Printer Settings?

[romevi]

Hey guys, I'm sure this has been discussed to death, but I want to talk about printer settings. I've been using the printer and paper at work for my DS, UGC, DVD, and poly case prints, and the print job on plain legal paper ends up really well, especially considering it's plain paper. I usually use Paint or Photoshop to print them out, and use the "high" setting on quality. It's a Xerox commercial printer.

I finally got my Canon MX922 printer to work at home. We were having issues with the connectivity for some time, so I never used it to print covers until now. Unfortunately, the printing results end up being pretty bad, at least compared to the ones from work. I used the same paper, but for some reason the colors never match what's on screen, something the one at work did well. We have a guy come and mess with the printer settings at work, so I'm sure he knows the best settings to use, but I have no clue for the printer at home.

I tried different methods on the printer and PS settings. The best I found was to set my printing preferences to:
Commonly Used Settings: Standard
Media Type: Plain Paper
Printer Paper Size: Legal (of course)
Print Quality: High

My printer can do borderless printing, but the only time to take advantage of that is for DS cases.

For Photoshop I currently have the Color Management settings to:
Print: Document or Proof, haven't found a difference
Color Handling: Let Photoshop Determine Colors
Printer Profile: ProPhoto RGB
Rendering Intent: Relative Colorimetric

That produces the most accurate colors from the many settings I've tried, but it still doesn't exactly match what's on my monitor, nor does it match the ones I print from work.
Also, the end result at work tends to be a more glossy and smoother print job, almost as if the printed area was another layer on the paper, while the ones at home tend to be wetter and soak into the paper, causing some warping to the paper itself because there's so much ink being bled into it. I'm using the exact same paper. Is it just the difference in printer type?

I am so confused, and confess I don't know much about printing. I want to upgrade to glossy legal paper eventually, but I'm just baffled that I'm not getting the same results using the same paper. I ended up tossing some of the prints from home, wasting ink and paper, just because the colors don't match and the print quality tends to be sub-par.

Sorry for the rant. I just want to know what you all use, have customized to your preferences, and how you set up your printer and PS settings to print those beautiful covers I'm always seeing.

[romevi]

Holy moley, that was longer than I thought.

tl;dr:
Print jobs from work leave a smooth layer of color over plain legal paper, while the ones from home bleed into the same paper and never match the colors on screen.
Best printer settings?

[Desolis]

I spent some time working in an office supply store with a print shop, so my guess is the Xerox is a Laser printer (huge copy shop printer), which uses toner, a powder based ink. The application of toner to paper requires some heat, which is why the paper comes out of the printer slightly warm and usually has a semi-gloss finish even when using standard paper.

The Cannon you have is an inkjet which is a liquid base ink, which is what is causing the bleeding, and the difference in ink types is probably also responsible for color differences. I haven't printed any covers with an inkjet, so I'm not sure on color tweaking.

There are different papers made for each type of printer, paper designed for laser printers shouldn't be used in inkjet printers and vice versa. A thicker paper may help alleviate some of the bleed effect, as well as ensuring that it's inkjet paper and not laser.

[romevi]

Thanks!
Yeah, it's a Xerox Laser printer, I'm sure. WorkCentre model, according to my computer.
We're not a copy shop but it's huge and similar to the ones you'd see at an Office Depot or whatnot.

The inkjet I have is causing me more frustrations than one. Not only does it not print how I want it to, but it keeps disconnecting from my network. It may be my computer, though (Windows 7), as my phones seem to read the printer just fine when I'm in the same location as my computer. My printer's right next to my router.

Anyway, I'm going to try printing a couple of covers tonight with some gloss paper. Here's crossing my fingers!

[Dr.Agon]

you'll never get the same results on an inkjet Vs. a laser printer...

[romevi]

Laser's superior?

Sorry, I'm an idiot about this stuff.

[Desolis]

Yeah, Laser is by far a better result. Unfortunately, getting into a decent color laser printer can set you back a few hundred dollars, as opposed to the more reasonably priced inkjets. What gets you with an inkjet is constantly having to buy replacement cartridges (they aren't very big). Toner cartridges for laser printers have a greater initial cost, but they tend to pay for themselves in the long run. If it's going to be more cost effective for you, I would just stick with the Xerox.

[sheep2001]

Low end home laser vs decent(ish) ink jet - ink jet will come out on top.  The only way a laser will beat inkjet on quality is it you are using a really high end professional laser.  They cost....ALOT.  for home printing, you're better off with an ink jet in most cases.

[romevi]

That's what I was afraid of. While I enjoy printing the covers on the laser printer, I'm always dashing to the printer (since it's communal) to make sure I get there first to avoid any embarrassment. I usually do it when the office is empty, but still...