any advice on my printer please?

ronald_durst · 03-08-2009, 02:18 PM

i just got a hp photosmart 8450 and im gettin some funky pics from it and was wondering if any one can help me out if you have any experience with it. It says it has plenty of ink. But here is a pic of what im getting. its just printed and then scanned in by another printer . Just have a lok at the colors and you can tell that they are really normal. Thanks

*Wheatfield* · 03-08-2009, 04:30 PM

It looks like your paper skewed a bit...

Bad colour invariably is caused by a lack of profiling and calibration of the system doing the printing.
This is a very big subject, and is somewhat of a black art as well.
Perhaps google screen calibration and printer calibration as search subjects and see what you can find.
There are probably some good threads or posts in theis forum on the subject, and the much loathed DPReview might have some tips in their printer section.

kkcwiebe · 03-10-2009, 08:10 AM

Ok above is spot on. I own and operate a film scanning business and have been a professional drum/film scanner for over 14 years and without spending bazzilions on calibration equipment I can tell you it is not easy. I run a mac but I hear Qimage and its colour cal component helps alot on Pc's as well as using VUESCAN as the scanner front end (PC/MAC). Also using colorvision's spyder with prinfix is a cheap solution. I also own an HP and dislike the results on any brand of gloss paper. Try a matte sheet as well and see if the issue is lessened by it, doubtful but HP's inks IMHO print on matte / semi matte / semi gloss alot better.
FYI I'm constantly stummped by inaccurate colour from scan to monitor to print, however with my setup it rarely happens. If you want send me the original image and I will colour correct and send back to you to test no problems!
K

a a i b · 03-10-2009, 10:52 AM

Originally Posted by kkcwiebe

Ok above is spot on. I own and operate a film scanning business and have been a professional drum/film scanner for over 14 years and without spending bazzilions on calibration equipment I can tell you it is not easy. I run a mac...

K -- what do you like for calibration on a mac?

kkcwiebe · 03-12-2009, 07:07 AM

I use Colorvision's Pantone Spyder 2 pro. On the low end what one needs to do is at least get a Kodak Target and a copy of Vuescan then follow vuescan's instructions to calibrate the scanner. There are a ton of goddies in Vuescan and for less than 100 bucks it is a real bargin. in my lab we have an xrite but lets not go into $4K fixes for a 100 dollar problem

magnum1 · 03-12-2009, 11:44 AM

Why does the background say Kodak? Wrong side up?

Kami · 03-12-2009, 09:17 PM

I have the same printer. The first set of prints I tried had a strong yellowish cast over the entire 4x6. I tried different HP papers and posted questions on many printer forums. Tried everything that was suggested and nothing worked.

Finally, and I don't know why I did this, but I swapped the #97 colour ink cartridge out and replaced it with a new one. Perfect prints - sharp and no yellow cast. And its been printing perfectly ever since. Apparent source of the problem was a faulty ink cartridge.

Don't know if this will be a solution for you but maybe its worth a try

ronald_durst · 03-16-2009, 06:14 PM

Im just getting a chance to get back at it. sorry it took so long.

To start with, im not worried about the scanner. Its a canon all in one deal but i dont use it to print photos.

I got the hp for $4 at a thrift and figured id give it a try. I managed to get a little better pictures after playing with it for a while but they still arent good enough.

Yeah i just noticed that i had that paper turned the wrong way to print. Thanks for pointing that out.

As far as calibration goes. I use the pantone huey for my monitor. There is an option for calibrating the printer on the printer software but seems to be pretty shotty.

Heres the last pic i printed. If you look past the grain and just look at the colors. you can see the difference. Below the scanned in pic will be the original.

It actually almost looks like to much contrast.

Scanning the pic in is just to show the colors.

Kami · 03-16-2009, 07:33 PM

Are you using HP paper? I found the 8450 prints the best on HP paper

ronald_durst · 03-16-2009, 08:45 PM

No im actually using kodak but i will get some hp paper and try it. I just happened to have some kodak around, thats why i was using it.

*Ivan Glisin* · 03-16-2009, 10:01 PM

Originally Posted by ronald_durst

Heres the last pic i printed. If you look past the grain and just look at the colors. you can see the difference. Below the scanned in pic will be the original.

It is hard to see details on posted size, but it appears that the scanned print is blurred, while the original is sharp. (Look at the letters on the helicopter.)

So I would guess that print heads are not aligned. Again, it is hard to see from the small size. Try aligning the heads. Also make sure cartridges are firmly inserted into their slots.

**Damn Brit** · 03-16-2009, 10:08 PM

Moved to Photo Printing

dstar · 03-17-2009, 12:41 AM

If you use none HP paper you loud driver for this paper.