Color Management Nightmares

[Sebastian]

I followed the steps exactly, but it still has a bluish (or maybe it's cyan? or purple?I'm a rookie, can't tell. . .) cast. It's fainter, but it's still there. Could it be a way inaccurate monitor or printer profile? If so, what's the cheapest halfway accurate way of getting a printer profiled? I checked one service on the internet, and it was around $200. I'm at a loss. Could it be dirty printheads? *sigh*
Chip
PS Thanks so much for spending the time to go through all that, Penny. I really appreciate the knowledge that you bring to this forum.

What lighting are you looking at these under, and how long after they print?

The ink needs a while to "set" with that series printer before colors become "true." Also, different light, and angles you hold the print at, will shift the colors.

You can spend 200 bucks to have your system profiled, or you can spend 600 on a decent set of profile software/hardware and do it yourself. It should be done regularly, once a month or so, to keep everything calibrated.

Beware the Colorvision Spyder, very good performer on new monitors, but for some reason the older the CRT the more it throws things out of whack. The Monaco Optix is a bit more but much more consistent across a broad range of CRTs and LCDs.

[christopher_platt]

What lighting are you looking at these under, and how long after they print?

The ink needs a while to "set" with that series printer before colors become "true." Also, different light, and angles you hold the print at, will shift the colors.

You can spend 200 bucks to have your system profiled, or you can spend 600 on a decent set of profile software/hardware and do it yourself. It should be done regularly, once a month or so, to keep everything calibrated.

Beware the Colorvision Spyder, very good performer on new monitors, but for some reason the older the CRT the more it throws things out of whack. The Monaco Optix is a bit more but much more consistent across a broad range of CRTs and LCDs.

Sebastian-
I've looked at them under incandescent, flourescent, sunlight. . .believe me, it's definitely the prints, not the lights. However- I am working on a laptop (only computer I got) and I know the angle of viewing on such a thin screen can make a difference. When I have a minute I'll scan the prints and show you what I'm talking about.
As far as profiling goes, or buying equipment, it's a no go for a while. I'm young, in college, I live in one of the most expensive places in the country (a SHACK of a house on a miniscule lot goes for just under a million bucks), and I have a wife and now a baby to support. Please don't think I'm complaining, I love every second of it, but profiling equipment is just a luxury that can't be had right now. Maybe I'll just have to keep going to the lab. I just thought that this would make life a little easier to be able to give 4x6s to family members.
Chip

[gahspidy]

Just my 2 cents, but don't convert to CMYK, use RGB.