# custom ICC profiles for Epson 1400?



## jasonsmith (Mar 30, 2011)

I've got an Epson 1400 with Cobra high temp ink.

Does anyone have any custom ICC profiles for this that they could send me? I know some here do their own profiles and I was looking at trying some other profiles. As the colors aren't coming out right with the Cobra high temp profile.

i.e. a blue sky comes out purple.


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## LEO (Oct 10, 2006)

I went through all the profiles provided by Cobra for the 1100.
The one which gave the best color match was Photo Quality TAN FABRIC.
Do you have one like that for the 1400?
Based on what it looked like in the Photoshop Print Preview...I NEVER would have chosen it... but it works !

LEO


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## LEO (Oct 10, 2006)

Also: in PHOTO Quality it lays down too much ink which might be making your blue become purple...
I also reduce the black in CURVES -25.
I will also be experimenting with printing in 
TEXT/ IMAGE mode also in TEXT mode BEFORE reducing the black in CURVES.
Depends on if there is a reduction in crispness by going to lower quality.
I use this printer for hard goods.
So far the -25 BLACK CURVES and the TAN FABRIC profile work for the 1100.

LEO


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## jasonsmith (Mar 30, 2011)

The 1100 is a different printer. So those profiles won't work.

I'm going to stick with "photo" as I don't want to reduce the quality of my prints. Just need a good ICC profile that sublimates the colors correctly.


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## GordonM (May 21, 2012)

Richard supposedly has profiles for this ink and the 1400. Are you using the profile and you're still getting off colors? You may want to contact him to see if there's an error with his profile(s). I've noted here before that he's posted some profiles that didn't provide true colors. I've ended up making my own for my printer -- not a 1400 sorry to say -- but he's also recently updated some, so apparently he's making improvements. I see the HT profiles for your printer are a year old. Would be worth it to see if he has anything more recent.


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## jasonsmith (Mar 30, 2011)

GordonM said:


> Richard supposedly has profiles for this ink and the 1400. Are you using the profile and you're still getting off colors? You may want to contact him to see if there's an error with his profile(s). I've noted here before that he's posted some profiles that didn't provide true colors. I've ended up making my own for my printer -- not a 1400 sorry to say -- but he's also recently updated some, so apparently he's making improvements. I see the HT profiles for your printer are a year old. Would be worth it to see if he has anything more recent.


I'm using the correct profile. I know some people do their own profiles. So thought I'd see if anyone else had some custom profiles for the same printer and ink I'm using to try out. It would just be more options to try out than just relying on one profile.


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## mustangFWL (Feb 27, 2012)

Use this one: Epson R1430 RZ280 High Temp -for PC

it works the best for the 1400 printer, atleast thats what I found.. I was having the same problem..


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## GordonM (May 21, 2012)

jasonsmith said:


> I'm using the correct profile.


Yes I understand, but was important to ask to make sure. Since you're using the profile specific to your model, it really is best to call him and ask if he has anything better that's not yet on his site. Profiles can be improved over time, especially if more people have an opportunity to test them. That's why it's better to first exhaust the options with the ink seller because those are likely to be more generic.

You are correct a profile for an 1100 likely wouldn't work well, as that was a 5-channel printer. But if he doesn't still have a 1400 to do further testing, you might need to try a later similar model (1430 as suggested above), or even the Artisan 730. You can sometimes get close with a printer than has similar specs, which in this case is a 6 channel Epson originally intended for dye inks.

For a time Richard provided a WF1100 profile for the WF30 (both are 5-channel), and it worked acceptably well. Of course nothing beats a profile specific to the model, because they all vary in one way or another.


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## Humerus (Nov 10, 2012)

I'm in the same situation for my Epson C88+ where none of their profiles match. I've been looking in the forum and seeing a lot of people talk about getting custom profiles made but I can't find anywhere that will actually do this! So - does anybody know WHERE I can get a custom profile made for under $30?

Every day I can't get this hammered out, I'm losing money...


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## GordonM (May 21, 2012)

I typed 'custom printer profiles' into Google and this was the first hit:

Custom Made ICC Printer Profiles By PC35 PhotoLab

Haven't a clue if they're good or not, but it's a start.


