Media (paper) type selection when using ICC profiles

03. Feb, 2009 0 Comments

We hear this often – “I’ve installed your ICC profiles and still don’t see the Red River paper name in my media selection menu.” Here’s an explanation of what’s going on:

The ICC profile is a small data file that contains the color performance information for a certain paper, ink, and printer. That information is read only by Photoshop (or your other ICC aware editing software). You tell Photoshop that a) you want Photoshop to be in control of color management and b) what ICC profile you will be using in the process.

The next step is in the printer properties. These are the manufacturer built controls where you choose print quality (dpi), media / paper type you are using, and other special features.

The MEDIA / PAPER TYPE is hard coded at the factory and contains manufacturer paper types only! Your ICC profile instructions should tell you what media type to select when using that particular profile.

The reason – when we make a print target for ICC profile production, we set the printer using specific media type, quality settings, etc. You need to replicate what we did when using the profile for best possible results.

So no, Red River Paper products will never show up in the printer properties dialog. You will only see our name in the Photoshop ICC profile selection dialog.