- Why won't the colors come out the same at the print shop?

....but they do on every single home computer I tested on?

Here's the sitch: I do a complex blue-hued poster design in a normal
multilayer PSD file. When finished, I flatten and save as TIFF, using LZW
compression. I also save a lower-res JPG version, for quick previewing. I
zip both files and put them online for the printer to download.

Printer A opens, sees all the blue hues as magenta, and prints what he sees.

Naturally, client is unhappy with results. We double-check both the TIF file
and JPG on our respective computers... comes out fine (blue) on mine, and
fine on his as well.

Figuring the problem is the printer -- because I've been going to printers
with stuff from the same computer for years and the colors always matched
(relatively speaking) -- we approach Printer B. Before even opening it, upon
hearing of the problems with Printer A, Printer B asks that we give the file
in CMYK format, rather than RGB.

So I return to the original multi-layer PSD, flatten, convert to CMYK, make
a few minor adjustments to what I see, and save the file as a TIF again,
with corresponding lo-res RGB JPG. Zip up both, put them online for Printer
B to download.

Same thing again! He sees magenta everywhere instead of blue, in both the
TIF and the JPG lo-res version. So the problem is definitely not the
printer(s). Nor, seemingly, is it the file itself -- which we opened on 4
different home computers, only half of them equipped with Photoshop -- and
it opened with normal colors each time! One even printed it on his printer -
looks fine! I just can't reproduce what happens when a print shop opens it!

But it gets even MORE bizarre... at the print shop, when clicking on the
filename in explorer, the small thumbnail preview that appears has the
CORRECT hues. Only once opened does the file display purpleish/magenta where
plain blue should be.

I'm befuddled here. Where could the problem be? Keep in mind, I'm a graphic
designer who's been printing stuff I've done at home for well over 13 years
now... I know hues from one screen to the next aren't 100% identical... but
we're not talking about the hues being slightly off here... we're talking
about a serious, major difference in the palette. One that doesn't seem to
be reflected in the images' thumbnails.

Neither TIF nor JPG got the colors to come out correctly at the print shop
(but their thumbnails are fine)... so what would be the point of me trying
any other formats?

Color Settings are : North America General Purpose 2
RGB: sRGB IEC6196602.1
CMYK: U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2
Gray: Dot Gain 20%
Spot: Dot Gain 20%

Color Management Policies Preserve Embedded Profiles (all)

Heeeeeeeelp :-(

 

Have you asked the printers which color profile they use? They may be
-=ignoring=- the embedded one you'ver selected.