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## sben763 (May 17, 2009)

First off if your using the ICC profiles correctly you shouldn't have a choice for photo. You need to go to advanced the click ICM. no color adjustments otherwise your combining the ICC profile for color correction in photoshop or other graphics program and still using the embedded ICC in the print driver while print and is why you are getting the funky colors. Learn to use ICC profiles correctly and the ones supplied will work great.


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## jasonsmith (Mar 30, 2011)

sben763 said:


> First off if your using the ICC profiles correctly you shouldn't have a choice for photo. You need to go to advanced the click ICM. no color adjustments otherwise your combining the ICC profile for color correction in photoshop or other graphics program and still using the embedded ICC in the print driver while print and is why you are getting the funky colors. Learn to use ICC profiles correctly and the ones supplied will work great.


I don't know who you are referring to. But I've been using the ICC profiles correctly. The Cobra ICC profiles aren't accurate.


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## sben763 (May 17, 2009)

jasonsmith said:


> The 1100 is a different printer. So those profiles won't work.
> 
> I'm going to stick with "photo" as I don't want to reduce the quality of my prints. Just need a good ICC profile that sublimates the colors correctly.


You state you are sticking with PHOTO. when using ICC profiles properly you shouldn't even have this option. Period. I know this from experience and had done the same thing 6 years ago when I first started. So if you get the photo setting appearing you do not have it setup correctly.


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## GordonM (May 21, 2012)

jasonsmith said:


> I don't know who you are referring to. But I've been using the ICC profiles correctly. The Cobra ICC profiles aren't accurate.


Was it you or someone else found that the Corba profile for the 1430 provided better results? I remember someone recently made this observation.

My usual advice here is to contact Richard if a profile (properly used of course) is not yielding good results. He regularly updates the profiles on his site, so it pays to re-check, and if there's nothing, to call him directly.


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## GordonM (May 21, 2012)

sben763 said:


> You state you are sticking with PHOTO. when using ICC profiles properly you shouldn't even have this option. Period.


I don't have a C-88, but on the two Epson's I have the use of software profiles has no bearing on the paper choices or quality settings. You can still select the paper type, and then based on this selection, you will have all the normal print quality choices.

Turning off printer color management does not disable paper type and quality settings in either Epson model I have. I question if it would with any other driver, because you WANT this ability in order to further control ink laydown. 

The reason is that the driver has no way of knowing what the paper/quality settings are supposed to be for any given profile, and profiles can be created using any combination of settings. Contrary to what some think, this information is not part of the profile.

I suspect you're talking about the "photo adjustment" settings common in Epson drivers. These are indeed inaccessible if you have chosen to not have the printer handle color.


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## mustangFWL (Feb 27, 2012)

I found that the 1430 Profile works much better than the 1400 profile from cobra for the high temp inks.. I believe the reason is that the only 1400 ICC profile that Cobra has is in a MAC format and Not a PC, im not sure if that is the exact reason that the 1400 High temp profile does not work well, that's just the reasoning I gave myself


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## sben763 (May 17, 2009)

You are correct Gordon. I mis spoke it is the contrast, saturation and other setting that are usable when using the ICC profile correctly. 

Here what I should have said. All the option should match what the profile maker dictates. 

I have had many custom ICC profiles made. Not every profile maker can do profiles for heat transfer inks. Every single one of them came with all the setting you have to use including the best paper to use. I have used Sawgrass, Cobra and cheap Chinese sublimation inks.


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## jasonsmith (Mar 30, 2011)

sben763 said:


> You are correct Gordon. I mis spoke it is the contrast, saturation and other setting that are usable when using the ICC profile correctly.
> 
> Here what I should have said. All the option should match what the profile maker dictates.
> 
> I have had many custom ICC profiles made. Not every profile maker can do profiles for heat transfer inks. Every single one of them came with all the setting you have to use including the best paper to use. I have used Sawgrass, Cobra and cheap Chinese sublimation inks.


Do you have any custom ICC profiles for the 1400 with Cobra ink?

