Printed DVD label color washin out

[anubis13]

I'm using Tayo Yuden hub printable matte DVDs in an epson stylus R220 with epson and generic ink. I'm getting poor results compared to the original label design.

Original:

Results:

As you can see the tone is lighter and the shadows drift towards blue.
I've tried printing the original on plain paper and photo paper and I get the same results.
I'm using photoshop CS2 to design with a sRGB IEC61966-2.1 color profile.

What could be causing this to print so far off the original?

[dunamis]

Try using WaterShield discs for superb results.

Search for Watershield on this site and read through the comments there.

I believe you will find that helpful.

[OldAmateur]

Looks as if your printer is low on yellow ink.

[anubis13]

The printer ink level utility tells me that the cartrige is over half full on the yellow

[OldAmateur]

I'm using Tayo Yuden hub printable matte DVDs in an epson stylus R220 with epson and generic ink. I'm getting poor results compared to the original label design.

I've tried printing the original on plain paper and photo paper and I get the same results.

Do you mean that the output on plain paper and photo paper looks like the "original" image, or that it looks like the "disk" image?

[anubis13]

like the bad disk results.

Update: I tried printing out a webpage and the original label on plain paper today and I got decent results. I didn't change any settings, just left the printer on all day.
I decided to try a disk and I got better results than before but the color was still off.
I then switched the epson color adjustment (I usually leave it off) to Adobe RGB and boosted the saturation and cut the yellow and magenta by 1.
that gave me near original project results. I only knew how to adjust the color because of the previous poor results.

I'd like to track down what caused this so I don't have to print out two or three disks just to "calibrate" a new project.

[OldAmateur]

like the bad disk results.

I'd like to track down what caused this so I don't have to print out two or three disks just to "calibrate" a new project.

My first suspect would be the generic ink. I know a lot of people here report no problems with generic ink in their printers. My own experience differs. I have tried refilling cartridges and using non-brand cartridges about a dozen times over 4-5 years, and all but one of the trials has produced clogged printheads or non-standard color balances.

My second suspect would be the seating of your print head when not printing. The head is supposed to be flat against an absorbent pad that soaks up excess ink and prevents the ink in the printhead from drying and clogging. If it isn't quite flat or doesn't quite "home" properly, some clogging is almost inevitable. Of course, if that's the problem, the solution is to buy a new printer -- after all, they don't cost much more than a new set of non-generic ink cartridges.

[ebenton]

I would also vote for the generic ink. We have seen results similar to your example after a year or so of the photo just sitting out indoors, without any exposure to direct UV light. Switching to "archival-quality" inks causes this fading-over-time problem to go away.
Even though your prints are looking this way from the beginning, I would still suspect the generic ink.
I have found that the small dollar savings of using generic vs. printer-manufacturer-brand inks are not really worth it.

[Krispy Kritter]

You also need to keep in mind the differences in print material. You can see quality differences between different types and brands of paper. It only stands to reason that you will also see a difference when printing onto disc. That is the reason for calibration utilities, and most print utilities allow you to save user created print profiles.

[anubis13]

The yellow cartridge is a generic and I hadn't printed color in a while, from the info at hand I gather that the nozzle on said cartridge was a little clogged and loosened up after a few prints. This would explain the improved quality without doing anything.
As for saving print profiles I do have that ability but each project has different tones and colors.
I might try to print a few color pages before actually doing a disk, just in case a print head is clogged.

[Krispy Kritter]

You don't really need a different profile for each project, but rather a different profile for each type of media that you are printing. After you have everything calibrated and/or adjusted to your satisfaction for printing onto a specific media (Tayo Yuden hub printable matte DVDs), in this case, a profile will save your settings for future jobs to be printed onto this same media. The reason it would change would be possibly after changing ink cartridges.

[anubis13]

I think the poor results I was experiencing had more to do with nozzles and color settings than the actual media. If the next project is heavier in the green or red areas the print profile I save will not benefit me. We use Verbatim DataLife Pro discs at work and the coating on them does yield better results. If the next project is heavier in the green or red areas the print profile I save will not benefit me.

