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The Digital Dog will create a custom ColorSync/ICC profile for your output device. We will measure the prints and create a custom ICC profile for you to use in any ColorSync/ICC/ICM savvy product.
Profiles can be used on either or both Macintosh or Windows systems.

Custom ICC output profile............................................................... $100.00 (discounts for multiple profiles, email us for rates)

Why use our profile service? We use state of the art hardware and software* and have been building profiles for customers for over 10 years.
We guarantee our profiles (not happy, don't pay). Turn around is usually 24 hours from receipt of targets!

*NEW-Our profile service includes an optional Optimization process! This process can, depending on the printer and driver, improve gray balance. After we build the initial profile, we create a custom 3 page, 2500 patch target and send to you along with your ICC profile. Print, send and we will measure and update your profile as part of the original fee.

Read comments about custom profiling from a few satisfied customers.

NEW: Here is a video showing you how to use the Adobe Color Print Utility for printing targets. If you want to skip all the instructions below, just watch this video!

How to print targets using the Adobe Color Print Utility

Instructions (sorry but there’s a number of items you need to pay attention to):

Printing out of Photoshop versions earlier than CS5:

  1. Open the target file in Adobe Photoshop (DO NOT use Lightroom, it will scale the targets).
  2. Select Print, and then click on the Page Setup (Print Settings in CS5*) button to configure the printer you will use Be sure the Scale shows 100% as seen below.
  3. Select No Color Management from the Color Handling menu in Photoshop.
  4. Click the Print button which will invoke the print driver. For an Epson printer, select Printer Settings from the popup menu, select the media setting**.
    Ensure you've turned OFF the Epson Color Management under our driver menu. This is often called “Color Mode” and should be set to OFF, No Color Adjustment.

Printing out of Photoshop CS5 and CS6. There is no longer a No Color Management option in the Color Handling popup menu. Watch the video above.

There was an old trick called the Null Profile option in Photoshop whereby you would Assign Adobe RGB to the target and select Adobe RGB as your output profile. This option is no longer possible in CS6 as Adobe filters out such profiles. This is probably a good move as the Null Profile trick sometimes didn’t work properly. Even if you use CS5, we do not recommend you try this Null Profile trick any longer. Use the Adobe Color Print Utility (see #1 below).

You cannot even attempt the Null Profile trick in CS6, it is smart enough to detect if you assign a profile to the target and select the same profile using Photoshop Manages Color:

  1. Adobe has released a utility for printing these targets which is an even easier way to handle this task. Go to http://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/no-color-management-option-missing.html
  2. For Canon users printing out of Photoshop using the Canon Export Module, set the print mode and output profile as seen here: http://digitaldog.net/files/Canon_Export_Module.jpg
  3. Optionally, for a PDF from X-Rite that will walk you through these steps, click on this link for EPSON printers and this link for CANON printers. For other printers, go here: http://www.xritephoto.com/ph_learning.aspx?action=browse&parent=3&topic=7#article

ATTENTION Mac OS X SNOW LEOPARD USERS. Please read this important information about printing targets http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/solving.shtml.
Contact us if you have any questions about printing targets to a newer Epson printer (drivers newer than 6.5) due to a bug that will produce incorrect output from untagged target files.


Preview 5 can also be used to print these targets successfully but the Adobe utility is still the recommended method to use:

  1. Open the target file.
  2. Select Print, then 'Color Matching' pull down menu from the Preview app and select 'EPSON Color Controls.'
  3. Select your various Epson driver settings for the profile you want to create and ensure you've turned OFF the Epson Color Management under our driver menu.

Important, Critical, Warning Will Robinson:

  1. Specify printer (and media) so we can name your profile (for example Epson 3880Luster). You can write this on the targets using a pen, below the color patches or use a type layer.
  2. Send targets without folding or you could damage the printed patches! The patches must be clean and clearly readable.
  3. Add your Email address so we can send the profile. Be sure that you do not have a Spam Filter that would inhibit us from sending you the profile.

Please note the following about delivery and turn-around time: Profiles are usually built within 24 hours of receipt. Note "issues" with U.S. Mail, including Priority Mail!
If you are in a hurry to have your profiles generated, it is advised that you send via Federal Express or other carrier.
It is not uncommon for the U.S. mail to take over two weeks to deliver to Santa Fe.

*I have upgraded to the newest and best Spectrophotometer on the market, the X-Rite Eye-One iSis. This unit uses a new LED light source and is very effective at dealing with Fluorescent Optical Brightnesses found in so many ink jet papers (See http://www.ppmag.com/reviews/200702_rodneycm.pdf). The iSis makes two measurements types per row of patches, one with and without UV cut filtration. Profiles are generated with the newest X-Rite color engine found in its new i1Profiler software. Even better quality than previous generation profile software products.

Copyright 1999-2012 The Digital Dog & Andrew Rodney