And also Cobra dye and pigment ink for the 1400?


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## pisquee (Jan 8, 2012)

jasonsmith said:


> Do you have any custom ICC profiles for the 1400 with Cobra ink?
> 
> And also Cobra dye and pigment ink for the 1400?


By definition, I would say that a custom profile is something you get made specifically for your printer and inks.

Using a profile provided by an ink supplier is a generic profile. 

As all printers are different to a degree in how they print, using someone else's custom profile will not give you optimum results, and is a bit nonsensical.

So, if you're wanting a custom profile for the 1400 (whether it be dye, pigment, or sublimation inks) then you need to get them made, or buy the kit to make them yourself.


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## sben763 (May 17, 2009)

pisquee said:


> By definition, I would say that a custom profile is something you get made specifically for your printer and inks.
> 
> Using a profile provided by an ink supplier is a generic profile.
> 
> ...


Tim you are spot on although a 1400 will be close with a different 1400 as long as all the perimeters are close but variations from each printer will happen. 

This is why I had them made. You print targets with setting given by the company on the paper you want to use. they are very specific on this and include a check list. They read those targets so printing on a diffrent paper will have diffrent then intended results. 

Those cheap ICC kits out there won't produce a profile for heat transfer dye sub or pigment ink.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

jasonsmith said:


> I don't know who you are referring to. But I've been using the ICC profiles correctly. The Cobra ICC profiles aren't accurate.


Jason,

If you are not getting as good as the attached then you still have something set wrong.

It's not perfect but certain do-able. I just got a new IPS monitor calibrated for Adobe RGB 1998 and while this is a scan and has some scanning artifacts, it's at least as good as Artainium with a better black.

Same printer same inks as you have, done in Corel Draw and transfered on a photo stand. The guide I sent you is where this setup originated.


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## jasonsmith (Mar 30, 2011)

pisquee said:


> By definition, I would say that a custom profile is something you get made specifically for your printer and inks.
> 
> Using a profile provided by an ink supplier is a generic profile.
> 
> ...


The manufacturers profiles are off. So didn't see any problem trying a custom profile someone made using the same printer and ink as what I'm using to try out.


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## jasonsmith (Mar 30, 2011)

mgparrish said:


> Jason,
> 
> If you are not getting as good as the attached then you still have something set wrong.
> 
> ...


My printer/inks print fine with regards to sub ink. Just the colors are kind of off. I used a different test print than what you use. But for example blue skies coming out purple. It's not the settings, it's just the ink manufacturers profiles are off. Which was why I was looking to see if someone else with the same printer and ink made some profiles for themselves that I could try.

I did try that 1430 profile and my test print blue skies came out blue. But in printing other things, noticed the colors off. i.e. Corel 255 blue coming out purple.

But for regular dye ink, the manufacturers profiles are off too. But I just use the stock Epson profiles and it prints fine enough with those profiles.


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## pisquee (Jan 8, 2012)

sben763 said:


> Tim you are spot on although a 1400 will be close with a different 1400 as long as all the perimeters are close but variations from each printer will happen.
> 
> This is why I had them made. You print targets with setting given by the company on the paper you want to use. they are very specific on this and include a check list. They read those targets so printing on a diffrent paper will have diffrent then intended results.
> 
> Those cheap ICC kits out there won't produce a profile for heat transfer dye sub or pigment ink.


I know how it's done - we have the equipment in house to do our own for sublimation and pigment printers, and are happy with the freedom that having it gives us. It certainly wasn't a cheap kit, although not the most expensive option either, but does a fine job of making our ICCs, and means we can have different ICCs for different sublimation substates along with the different art papers we use for pigment printing.
With Epson's more domestic models there is an allowable tolerance in how they leave the factory with how accurately they print. Whereas with the Stylus Pro lines, they are all calibrated by hand before leaving the factory. So, two 1400s are alowabled to be more different from each other than say two 9800s.


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## pisquee (Jan 8, 2012)

Jason, I don't think you've mentioned where in the world you are, but there must be options local enough to you for getting a profile made. On Ebay UK, there are 3 sellers doing a custom ICC service, with two of them specialising in sublimation all for around £25GBP/$40USD. I'd be surprised if there aren't similar options in USA, which is where I'm assuming you may be?


