place, and the software you are using supports them properly, the colors should match from the source to the destination (within the gamut limits of the devices).

Note that the main purpose of ICC profiles is not to adjust color to your liking, but to keep colors as consistent as possible across various devices such as monitors, cameras and printers. Color adjustment should be done in an image editing application. Having said that, many people DO create specialized ICC profiles to adjust color. But that does require special software, equipment and skills.

I hope this information helps.

-Dan Kuchta

Rodney_Gibbons · #6 11-13-2003, 07:35 PM

I guess that's where the problem lies. My monitor is properly calibrated. My workspace is Adobe RGB in photoshop. If I convert from Adobe RGB to the 8660 3 color profile prior to printing, then I should get at least close to the right color, but I am not.

So where do I go from here?

BobCollette · #7 11-13-2003, 08:10 PM

Rodney,

I have sent you via email, a document that I have written on how to setup Photoshop 7 for printing to Kodak thermal printers. I suspect that you may have one of the color management settings not quite right. Hopefully, this will help.

Bob Collette
Eastman Kodak Co.