Dull colour on MP510

[ConnorMcLeod]

Hi All,

Pictures were shot with 350D.
On the screen, the colour is fine. When printed on glossy photo paper, the picture was clearly darker and colour dull.

Do you have this problem if you use the printer straight out of the box?

What to adjust and how?

Cheers, CM

[zhikang]

what paper are u using?

[ConnorMcLeod]

Originally Posted by zhikang what paper are u using?

Sorry for the late response, was travelling.

Tried SEPOMS Premium Glossy Photo Pater and
FujiFilm Premium Plus Photo Paper.

Results with FujiFilm is slightly better than SEPOMS.

[zhikang]

Originally Posted by ConnorMcLeod Sorry for the late response, was travelling. Tried SEPOMS Premium Glossy Photo Pater and FujiFilm Premium Plus Photo Paper. Results with FujiFilm is slightly better than SEPOMS.

sepoms is crap. get rid of it, relatively value for money alternative would be to use Epson's Premium Semi-gloss. Printouts on fuji should be good if u select the right paper profiles when printing. Select Photo Paper Pro when printing on ur fuji premium plus paper. and also, u might wanna consider getting ur monitor calibrated. =D hope this helps!

[TME]

Originally Posted by ConnorMcLeod Hi All, Pictures were shot with 350D. On the screen, the colour is fine. When printed on glossy photo paper, the picture was clearly darker and colour dull. Do you have this problem if you use the printer straight out of the box? What to adjust and how? Cheers, CM

Hello Highlander...

U need to understand that paper and ink cannot reproduce the same colour and vibrancy that u see on screen... even the pros cannot do it... it's the nature of the material... and yes, prints often look about 1 stop darker without any calibration... that's why the print looks dark but u can compensate by using the exposure tool in PS to push up the exposure. As for dullness in colour, your paper does not match your ink... u are using a Canon I presume? U need to use compatible paper which is Canon paper.... Canon has cheap (relatively speaking) and good paper as well...

[ConnorMcLeod]

Originally Posted by zhikang sepoms is crap. get rid of it, relatively value for money alternative would be to use Epson's Premium Semi-gloss. Printouts on fuji should be good if u select the right paper profiles when printing. Select Photo Paper Pro when printing on ur fuji premium plus paper. and also, u might wanna consider getting ur monitor calibrated. =D hope this helps!

Thanks. Yes, I am going to calibrate the screen & try to create printer profile for the paper.

Originally Posted by TME Hello Highlander...

Good that someone knows where I come from. :P

Originally Posted by TME U need to understand that paper and ink cannot reproduce the same colour and vibrancy that u see on screen... even the pros cannot do it... it's the nature of the material... and yes, prints often look about 1 stop darker without any calibration... that's why the print looks dark but u can compensate by using the exposure tool in PS to push up the exposure. As for dullness in colour, your paper does not match your ink... u are using a Canon I presume? U need to use compatible paper which is Canon paper.... Canon has cheap (relatively speaking) and good paper as well...

I saw prints on aluminium paper the other day and was wondering if it would make the colour reproduction a bit better. Fully agree and expect colour on print will not be the same as on screen - one is reflective (print) and the other is 'glowing' (dunno the right term).

Indeed noticed the printout of a few overexposed picture look just right. For the interim period I may just add 1 stop to the pictures before printing.

Need to buy more paper and ink at the next PC show / comex :P

[TME]

Originally Posted by ConnorMcLeod Thanks. Yes, I am going to calibrate the screen & try to create printer profile for the paper. Good that someone knows where I come from. :P I saw prints on aluminium paper the other day and was wondering if it would make the colour reproduction a bit better. Fully agree and expect colour on print will not be the same as on screen - one is reflective (print) and the other is 'glowing' (dunno the right term). Indeed noticed the printout of a few overexposed picture look just right. For the interim period I may just add 1 stop to the pictures before printing. Need to buy more paper and ink at the next PC show / comex :P

The aluminium paper is meant to be matte finish... it is a very nice surface and dry extremely quickly. And the print also looks fantastic. But u need to profile the inks... I also heard that the quality of the paper not quite consistent... have not used enough of it to tell myself... actually I printed once only on a 4R and it gave excellent results (my printer was profiled).

[zhikang]

Originally Posted by TME The aluminium paper is meant to be matte finish... it is a very nice surface and dry extremely quickly. And the print also looks fantastic. But u need to profile the inks... I also heard that the quality of the paper not quite consistent... have not used enough of it to tell myself... actually I printed once only on a 4R and it gave excellent results (my printer was profiled).

I've used the Alumina series before and it gave me crap (not profiled la...)Haha if you dont wanna go through profiling ur printer, ditch the sepoms like i did and find paper that works for u. For my Canon iP6320D, i find that Epson Premium Semi-gloss works well! Relatively cheap as compared to Canon semi-gloss. Fuji Premium Plus paper works very well too, but bloody expensive (for me as a student at least), reserved for special pictures only... Hehe...

[ConnorMcLeod]

Originally Posted by zhikang Fuji Premium Plus paper works very well too, but bloody expensive (for me as a student at least)

its still expensive for me despite I work full time :P

[Neo]

Originally Posted by ConnorMcLeod Fully agree and expect colour on print will not be the same as on screen - one is reflective (print) and the other is 'glowing' (dunno the right term).

The correct technical description would be to say that the LCD/CRT is transmissive (ie. transmitting light as a source) and the print is reflective (i.e reflecting light into your eyes).

The guys are right... paper and inks play a huge part in determining the performance of your printer. Some papers seem expensive until you see the difference it makes to your prints... the clarity of details in the shadows etc, or the glow or 3-dimensionality of your photos. Think about how much you sunk into photography to get the best images, and you'll be wondering why you wanted to skimp on a dollar per piece of A4 paper. Remember that photography is a chain-process... if you really want the best images, then everystep of the way should be as perfect as possible.

[ConnorMcLeod]

Originally Posted by Neo The correct technical description is transmissive

Originally Posted by Neo photography is a chain-process... if you really want the best images, then everystep of the way should be as perfect as possible.

Seems the alternative is go for professional prints since maintain the setup myself costs more since my usage is low.