InDesign colors not matching between Mac and Windows

[AnotherHickey]

I have a department that has both Macs and Windows users using Creative Cloud InDesign.  They are printing to a Lanier C3003 color laser printer and their colors aren't matching exactly between the 2 different OSs.  From Windows, they are using the Universal Driver, from the Macs, they are using the Lanier driver.  Do we need to set up printer profiles to print to so that they are printing to the same thing?

[Frans v.d. Geest]

First, of course, this problem is not InDesign but the printer setup and the printer drivers. Second: we need to know what Colour Management settings you use: do you let InDesign do the colour managent or the printer do it. Sometines noth happens, which is bad of course. We have no way of telling what you do on the Mac site and on the PC side. In short: we need more information anout you workflow but we can not answer questions about your printer software or settings as we can not look in your systems from here of course.

[AnotherHickey]

Of course I realize that it isn't InDesign that is the issue, but how to print from the program.  I am not entirely sure if InDesign does the color management or not, but I do know that they are opening the same file from the network on both machines, so I would assume that the printer is deciding what colors to use.

[Test Screen Name]

Please post complete screen shots of the colour settings, and the printer settings that are applicable, especially in the Print Dialog; in both systems. This won't get fixed without detailed analysis!

[Randy Hagan]

Actually, by default it's more of a co-operative effort between the computer and the output device. You need to change that.

If your InDesign document is using RGB output, the colorspaces are literally different. That's why even though there are 256 different shades of color between solid black and no-color white in the RGB colorspace, there are only 216 "web safe" colors. Common ground between both the Windows and MacOS platforms. If your color builds are outside that 216 "web safe" color base, the Windows and Mac operating systems will use different routines to dither colors and determine how your job(s) are going to output.

If you want to get the same output across platforms, you have to drive all the color definition to the device, and profile the color with a device-specific PPD for your Lanier C3003. You can start with downloads from Ricoh's website here:

MP C3003SP/C3503SP/C3003ZSP/C3503ZSP download page

You might also want to get with your Ricoh support rep and explain what you need to do. Ricoh can get you to the point where you can print the same output, with matching Adobe color settings, the same way on your Lanier color laser printer from Mac and WinTel platforms. They may or may not look the same onscreen -- that's a function of monitor color calibration -- and a whole 'nother ball of beeswax. But your Ricoh tech support folks can at least get you printing consistent color from the same InDesign file(s) by syncing up your color settings and using a consistent custom PPD.

If this works for you -- and I suspect it will -- please mark this question as answered. It alerts the forum moderators to archive this thread where it can help others who find themselves in similar issues.

[AnotherHickey]

I have an email into my Ricoh support rep.  I will report back once I find something.  Thanks!!!