[steptoe]

Also not all generic cartridges are the same, I've used generic cartridges from one manufacturer and the results were acceptable, but used different cartridges from another generic supplier and there was a very noticeable difference in print quality


You can also buy special ink spray that coats the printed side of the disc, don't use normal car laquer its not the same and doesn't lay on the printed surface correctly, I know !

Look for something called inkjet fixative spray


It might solve your problems if you use the gloss version, and also will make your disc fully waterproof, smudge proof and also claims to make the ink fade proof

[classfour]

If you don't use an Epson nearly every day, you will need to run a nozzle check periodically to ensure the ink is getting thru the printhead.

[Krispy Kritter]

I think the poor results I was experiencing had more to do with nozzles and color settings than the actual media. If the next project is heavier in the green or red areas the print profile I save will not benefit me. We use Verbatim DataLife Pro discs at work and the coating on them does yield better results. If the next project is heavier in the green or red areas the print profile I save will not benefit me.

I understand the issue is now resolved and appears to have been a clogged ink head.

But you are miss understanding what I am saying. A profile should not change based on what you are printing but only with the type of media you are printing onto.

Calibration implies that your printer is correctly reproducing colors. Calibration and thus a profile will NOT change because of the colors used in your project. If you have to create a new profile for each project based on different colors, then the printer is not properly calibrated.

[oldandinthe way]

A couple of comments on Epson printers in general

There is NO correlation between the reported ink level and any reality. There is no sensor for ink level. Epson attempts to bias this to under report ink level, but with generic cartridges - who knows.

In designing printers a trade off is made as to whether the heads should be in the ink cartridge or the printer. Epson chooses to use ink tanks which do not include a print head. This means you are constantly reusing the same print heads until they are clogged or the printer dies. If you do not preform a head cleaning (and waste ink) you will hasten the clogging.

Generic inks may differ in color from the original Epson Ink. But calibrate for them and you can continue to save $12 or more per cartridge.

[anubis13]

what is the best way to calibrate for them?

[overloaded_ide]

If you calibrate your colors correct for your inks, then as long as you use those inks the colors will be correct!
It does not matter if project has more red this time and more blue next time, if the profiles are correct for all colors then you will have all correct printing.
The various media printed on then may have an effect, like plain paper, photo paper, disks, etc...
How you scan the disk, photo, etc.. will effect colors also.

As for the generic inks, I have used them for many many years, get good generics and you should have no problems. I never had. I burn up lots of printers and do tons of printing, tons of printing is why the printers burn up! The ink has never harmed anything.

It's more than a few dollars saved, if you print much! I have saved $1,000's of dollars using generic ink over OEM inks. Of course if you only go through 1 set a year then it's some dollars, 1 set a week and it's MANY dollars!

I let a canon IP4200 sit for way over a month might have been 3 months, yes I had to clean the heads. FUNNY though, the OEM Canon ink was cogged about as bad as the Generic ink!
You don't print equal for all the inks, I find I use far more yellow, then I think cyan is middle, and magenta is least. Something like that. So anyway I had an OEM canon that had not been refilled yet in that printer and refilled others with generic, all were about equal and needed cleaned.

Sometimes it's good to have more than one printer. Dedicate one to the disks only. That's what I did with the Epson R200 untill I got a canon IP4200. Printers are cheap now, not like when I had to pay $300 for a low quality color printer 15 years ago!
I have 7 printers here, 3 will do disks. I have 3 computers running for the family. Sometimes recently nothing is printed all day on any printer, but it used to be 5 printers going at once everyday at times.

[anubis13]

If you calibrate your colors correct for your inks, then as long as you use those inks the colors will be correct!
It does not matter if project has more red this time and more blue next time, if the profiles are correct for all colors then you will have all correct printing.

sounds good but what is the process for correctly calibrating colors for your ink

[Krispy Kritter]

The visual test is about all you can do. Print a job and if the colors don't appear accurate, then adjust the color settings and try again. Once you do get the colors the way that you want them, then you either have to remember the settings for next time or create a profile to save those settings.