Canon Print Studio Pro better than Lighroom

[Rufus]

I have not been entirely happy with the prints from my Canon Pro 10S using Lightroom. I liked the user interface but not the final output. I tried soft proofing in Lightroom but was still not satisfied.

I have found that I get much better colour rendition (by which I mean what you see on screen is close to what you get on photopaper) using the Canon software. That is rather a shame as I had got accustomed to the Lightroom print module and quite liked it!

Having installed Canon's Print Studio Pro I can print from several Lightroom modules via the menu options: File/ Plug-in Extras/ Canon Print Studio Pro.

I have yet to explore all its possibilities but it has facilities for two key aspects: soft proofing and saving print settings. The latter could be used in a similar way to the Lightroom Print templates to streamline the workflow.

[LenR]

Hi David, I also use the Pro 10S and print using the LR print module. Have not used the Canon Studio Pro so cannot comment on that score. That being said I am very happy with the quality of the prints I get using LR.
Perhaps you could share with the forum the issues you are seeing and what the LR settings are. For example is the printer or the software controlling the print process. Is the media type and ICC correct etc......

[DanK]

This seems to pick up where a thread from 3.5 years ago left off: Canon Print Studio Pro - is it worth installing?.

I have no experience with the Pro 10. I print with a Prograf Pro 1000 and used to print with a Pro 100. So, I have no directly relevant experience. And I have never printed with Print Studio Pro or the more elaborate Professional Print and Layout (which someone on the web asserted has the same color management as Print Studio Pro). However, I have printed from Lightroom with generally very good results. I just searched for independent (of Canon, that is) reviews of either of the Canon software programs compared to Photoshop or Lightroom to see whether others have had the same results as you. I found nothing useful.

You've been at this a long time, so I assume you are already doing all of the things one ought to do printing from Lightroom. However, there is one subtle issue that many people miss that does throw off colors: double profiling. If you are using a Mac, this isn't relevant, as double profiling is automatically avoided when you set the software to control color. If you are using Windows, however, setting Lightroom to control color by telling it to use the right ICC rather than the printer for control does not avoid double profiling because under Windows, Lightroom can't tell the printer firmware not to control color. So if you are not already doing this, this is what you have to do after telling LR that the ICC controls color:

1. Bring up the print dialog from the Page Setup or Printer (not Print) icon at the bottom of the Lightroom page.
2. Click on Properties next to the printer name.
3. Go to the Main tab
4. Go to color/Intensity and pick "manual"
5. Click on the Set icon next to that.
6. In the dialog that pops up, select the "Matching" tab and select "None"
7. Click OK

I believe this will persist until you change it, but in any case, if you create a template, it will be stored in the template.

If you haven't done this, try it. It sometimes makes a very big difference.

I'm guessing (only guessing) that Canon's print software avoids this by directly addressing the printer's firmware.

[Rufus]

Hi David, I also use the Pro 10S and print using the LR print module. Have not used the Canon Studio Pro so cannot comment on that score. That being said I am very happy with the quality of the prints I get using LR.
Perhaps you could share with the forum the issues you are seeing and what the LR settings are. For example is the printer or the software controlling the print process. Is the media type and ICC correct etc......

I may have overstated the case when I said I was not happy with the output from the Lightroom print module. I am certainly much happier than I was 3.5 years ago.

I came across a Glynn Dewis video late last year which demonstrated the Canon software achieving better colour results than Lightroom. He has since done one with an Epson printer and software.

Out of curiosity, I tried both methods with the Colour-Science and the Outback print evaluation images. I have found the latter to be particularly useful over the years (see http://http://outbackphoto.com/print...048/essay.html and https://www.northlight-images.co.uk/...r-test-images/)

I found that the colours were better, especially the strawberries which seemed a truer red with the Canon Print Studio Pro than with Lightroom which generated a pinker/bluer hue.

However, I have tried that test again today and they look virtually identical and are good representations compared to the screen. I used perceptual rendition, but soft proofing showed that both evaluation images are significantly out of gamut for the printer.

My testing would not stand rigorous scrutiny as I have not recorded every setting.

I guess I should stop spending money on paper and ink for test prints and be happy!

