(Revised 1/17/2026 to emphasized the use of the system default printer preset) Welcome back! Here’s yet another swing at the Presets issue by Don Quixote. Next year, I’ll get a life (maybe…) This is a followup to my first posting, which has all the technical details, here at https://valleau.art/blog/printer-presets-no-longer-working-right/ My presets have (knock on windmills) […]
I recent ran across someone who didn’t understand what a raw file is, and had it confused with an image file. So, let’s take a quick look at it. Perhaps you’re old enough to remember the Weston Lightmeter: It had a “photovoltaic cell” (don’t panic) which is simply some goop which when exposed to light […]
NOTE: as of MacOS Tahoe 26.3, the part below related to using Colorsync no longer works for me. Please use Print-Tool instead. Printing a correct color target for custom profiling Here is how to print a target of patches, for use in creating a custom color profile. (Note: this requires that you either have […]
While dark environments, such as Apple’s Mojave, or the default settings for Photoshop & Pixelmator Pro, may look fashionable, they are terrible for editing photos. Why? Because they screw up your ability to see tones properly. Using a dark background will trick your mind into producing a print that has clogged up shadows, and is […]
Let’s say you’ve just made a print of your latest image, but how do you know what it -really- looks like? You would not take a flashlight and cover the end with blue cellophane, and shine it on the print, because it would trash all the other colors. To get a more rational view, you […]
The usual thing you find if you search the web looking for a way to keep Alexa from constantly saying “OK” to your commands, is “Oh, that’s easy: just turn on Brief Mode.” Thing is, that only works (ahem) briefly, for one or two commands, and then the syrupy “OK” comes back. What we […]
Being brief and cursory introduction to Smart Device plugs and switches. ! Here are some useful things you can do with them: 1. Turn lights or appliances on and off from anywhere using your smartphone or if you have a smart assistant like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, or Apple HomeKit, you can control your […]
When “good enough” isn’t: canned paper profiles In my business (making prints for museums and galleries) the usual prebuilt paper/ink profile, often described as “good enough” really isn’t. Instead I make my own profiles using X-Rite’s i1Publish Pro 3. If that applies to you as well, here are some tips: Printing on expensive paper is, […]
This is a historical document with technical details. A more recent version with a clear explanation of how you get around the corrupt preset problem can be seen by clicking here. (If you are here for the technical details, scroll down to “The Gory Details” April 10, 2024 Original post: Well, I have […]
Sometimes I’ll get a new application, drag it into the Applications folder, and launch it… or try to launch it anyway. It seems to be starting, but then nothing happens. No windows; no complaints – just nothing. Sometimes I’ll run an application, and ask it to check for updates, and instead I’ll get a notice […]