Your printer software may include a file known as a color profile. This file modifies the data stream sent from the PC to the printer, optimizing it to suit the printer's own characteristics. To investigate this, open Control Panel, select Printers And Other Hardware, then Printers And Faxes. Right-click the appropriate printer icon and select Properties.

Then choose the Color Management tab to view the profiles currently available. If any are listed, and the Manual radio button is enabled, click the Automatic button instead and try another test. If the result is an improvement, then either stay in Automatic mode or click the Add button to search the list of available profiles for one better suited to your printer.

Of course, most of the filenames will be incomprehensible, so you may need to go back to your printer manufacturer to see if there's a profile available for your printer.

	This Printer Properties dialog box shows Adobe RGB as the default color profile.

Step 1: Getting sharp prints Step 2: What you'll need Step 3: Good paper, great pics Step 4: Setting it up		Step 5: Position your pics for printing Step 6: Know your print resolution Step 7: Print a few color test pages Step 8: Try a little color management