[LenR]

Hi David, have you seen the Jeff Schewe video on soft proofing in Lightroom?
Attached in the event you have not.......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjoR14VxKJ0

[Rufus]

You've been at this a long time, so I assume you are already doing all of the things one ought to do printing from Lightroom. However, there is one subtle issue that many people miss that does throw off colors: double profiling. If you are using a Mac, this isn't relevant, as double profiling is automatically avoided when you set the software to control color. If you are using Windows, however, setting Lightroom to control color by telling it to use the right ICC rather than the printer for control does not avoid double profiling because under Windows, Lightroom can't tell the printer firmware not to control color. So if you are not already doing this, this is what you have to do after telling LR that the ICC controls color:

1. Bring up the print dialog from the Page Setup or Printer (not Print) icon at the bottom of the Lightroom page.
2. Click on Properties next to the printer name.
3. Go to the Main tab
4. Go to color/Intensity and pick "manual"
5. Click on the Set icon next to that.
6. In the dialog that pops up, select the "Matching" tab and select "None"
7. Click OK

I believe this will persist until you change it, but in any case, if you create a template, it will be stored in the template.

If you haven't done this, try it. It sometimes makes a very big difference.

I have never understood the various matching options, so I followed your advice. I found it was set to Driver (even though I knew it should be None!) so I have now reset it to None. Matching is easily overlooked because if the Color/Intensity Manual Adjustment is already ticked, it first has to be unticked and then re-ticked to see the Matching tab.

Time has passed so I have no idea whether the matching was set to Driver before or after I originally compared the Canon and Lightroom methods, but a similar test today after reverting to "Matching = None" shows both methods produce very similar results. Perhaps Matching was the root cause!

[Rufus]

Yes, Len, that was part of a helpful series on PXL.

Another good and very practical example is by Jose Rodriguez: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxQVl6zpeCU

[LenR]

David, good to hear you have the "Matching" issue sorted. Easy to miss it.
I would echo Dan's comment about setting up User Templates found on the left hand side of LR print module.
Once you have the image dimensions set and the various boxes ticked off, templates can be created to suit your requirements - i.e. Landscape 8 x 12 or some such. Once saved the template can be recalled for future print jobs with your chosen preferences intact.

[DanK]

Very glad to read that this is probably solved.

David, good to hear you have the "Matching" issue sorted. Easy to miss it.
I would echo Dan's comment about setting up User Templates found on the left hand side of LR print module.
Once you have the image dimensions set and the various boxes ticked off, templates can be created to suit your requirements - i.e. Landscape 8 x 12 or some such. Once saved the template can be recalled for future print jobs with your chosen preferences intact.

This is one of the main reasons I prefer printing from Lightroom. I have a lot of templates, mostly organized by paper type. With a paper type, I have different ones for different sizes and different margins. So, for example, if I print something on a middling luster paper and then decide that I want to print it larger, on a high-end paper, and with room for a signature, all I have to do in the print module is click on the relevant template, and everything is set, both in Lightroom and under printer properties. Of course, I would first go back to the Develop module and soft proof again for the specific paper.

Also, if you are using a template and want to change any setting(s), after you have set it or them, just right click on the template, and it will give you the option of modifying it with the new settings.

[DanK]

Matching is easily overlooked because if the Color/Intensity Manual Adjustment is already ticked, it first has to be unticked and then re-ticked to see the Matching tab.

PS: Not on my computer. All I have to do to get back to the Matching tab is click on the "Set" button on the Main page:

[Rufus]

PS: Not on my computer. All I have to do to get back to the Matching tab is click on the "Set" button on the Main page

That does not appear on the PRO-10S printer driver, but either way one has to actively choose to check the matching status (although I note your comments about the templates storing the settings).

Meanwhile I have checked a sample of my Lightroom templates and found some colour ones are set to Driver matching and some are set to None. So I have been inconsistent.

For my occasional printing in black and white I set Lightroom templates so that the colour management is Managed by Printer, and in the driver I select Print in Black and White. My B&W templates are set to call for Driver matching as other options are greyed out and not available. Hopefully all those settings are correct for B&W.

I shall review all my own printing templates in Lightroom. The templates were certainly one of the attractions of Lightroom, although I believe the Canon Print Studio can also save templates.

[DanK]

Yes, those are the right settings for black and white with canon printers.


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