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I designed a page that includes text, photos and design elements. The text and design elements created directed in InDesign print perfectly. The photos print badly. All colors are wrong.

The photos alone print correctly from Photoshop or Lightroom (it is not calibrating or printer problem).

Copy below is the Print Summary.

I would like some advice on RGB/CMYK which is where I think the problem is. Photos were originally RGB, I printed from InDesign both Transparence blend space set to RGB or to CMYK obtaining in both cases the same wrong result (text okay, photos wrong colors).

Then I converted in Photoshop the photos Edit/Convert to Profile to CMYK. I put the new photos in the inDesign document and shows the following profile:

profile window

Does this mean that my InDesign document has two profiles in source, RGB and CMYK? What do I need to do to print correctly?

Print Preset: [Custom] Printer: EPSON SC-P800 Series PPD: N/A PPD File: N/A

General Copies: 1 Collate: N/A Reverse Order: Off Pages: Tabloid H:1 Sequence: All Pages Spreads: Off Print Master Pages: Off Print Layers: Visible & Printable Layers Print Non-printing Objects: Off Print Blank Pages: Off Print Visible Guides and Baseline Grids: Off

Setup Paper Size: 11 x 17 in Paper Width: 11 in Paper Height: 17 in Page Orientation: Landscape Paper Offset: N/A Paper Gap: N/A Transverse: N/A Scaling: 100% Constrain Proportions: On Page Position: Center Horizontally Thumbnails: Off Tiling: Off

Marks and Bleed Crop Marks: Off Bleed Marks: Off Registration Marks: Off Color Bars: Off Page Information: Off Printer Mark Type: Default Crop Mark Weight: 0.25 pt Mark Offset from Page: 0.0833 in Use Document Bleed Settings: On Bleed Top: 0 in Bleed Bottom: 0 in Bleed Left: 0 in Bleed Right: 0 in Include Slug Area: Off

Output Color: Composite RGB Text As Black: Off Trapping: N/A Flip: N/A Negative: N/A Screening: N/A Simulate Overprint: Off

Graphics Send Data: All Download: N/A Download PPD Fonts: N/A PostScript®: N/A Data Format: N/A

Color Management Document Profile: sRGB IEC61966-2.1 Color Handling: Let InDesign Determine Colors Printer Profile: MOAB Lasal Photo Matte P800 UPPPM.icc Preserve RGB Numbers: Off Proof Profile: N/A Simulate Paper Color: N/A

Advanced Print &as Bitmap: On Bitmap Resolution: 300 OPI Image Replacement: N/A EPS: N/A PDF: N/A Bitmap Images: N/A Transparency Flattener Preset: N/A Ignore Spread Overrides: N/A

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    Are you printing to an Inkjet printer? Is there a Postscript RIP in the print chain? Without A RIP, you want to send RGB data to an inkjet.
    – Scott
    Jan 1, 2022 at 20:35
  • I am printing with Epson SureColor P800.
    – user171088
    Jan 1, 2022 at 20:50
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    PostScript®: N/A ---- There's no RIP.. send RGB data. No RIP means the printer has no clue what CMYk even is.. so if it sees CMYK data, it converts it to something it does understand, i.e. RGB. Then it converts that RGB data to CcMmYyK for its inks. You get 2 step conversion CMYK > RGB > CcMmYyK... send RGB data and it's a 1 step conversion. RGB > CcMmYyK. Beyond this,, the printer needs to be calibrated along with the screen to be anywhere near color precise.
    – Scott
    Jan 1, 2022 at 22:00
  • Photoshop, being raster-based, sends raster data.. No need for a RIP. That's why the photos look better printed from Photoshop. You might get better results exporting a PDF from InDesign and then printing the PDF. A PDF is a "software RIP" (Rip = Raster Image Processor).
    – Scott
    Jan 1, 2022 at 22:06
  • What does it means "send RGB data"? The photo that I placed in the InDesign document is RGB. The InDesign document was created as Intent: Print. I believe this makes it CMYK. Should I create it as a Intent: Web instead? (Even if what I am trying is just to print?) I am just asking what is the standard way to print a photo correctly in InDesign. What do I need to do, what choices to pick?
    – user171088
    Jan 2, 2022 at 2:52

2 Answers 2

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So, I guess Indesign is the issue with RGB color with your images, so can you turn off indesigns control of color management with images. So in Color Settings, can you tell indesign to perserve Embedded Profiles or Turn Off and test with your printer?

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Most likey your source of your posblem is one of:

  1. Your converting your color to CMYK with the SWOP v2 profile, this profile is for offset printers yet you are printing with a inkjet. Not a good combination. Snce your printer does not have a postscript processor its likely a bit limited in capabilities so send in RGB.

  2. Your conversion intent is relative colorimetric. This is a bit questionable option especially if you have photographic content and/or you really dont know what your doing (If you must ask its safe to say that you do not). Consider using perceptual for images.

    Relative is OK only if your colors are all within the gamut of your printer. This is often ok for designed elemens since you can limit your color selection also might not be an issue. But for any scans and photographic elements this is allost certainly going to cause grief.

  3. You are not perserving the colormanagement info. This may not be your mistake as such it may be that since the printer does not support postscript its just not capable of handing two different color management settings at a time. In this case you should convert everythig to same profile. Defeats using indesign though.

In either case all of the above are just wild guesses. You dont provide any infromation for us to work on. I mean what tool do you use to determine that the colors are wrong? What colorspace does each and every image have. What intent. and so on...

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