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To disable printer color management, leave color conversion to your application or operating system and turn off the printer driver’s correction. Look for Off, No Color Adjustment, No Color Management, Application Manages Colors, ICM Off, or Matching: Off.
This is not the same as disabling color printing. If you want a black-and-white print, choose Grayscale, Black & White, or Monochrome instead.
The one-rule answer: choose one color manager
Color management converts image color values into values suitable for a particular printer, ink set, paper, and printing condition. Photoshop, Lightroom Classic, Acrobat, macOS ColorSync, a RIP, and the printer driver may each be capable of performing that conversion.
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The problem occurs when two components do it. For example, Photoshop converts an image using a printer-and-paper ICC profile, then the printer driver converts those already-converted values again. This double color management can produce casts, excessive saturation, muted colors, blocked shadows, or inaccurate skin tones.
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| Workflow | Application setting | Printer-driver setting | Use it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Application-managed | Photoshop Manages Colors, or equivalent | Off, No Color Adjustment, Matching Off | You have a suitable printer-and-paper ICC profile. |
| Driver-managed | Printer Manages Colors, or equivalent | Manufacturer correction, ICM, ColorSync, PhotoEnhance, or similar enabled | You lack a reliable profile or want automatic printing. |
| Grayscale | Grayscale or monochrome output | Grayscale, Black & White, or a vendor monochrome mode | You want no color output—not merely a different color-management owner. |
Adobe documents both application-managed and printer-managed workflows. Application-managed printing is generally preferable when an accurate output profile is available; it is not automatically the best choice for every printer, paper, or application. See Adobe’s Photoshop color-management printing guide.
Before disabling the driver’s color correction
Use application-managed printing only after checking these prerequisites:
- The image has a known or embedded document profile.
- The printer profile matches the exact printer model and ink system.
- The profile matches the paper brand, surface, and relevant printing conditions.
- The printer driver’s media type and print-quality settings match the profile’s instructions.
- The ICC profile is installed and visible to the application.
- Your monitor is reasonably calibrated or profiled.
- The application actually supports printer profiles and rendering intents.
Printer profiles describe an output device under particular conditions, including its paper and ink. A manufacturer-supplied profile may be less accurate than a custom profile made for a specific printer-and-paper combination. Installing a profile does not guarantee that it is correct for a different paper surface or media setting.
Adobe documents these profile locations: on Windows, install with Install Profile or use C:WindowsSystem32spooldriverscolor; on macOS, use /Library/ColorSync/Profiles or ~/Library/ColorSync/Profiles. Restart Adobe applications after installation if the profile does not appear. These are documented locations, not a requirement to manually copy every profile on every current system. See Adobe’s guide to color-managing documents and printing.
How to disable printer color management in Photoshop
- Open the image in Photoshop.
- Choose File > Print.
- Expand Color Management.
- Set Color Handling to Photoshop Manages Colors.
- Choose the ICC profile matching the printer, ink, paper, and intended media setting.
- Choose a rendering intent, such as Perceptual or Relative Colorimetric, according to the image and proofing goal. Perceptual tends to preserve overall relationships when colors must be compressed; Relative Colorimetric prioritizes accurate in-gamut colors and handles out-of-gamut colors differently.
- Click Print Settings on Windows, or open the printer-settings panel on macOS.
- Find the printer driver’s color controls and select its no-conversion option.
- Confirm the correct paper/media type, print quality, paper feed, and borderless setting.
- Print a controlled test image before committing to a large print.
A typical application-managed setup is:
Photoshop:
File > Print
Color Handling: Photoshop Manages Colors
Printer Profile: exact printer-and-paper ICC profile
Printer driver:
Color correction: Off / No Color Adjustment / Matching Off
Media Type: exact paper type
Print Quality: appropriate settingTurn off the driver’s color conversion, not every printer option. Media type can affect ink limits, black-ink selection, head movement, drying, and other print behavior even when color correction is disabled.
Epson: “Off (No Color Adjustment)”
On many Epson drivers, the application-managed choice is Off (No Color Adjustment), commonly found under Color Controls or a color-management section. Epson states that this mode lets application software manage color and requires an ICC profile.
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Epson drivers may also offer:
- EPSON Standard (sRGB) for general automatic treatment of sRGB images and documents.
- Adobe RGB for Adobe RGB source material.
- ICM for driver-based ICC/Image Color Matching.
- Off (No Color Adjustment) for application-only color management.
The exact wording and location depend on the printer model, operating system, driver version, and connection method. Epson’s color-management documentation illustrates the principle, while its application-versus-driver workflow guidance warns against combining Photoshop color management with Color Controls, PhotoEnhance, ColorSync, or ICM.
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Epson Advanced B&W Photo exception
Some specialized Epson monochrome modes deliberately let the driver control tonal output. For example, Epson’s Advanced B&W Photo workflow instructs users to disable color management in Photoshop when that driver mode is selected. This is a special black-and-white workflow, not a general replacement for ICC-controlled color printing. Follow the manual for your exact model.
See Epson’s Advanced B&W Photo guidance.
Canon: “Matching: Off” and similar labels
Canon drivers use model-specific terminology. Equivalent application-managed choices may include:
- Matching > Off
- Off (No Adjustment)
- No color-matching
- A comparable application or independent-profile option
Open Properties, Preferences, or Print Settings, then inspect tabs such as Main, Color/Intensity, Matching, Color Settings, or Color Correction. Do not assume that a setting shown in one Canon manual exists on every Canon printer.
