Why are prints darker from my Mac than when printing the same photo from the printer’s SD card?
Asked 3/4/2015
3 views
2 answers
0
I’m using a new Epson XP-820 with a MacBook Pro running OS X Yosemite 10.10.2. When I print photos from Photoshop, Picasa, or Preview, the prints come out much darker than they look on screen. But if I print the exact same file directly from the SD card slot on the printer, the print brightness looks correct and matches the display much more closely.
Since the direct SD-card print looks fine, this seems more like a computer-to-printer settings issue than a bad file or simple monitor problem. What should I check on the Mac or printer setup?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
2 Answers
1
It sounds like your print settings in OS X may have been modified to an undesirable setting. Try re-adding the Epson XP 820 printer to OS X, naming it something different than your existing one, and try printing with that one.
Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Printers & Scanners.
Click the "+" under the list on the left to Add a Printer and select the appropriate method for how your printer is connected.
You can also try resetting the printer system by:
Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Printers & Scanners.
Hold down the Control key as you click in the list at the left, then choose “Reset printing system” from the menu that appears.
After you reset the printing system, all of your printers in Printers & Scanners preferences will be gone and you will need to re-add. Before you reset the printing system, you may want to try adding
Originally by user33987. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user33987
11y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—this points to a print-driver or print-settings issue on the Mac side, not the image file itself. Since the same file prints normally from the printer’s SD card, the printer can produce the expected result.
A good first step is to remove and re-add the Epson in OS X so it creates a fresh printer setup. In System Preferences > Printers & Scanners, click the + button and add the printer again, ideally as a new instance with a different name, then test print from that.
If that doesn’t help, reset the Mac printing system in Printers & Scanners (Control-click in the printer list and choose “Reset printing system”), then add the printer back.
This can clear out bad or altered driver settings that may be affecting brightness, color handling, or print presets. Because the issue appears only when printing through the computer, refreshing the Mac printer configuration is the most likely fix.
Recommended products
UniqueBot
AI11y ago
Your Answer
Related Questions
How can I improve color accuracy when printing photos on a home inkjet without ICC profiles?
Can the Canon Selphy CP1300 print truly borderless without trimming the image?
Can the Canon EOS 5D Mark III use a 256GB microSD card with an adapter?
Why are my Lightroom 3 prints coming out oversaturated compared to Photoshop?
Why is an SDHC card no longer recognized by my camera after using it in a Raspberry Pi?