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

jasonsmith said:


> My printer/inks print fine with regards to sub ink. Just the colors are kind of off.* I used a different test print than what you use.* But for example blue skies coming out purple. It's not the settings, it's just the ink manufacturers profiles are off. Which was why I was looking to see if someone else with the same printer and ink made some profiles for themselves that I could try.
> 
> I did try that 1430 profile and my test print blue skies came out blue. But in printing other things, noticed the colors off. i.e. Corel 255 blue coming out purple.
> 
> *But for regular dye ink, the manufacturers profiles are off too.* But I just use the stock Epson profiles and it prints fine enough with those profiles.


Jason, is your test print a random photo or a calibrated target file? Can you post it?

Random photos cannot be used to judge color accuracy. How do you know if the source photo is accurate? Your monitor is accurate?

Also, if you are photo printing and you have regular dye ink from Epson and their stock profiles are off too for photo printing _then you are not color managing correctly_. The 1400/1430 output is outstanding for most all photo work if you are setup correctly. 

Exact spot color reproduction across the color spectrum is not possible on desktop printers by the way, stock inks or sub inks. You have to have a professional commercial printer ($$$) to achieve accurate output for anything else, so we "swatch" instead. Profiles are for good overall quality, exact matches for ie exact customer logo matches you swatch references on each substrate.

I'm sure a better profile can be obtained, but you need to understand the $200 printer limitations better and go from there. The best scenario is to get an ICC profile made where you print the ICC target and send to someone and have it made specifically for your printer and substrate(s). And each different substrate expect some delta if only using one profile BTW.


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## GordonM (May 21, 2012)

jasonsmith said:


> Corel 255 blue coming out purple.


This may have been from working in CMYK color space, which I think is the default for CorelDraw. If you haven't already, you'll want to work in RGB space in all your programs.



jasonsmith said:


> But for regular dye ink, the manufacturers profiles are off too. But I just use the stock Epson profiles and it prints fine enough with those profiles.


By "manufacturer" you're talking about the ink manufacturer? Ideally, you shouldn't even need separate profiles for standard pigment or dye inks, and the fact that some ink suppliers have these profiles suggests to me their inks are not well matched to the OEM cartridges. The whole idea of buying bulk inks is that they're the color-matched to the OEM inks. 

I understand the need for profiles for special substrates. You'd expect to see profiles for things like JPSS or other heat press material. In turn, these profiles are not good for regular printing on inkjet or photo paper, naturally.

One of my WF7010's uses Cobra pigment ink, and for regular printing I just let the printer manage colors. For regular paper or photo printing it's fine.


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## sben763 (May 17, 2009)

I tried to find the info on where we had all the profiles made. Ill keep looking but it was a place out of Utah. They did an awesome job. For the heat transfer they required to print the targets 5 times. I'm not sure but I think they may have pressed. It was $30 a profile and they guaranteed. Once it was off and they redid the profile for free. For photos if your using the stock paper and any ink OEM or aftermarket as long as it close to the aftermarket will work fine without profiles. Using an aftermarket high grade professional paper and the results are terrible without a proper profile.


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## Humerus (Nov 10, 2012)

sben763 said:


> I tried to find the info on where we had all the profiles made. Ill keep looking but it was a place out of Utah. They did an awesome job. For the heat transfer they required to print the targets 5 times. I'm not sure but I think they may have pressed. It was $30 a profile and they guaranteed. Once it was off and they redid the profile for free. For photos if your using the stock paper and any ink OEM or aftermarket as long as it close to the aftermarket will work fine without profiles. Using an aftermarket high grade professional paper and the results are terrible without a proper profile.


I'd LOVE it if you could find where you had them made  I did find one place in the UK that would do it reasonable (about $40) but I'd rather go closer.


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## pisquee (Jan 8, 2012)

Ebay US ... Custom ICC Profiling for Inkjet or Dye Sub Printers RGB or CMYK | eBay


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