Get the Best Results from My Printer?

To get the best results, you‘ll need to find and install an ICC printer color profile for the exact printer you’ll be printing to (make and model), and the exact type of paper you’ll be printing on. Luckily, paper manufacturers make these color profiles available for free, so all you have to do is visit their website, download the profile, install it in Photoshop (it’s simple), and choose the profile when it’s time to make your print. Your results will be a lot better because everything is now tuned to the exact printer and paper combination you’re using. Here’s what to do: Start at the paper company’s website (I like RedRiverPaper.com), search for “color profiles,” and they’ll take you to their color profiles downloads page (in the case of Red River Paper, they take you to a profile locator where you choose your printer brand and model from some pop-up menus, and they take you to a list of free color profiles by type of paper for your exact printer. But, all the sites essentially do the same thing). Here, I clicked on their 75lb. Arctic Polar Luster paper and it downloaded immediately (in a folder with the profile and instructions. It also included a link showing how to install the profile in Mac OS X or Windows, along with a video that shows you exactly where to install it. It’s a total no-brainer to install these profiles, you just have to know exactly where to install them, which is why they made those videos). Once installed, you choose this ICC color profile in the Photoshop Print Settings dialog (press Command-P [PC: Ctrl-P]): under Color Management, choose Photoshop Manages Colors from the Color Handling pop-up menu, then choose the profile from the Printer Profile pop-up menu, and you’re all set.