Canon describes an Off matching mode as appropriate when color matching is performed by the application or an independent profile. Examples appear in the Canon iPF750 manual and the Canon Colorado documentation.
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macOS, ColorSync, and missing controls
macOS print dialogs may expose fewer controls than Windows drivers. Open the full print dialog rather than using only the simplified sheet, expand the printer-options menu, and inspect:
- Color Matching
- Printer Features
- Quality & Media
- Vendor-specific color panels
Depending on the application and driver, Color Matching may offer ColorSync, vendor matching, or printer correction. The goal remains the same: only one component should perform the output conversion.
Apple distinguishes between ColorSync converting to a printer profile, handing color management to the printer, and Print as color target. The last option is intended for cases where the document and printer use the same color space; it is not a general-purpose “better color” setting. See Apple’s ColorSync printing choices.
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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →If a custom ICC profile is selected in Photoshop, do not also select a vendor color-correction mode or an independent ColorSync conversion unless the documented workflow specifically requires it. Some current drivers automatically constrain conflicting options; others do not show a literal Off checkbox.
If expected controls are missing, check whether the printer was added through a generic, AirPrint, or system driver. Re-add it using the manufacturer’s driver when available. Apple’s ColorSync Utility documentation also explains how profiles describe device capabilities and can be inspected or compared.
Windows: finding the printer color controls
- Open Settings.
- Go to Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners.
- Select the printer.
- Open Printing preferences or Printer properties.
- Look for the manufacturer’s color-management controls.
Microsoft treats Printing preferences and Printer Properties as separate controls. The relevant panel may be named Color Management, Color Adjustment, ICM, Image Color Matching, Color Controls, or Color Options.
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If no no-correction option appears, Windows may be using a basic class driver, a network print-server driver, or a package that hides advanced controls. Microsoft recommends obtaining the appropriate driver from the manufacturer when needed. See Microsoft’s current guides for adding printers and installing manufacturer drivers.
If you actually want to disable color printing
Choose the printer’s output mode—not its color-management mode:
- Grayscale
- Black & White
- Monochrome
- Advanced B&W Photo
Off (No Color Adjustment) can still produce a full-color print. It only prevents that component from converting color. Whether a printer’s grayscale mode uses only black ink or also uses color inks depends on the model and selected mode, so check its manual if ink usage matters.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Troubleshooting by symptom
Colors are too dark, saturated, or have a cast
- Confirm that exactly one component manages color.
- Check the image’s document profile.
- Verify the printer profile matches the printer, ink, paper, and media type.
- Disable PhotoEnhance, Vivid, Auto, automatic contrast, Color Controls, ICM, or similar enhancement modes in an application-managed workflow.
- Check nozzles, ink levels, black-ink selection, alignment, and paper handling.
- Judge the print under neutral, consistent lighting.
These symptoms do not prove double profiling. Wrong paper, an uncalibrated monitor, a defective profile, clogged nozzles, and viewing light can produce similar results.
The print is dull or washed out
Check for an incorrect media type, unsuitable paper profile, insufficient print quality, or a driver that is still applying an unexpected conversion. Compare a controlled application-managed test with the manufacturer’s driver-managed mode rather than changing several settings at once.
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Do not disable driver correction merely because you want more control. Until you have a suitable profile, use Printer Manages Colors and leave the manufacturer’s correction enabled. Also confirm that the profile is installed, the application has been restarted, and the profile describes the paper you are actually using.
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There is no “Off” option
Verify the printer’s driver package, not only the printer’s name. A generic Windows driver or AirPrint queue may hide vendor controls. Install the manufacturer’s driver, recreate the printer queue if necessary, and consult the manual for model-specific terminology. On macOS, inspect the complete print dialog and Color Matching panel.
Photoshop and Preview produce different results
Applications may assign color-management responsibility differently. Document which application converts the image, whether macOS ColorSync is involved, and whether the driver is applying correction. Compare the complete settings in both print dialogs, including profile, media type, quality, scaling, borderless mode, and enhancement options.
You are using Acrobat, a RIP, or a print server
Photoshop labels do not automatically apply to PDF, RIP, or managed production workflows. A PDF may contain document-level or object-level profiles, while a RIP or print server can convert color before the printer receives it. Map the entire pipeline and assign one conversion stage. Disabling only the local printer-driver correction may not prevent a RIP or server from applying another conversion.
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Important edge cases
Borderless printing
Borderless mode can change scaling, ink application, and paper handling. Keep borderless settings consistent with the profile and do not compare a bordered test print with a borderless print as though they were identical workflows.
Third-party paper
A standard manufacturer profile may not represent third-party paper accurately. Use a profile supplied for that exact paper or obtain a custom profile where repeatability matters.
Do not blindly assign a new profile
Assigning a profile changes how existing color numbers are interpreted; it is not the same as converting the document to another profile. Changing the assignment as a troubleshooting shortcut can dramatically alter the image’s appearance. Preserve the original and use the correct conversion workflow instead.
Quick Recap
Final verification checklist
- One color-management owner is selected.
- The image’s document profile is known.
- The printer-and-paper ICC profile matches the actual setup.
- The driver’s media type matches the paper.
- Driver enhancement modes are disabled when the application manages color.
- Print quality, paper feed, and borderless settings match the intended workflow.
- Nozzle check and ink condition are acceptable.
- The test print is evaluated under neutral, consistent lighting.
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