How do I find which printer version I have? Duh.

[Klickit]

Now you are all going to scream, "Read what the box says", or something equally direct, but...I' trying to set up so Photoshop does the printing. I have a Canon Pixma iP4500. When I go to soft-proof an image, I get 8 choices of Canon Pixma iP4500's. I have looked through all the Canon user stuff that came with the printer and there is nothing to indicate which I should use. There is nothing on the box, either.
The choices are ip4500 GL2, GL3, MP2, PR1, PR2, PR3, SP2 and SP3.

There is also an option to use Canon IJ (?) color printer profile 2005.

I have looked under the printer info on the Control Panel and it just says "Canon iP4500series"

All this is completely confusing.

[rob marshall]

Is this the panel you have with the pull-down list of printers? Have you tried to print using one of the printer options listed?

[Klickit]

Yes, I've chosen the printer in that drop-down, (Canon iP4500series) but it's in the "Printer Profile" drop down, where you have "APJ_Marshall_KC2400_Oyster_SG" showing.

If I click that drop-down, it gives me all those iP4500 choices. And a bazzillion more...

When I first looked in that drop-down, I thought the different iP4500 profiles related to paper types, but the paper numbers are completely different to anything in there.

[revi]

A quick Google search gave these as the first results:
http://www.flixya.com/blog/902094/Ti...Color-profiles, and:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/...d.php?t=397292,
so it seems those codes DO translate to paper types...

[Klickit]

A quick Google search gave these as the first results:
http://www.flixya.com/blog/902094/Ti...Color-profiles, and:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/...d.php?t=397292,
so it seems those codes DO translate to paper types...

You are dead right! I had searched with the wrong terms for ages, but never came up with this and by tonight, my brain was so addled I didn't think to try those letter sequences as a search in themselves. What I don't get is why Canon have different names on their papers than they do on these profiles.

Thankyou so much for coming to my aid, Remco. I really appreciate it.

[rob marshall]

Sorry, Kit. I thought you were talking about using a defined printer, when all along you were talking about ICC profiles!

The names can be a bit confusing, I admit. This is what mine lists for the Epson R2400, which seems to be a bit more meaningful than the Canon ones. There is no common standard for the names, so it's up to the manufacturers. If you install a new printer it should copy any manufacturer specific profiles into the appropriate place so they get picked up in Photoshop.

Incidentally, the one that you quoted of mine - it has my name in it because it's a customized profile. You download a test file and print it on your printer on a specific paper, then send it to the paper company and they scan it with a spectrometer, create a profile, and send it back to you.

[Klickit]

Sorry, Kit. I thought you were talking about using a defined printer, when all along you were talking about ICC profiles!

Well, I thought I was asking that too. Cause for blushing in hindsight, but knowing the terminology helps, I just couldn't get my head around all the apparent versions of my particular printer. The thought that those names might relate to paper types never entered my head.

The names can be a bit confusing, I admit. This is what mine lists for the Epson R2400, which seems to be a bit more meaningful than the Canon ones. There is no common standard for the names, so it's up to the manufacturers. If you install a new printer it should copy any manufacturer specific profiles into the appropriate place so they get picked up in Photoshop.

That has apparently happened on my laptop, but having names that relate to paper types, when the letter/number sequence on the paper packets bears no relation to what the software suggests seems daft to me.

Incidentally, the one that you quoted of mine - it has my name in it because it's a customized profile. You download a test file and print it on your printer on a specific paper, then send it to the paper company and they scan it with a spectrometer, create a profile, and send it back to you.

I have heard of these but the prices I was hearing made me blink a bit. I'd have to get much more serious before I could justify ponying up with dosh.

Anyway, long and short of this is I at least know what I'm looking at now, so can start to explore the whole new printing at home thang. Happy customer!!