Problem with Canon i960 colors

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Palladium

The colors are pretty accurate when I print with plain paper; but when
I use higher grade paper settings (e.g., "High Resolution" or "Glossy
Photo Paper"), the colors are very wrong.

Any ideas why?

I just updated the drivers, and the same problem persists.

Thanks!
 
The colors are pretty accurate when I print with plain paper; but when
I use higher grade paper settings (e.g., "High Resolution" or "Glossy
Photo Paper"), the colors are very wrong.

Any ideas why?

I just updated the drivers, and the same problem persists.

Thanks!
[/QUOTE]
Have you got the right carts in the PhotoCyan and PhotoMagenta slots?
 
Yes, the cartridges are in the right places.


The colors are pretty accurate when I print with plain paper; but when
I use higher grade paper settings (e.g., "High Resolution" or "Glossy
Photo Paper"), the colors are very wrong.

Any ideas why?

I just updated the drivers, and the same problem persists.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Have you got the right carts in the PhotoCyan and PhotoMagenta slots?[/QUOTE]
 
Palladium said:
The colors are pretty accurate when I print with plain paper; but when
I use higher grade paper settings (e.g., "High Resolution" or "Glossy
Photo Paper"), the colors are very wrong.

Any ideas why?
Click to expand...

Well you do not specify what 'very wrong' means, but my first recommendation
would be to perform a nozzle test and verify all colors/nozzles are firing
properly. If all or part of a particular color is missing, or you have a
photo tank where a standard tank should be, this will affect any colors
created that require mixing dots of that color with another.

Also, be sure to verify proper inks are in the proper position in the
carriage. Because your issue appears when selecting other than plain paper
pay special attention to photo inks. For example placing a photo magenta
(6-PM) tank where a standard magenta (6-M) tank should be will often show as
a green tint on printed images.

Also, what brand paper are you using? While Most printers will work with
most papers using standard settings, there are certain combinations that may
require some tweaking in the driver for optimum results.

More detail as to what inks, papers and results you are seeing would help in
diagnosing possible cause.

PC Medic
 
Palladium said:
The colors are pretty accurate when I print with plain paper; but when
I use higher grade paper settings (e.g., "High Resolution" or "Glossy
Photo Paper"), the colors are very wrong.

Any ideas why?

I just updated the drivers, and the same problem persists.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

If you are using the "higher grade" settings on plain paper, you are
getting different mixes of colours, because glossy and plain papers
absorb ink and reflect light differently, and Canon has very kindly
adjusted for that in its settings.

OTOH, if you are using glossy paper and the colour shift shows up, the
reason is that the chemistry and physics of the paper and ink are
incompatible, and I suspect you are not using Canon paper. For best
results, use Canon paper. I've also found IBM glossy papers give good
results, Epson less so, and Kodak poor (but Kodak may have changed their
formulation since I tested it 1 year ago.) I haven't tried Staples or
other big box papers: after buying a case of their "all purpose" copy
paper, which turned out to the worst I've ever used, I will never buy
any of their housebrand stuff again. I prefer matte papers myself, but
that's a matter of taste. Matte papers vary much less in their print
quality than do glossy papers.

You may find the following of interest. It's a summary of what I know
(and I invite correction of any errors.)

Chemistry:
Glossy papers come in two basic varieties: resin-coated colloid
(actually, the same stuff as used for real photos, but without the light
sensitive materials), and plastic polymer. These vary in acidity, and
hence vary in their effect on the inks. Canon uses dyes, which will
change colour when exposed to acid or basic chemistry (like the litmus
paper in high school chemistry.) Different makers use different methods
for neutralising or eliminating the acid, hence unpredictable colour
shifts. This is also true of plain paper: cheaper so-called "acid free"
paper isn't: the makers have merely neutralised or buffered the acid,
not removed it.

Physics:
Glossy papers absorb inks to different degrees and depths, and also
affect the spreading (and hence blending) of the droplets differently
that plain paper. These differences affect the way light is absorbed and
reflected, and so affects the colour.

HTH&GL
 
After following the excellent advice of previous posters I would suggest
that, when printing photos, you also avoid the automatic color setting. Set
it to manual. I find that manual and a slight reduction in intensity works
best for my tastes. My experience with side-by-side comparison of glossy
photo papers indicates that Epson glossy photo paper and Costco Kirkland
glossy photo paper gave excellent results as compared to Canon Glossy Pro
paper. The best setting was "glossy photo paper" and intensity setting
of -4 to -6 with the above mentioned papers. I assume you know that you use
the correct settings for plain paper and for glossy photo paper. The
printer driver uses a different color profile for each type of paper.
 
Burt said:
After following the excellent advice of previous posters I would suggest
that, when printing photos, you also avoid the automatic color setting. Set
it to manual. I find that manual and a slight reduction in intensity works
best for my tastes. My experience with side-by-side comparison of glossy
photo papers indicates that Epson glossy photo paper and Costco Kirkland
glossy photo paper gave excellent results as compared to Canon Glossy Pro
paper. The best setting was "glossy photo paper" and intensity setting
of -4 to -6 with the above mentioned papers. I assume you know that you use
the correct settings for plain paper and for glossy photo paper. The
printer driver uses a different color profile for each type of paper.
Click to expand...
Try Red River Ultra Gloss paper. Looks exactly like Canon paper pro but
much less expensive.
http://www.redrivercatalog.com/browse/cat=1&prod=21.htm
 
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