Troubleshooting Photos –
Print Is Too Red Overall
Problem
When printed, the color of the whole picture is shifted strongly toward red.
Why so red? The first version of the photo, print, shows the photo as printed with color management turned on in the image-editing program and in the printer driver. The second version, screen, shows the photo as it appeared on screen and as correctly printed, in this instance with only the image-editing program's color management in control.
What should you look for?
It isn't a cast caused by the lighting of the scene (sunrise, sunset or incandescent light) because the red shift isn't present on screen and this color shift happens no matter where the photo was taken. It's possible that your printer has a clogged jet or some similar fault, but the fact that the cast is red indicates another possibility and checking for this fault is quick, so it makes sense to have a look before you start a lot of time-consuming foolery with the printer. In addition, there are significant areas of this print that have a red cast that aren't red at all in the original file. Since the red is added, its presence argues for a specific problem.
What you're looking for is doubled-up color management. Somehow, you have turned on color management by your image-editing program and by your printer, which turns pictures red.
What should you do?
Normally, your computer and your image editing application will preserve the last group of settings made when printing, so if you haven't closed the photo file, all you need to do is go through the motions of printing it again, without clicking the final OK button. Check your printer and color management settings against the instructions below.
If you have closed the file, or if for some other reason you're unsure that your settings have remained as they were when you printed, the best recourse is to print the picture again. But first, download and print instructions for your photo-editing program from the list below.
How do you fix it?
You can manage color in your photo-editing program (preferred) or you can color-manage in the printer, but you can't do both or you'll get the red shift visible above. This site provides detailed color management setup instructions for two versions of Photoshop Elements (for background information and a pointer to instructions for Photoshop, see here). Don't use Photoshop Elements or Photoshop? These instructions will still be useful – printing is the operating system's job, so once you click Print, your photo-editing program hands off control to Windows or the Mac OS. Therefore, the post-Print instructions will be the same, no matter what program you are using.
- Photoshop Elements 3 for Windows XP;
- Photoshop Elements 4 for Windows XP;
- Photoshop Elements 3, 4 & 6 for OS X.
Download the appropriate file (they're .pdf's) and follow the instructions.
In Windows, this dialog is the dividing line between the image editing program's control of color management and control by the printer. For better results, turn color management on in the image editing program by following the instructions in the pdf's above, or your program's help files. Color management should be turned off in the Windows printer driver dialog above, beginning by clicking the Custom radio button in the Mode pane, which brings up an Advanced button in place of the Quality< – >Speed slider. In the window that is opened by the Advanced button, you can set the printer driver to No color management, leaving the image editing program in sole control, as it should be. Similar screen shots are available in the pdf for OS X.
Related topics
The red shift caused by doubling up on color management systems is just one of several problems that may cause a prints or series of prints to take on an undesired overall color. The problem may lie in your color management print settings. Also, consider the possibility that you have an ink clogging problem.
