Epson shared printer won't print in colour

Question

Level 1

8 points

Epson shared printer won't print in colour

Not sure if this has been mentioned before, but I coudn't find anything to help.

I have a shared printer (Epson Stylus DX7400) running on my windows vista pc, which I have connected to my MacBook Air. It is connected and works perfectly, but the only problem is that anything I print off my Mac only prints in B&W, even though colour is selected (CMYK). Is there a reason for this, and how can I make it print in colour. I even have colour selected through CUPS and settings...

MacBook Air (11-INCH, MID 2011), Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on Apr 30, 2013 4:48 AM

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Answer 1

KylieG_88 Author

Level 1

8 points

May 5, 2013 10:00 AM in response to KylieG_88

So, after a lot of frustratingly adding and taking away printers, choosing different drivers, reading around, asking questions and help here, I finally got it sorted. Turns out, downloading the driver for mac from the Epson website is different than downloading the drivers apple supply here http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1398 ... These made it work, just like that! Thanks guys 🙂

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Answer 2

Delgadoh

Level 4

1,493 points

May 2, 2013 11:55 AM in response to KylieG_88

Hey Kylie,

Sorry to hear that your printouts aren't looking like you want. I found an article that should help you start troubleshooting:

OS X Lion: If a printout doesn’t look as you expected

(http://support.apple.com/kb/PH3996)

Specifically, the section quoted below about the colors in a printout not looking like you expected:

If the colors in a printout don’t look as you expected

Check the toner cartridge or ink cartridges in your printer and make sure they’re full. View a printer’s supply levels

If you’re using an application that lets you choose presets for the paper you’re using, make sure the preset you’ve chosen matches the paper in your printer. For example, if you’re printing photos to glossy paper using iPhoto, be sure to choose Photo Quality Glossy Paper if it appears in the Presets pop-up menu when you print.

Make sure the paper and ink you’re using are compatible. Some types of ink are designed to be used with specific types of paper, such as glossy or matte finish, and won’t print properly when used with a different type of paper. Read the packaging for your ink cartridges to see what types of paper they’re designed for.

If the application you’re using lets you choose or manipulate colors in your document (for example, setting hue and saturation options), check to be sure they are set the way you want.

In the Print dialog, choose Color Management from the print options pop-up menu (the pop-up menu within a separator bar). Select the setting that lets the document’s ColorSync profile be used. This should prevent the printer software from readjusting the color when you print.

If your printer came with its own utility application, open it to check your printer. Open your printer’s utility application

Cheers,

David

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Answer 3

KylieG_88 Author

Level 1

8 points

May 2, 2013 3:46 PM in response to Delgadoh

Hi David

Thank you for the response, but when I have added the printer, I don't get many options when I go to print (see photos) 😟 . I cannot choose a paper type. I cannot see the supply levels when I view the printer options and under general, it only give me the name and location of the printer. I cannot choose color management in the print options as it is not there. I tried downloading the actual driver from the Epson website, but I got an error when I tried to print then. I have tried choosing different drivers from the list you can choose from when adding the printer,some of which won't let me print at all. Is there any I specifically should be choosing?I have tried connecting through choosing 'Windows' in the top toolbar, and using lpd and smb with the advanced options. There is ink in the printer as colours are printed from the vista pc it is connected to with no problem. I am starting to wonder would bonjour be a more successful option?

Thanks

Kylie

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Answer 4

KylieG_88 Author

Level 1

8 points

May 3, 2013 5:39 AM in response to PAHU

At the minute, I am using the Epson New Stylus Colour driver, version 1.5, I choose from the list on 'Select Printer Software.' I have also tried using Generic PCL Printer, but nope. Here is a list of the drivers I can choose:

Below the last one starts the ones like Epson and HP...

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Answer 5

PAHU

Level 6

16,723 points

May 3, 2013 1:16 AM in response to KylieG_88

Do you know what driver is being used on the Mac? If you open Print & Scan and select the printer entry, then click on Options & Supplies, the General tab will show the driver being used in the Kind section.

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Answer 6

den.thed

Level 10

92,512 points

May 3, 2013 5:20 PM in response to KylieG_88

Hi Kylie

I don't have a MacBook Air or use a shared printer, but I use Epson's and can think of two thing that I would try.

1. Temporally connect the Epson straight up to the MacBook Air via USB and do a software update. If OS X does not pull up the latest Update for the Epson, then proceed to # 2.

2. Go directly to > Drivers & Support - Epson Stylus DX7400 - Epson and manually download the Epson Network Config. 4.1.1 update.

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Answer 7

PAHU

Level 6

16,723 points

May 3, 2013 11:19 PM in response to KylieG_88

KylieG_88 wrote:

I have also tried using Generic PCL Printer, but nope.

Just to let you know that this Generic PCL driver does only print in black & white. At its default resolution is 300dpi. So I just wanted to check that you weren't using this driver.

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Answer 8

KylieG_88 Author

Level 1

8 points

May 5, 2013 8:51 AM in response to PAHU

PAHU wrote:

Just to let you know that this Generic PCL driver does only print in black & white. At its default resolution is 300dpi. So I just wanted to check that you weren't using this driver.

I did not know that. Thank you 😝. Which one, do you know, should I use to print in colour?

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