Trying to correct printing technique.

[lordpain]

Hi, I have been printing my own photos for quite some time, but would still consider myself a newbie to it. Currently I have some problems trying to get really sharp photos on my printouts. Maybe some pros here would like to share their workflow? I mean look at those people that print out at 44 inches wide. How do they get tact sharp photo printouts?

I suspect that my raw photos is bad, but usually when i see on my screen, it looks perfectly fine even when I zoom to 100%, it seems really fine to me. But when I print it out on a full A4, the printouts does not seem sharp. Currently, I work all on photoshop, and letting photoshop manage my colors with my own generated color profile. Problems also include noise can sometimes be really bad, though I have used Noise Ninja. Maybe someone can help?

[kandinsky]

More details will help:
What printer/paper/ink are you using?
What camera/settings are you shooting with?

If you can share an image file you are having problems with, that'll help too.

[jfoo]

listing your workflow procedure will help to find out where the problem area is.

[eudon]

Screen and print sharpening are very different. You really have to over sharpen (on screen) to get decent sharpness on print outs. I mean really over sharpen... to the point it looks ruined at 100%.

As an experiment try to make a composite A4 printout made up of 4-5 narrow strips of the same portion of a target photo. Increase the sharpening for each strip and do a test print. It will be a revelation and worth the paper and the ink.

Also take a look at Photokit sharpener, it differentiates between Capture Output and Creative sharpening. And output sharpening is done very specific to paper and printer.

Eudon

[khai]

eudon is spot on!

Originally Posted by eudon Screen and print sharpening are very different. You really have to over sharpen (on screen) to get decent sharpness on print outs. I mean really over sharpen... to the point it looks ruined at 100%. As an experiment try to make a composite A4 printout made up of 4-5 narrow strips of the same portion of a target photo. Increase the sharpening for each strip and do a test print. It will be a revelation and worth the paper and the ink. Also take a look at Photokit sharpener, it differentiates between Capture Output and Creative sharpening. And output sharpening is done very specific to paper and printer. Eudon

[lordpain]

Originally Posted by eudon Screen and print sharpening are very different. You really have to over sharpen (on screen) to get decent sharpness on print outs. I mean really over sharpen... to the point it looks ruined at 100%. As an experiment try to make a composite A4 printout made up of 4-5 narrow strips of the same portion of a target photo. Increase the sharpening for each strip and do a test print. It will be a revelation and worth the paper and the ink. Also take a look at Photokit sharpener, it differentiates between Capture Output and Creative sharpening. And output sharpening is done very specific to paper and printer. Eudon

Hi eudon,

Thanks for the tip. Regarding the experiment, do I have to do that for every paper profile that goes with my workflow? So like, once I have found my optimal settings I could set it as a photoshop action, and just make it run before I print out my photos? Or does it work with that particular photo. If it is like this, I think there should be a better way to do it other than to trial and error right? So any pros would like to educate us?

[jfoo]

you'll will need to have a different profile for each type of paper.

in addition, is your monitor calibrated to match the print? if not you will be wasting a lot of money in print and ink.

[lordpain]

hi, my monitor is not calibrated for print. hmm. maybe jfoo, you culd share how could i manage my prints? i really do not know where to start. all i have been doing is pretty much trial and error.

[khai]

hi bro lordpain, i'm not sure if you meant that your monitor is not calibrated for print or not calibrated at all. but anyway...

these basic steps should get you started:
(assuming you will eventually edit and print from photoshop)

1. monitor must be calibrated (can use whichever system of your choice; spyder eg)

2. you should have profiles for the different paper types. for e.g., if you are using canon printer + paper, you can use the profiles that comes with the printer driver. if you use third party paper e.g. ilford, you can download the profile from their website.

3. preparing for print: do all the basic processing + creative work on your image. then you need to soft proof based on the paper profile. at this stage, your beautiful image will look terrible as the computer shows you a preview of how it will look when printed. remember, screen view is based on light transmission and print is based on light reflectivity. also contrast ratios are different between screen and ink on paper.

4. correct the image. copy / open the image as a new version and make corrections so that the soft-proofed image regains the quality of the initial image. what i find i need to do mostly at this stage is curves. i usually use two curves; one for colour, one for luminance.

5. i usually sharpen right at the end. and as bro eudon mentioned, sharpening for print is different than for screen. most times, it looks oversharpened on screen, but ok on print. this needs a few tests / runs then you can have a feel for the amount of sharpening needed based on the image type (portraiture or landscape etc), output size, colour, dynamic range... each print is slightly different but after a while you get the hang of it.

6. print. make sure to let photoshop manage colours, and turn off colour correction in the printer side. make sure the profile should be set to the document, and not the proof.

7. practice makes perfect! enjoy! nowadays making a good print is as satisfying as taking the photo

[eudon]

Ideally yes, especially depending on the size and the texture of the paper. Matte paper needs less than glossy i feel. And the larger the print the less sharpening you need. Remember that you should be viewing your print a decent distance away. Well most people would, only other photographers/printers would look at the print very close up to pixel peep.

Having said that, once you get a feel of how much you should over sharpen you should need, you can apply that to all papers. Unless its a critical print (i.e. for competition or exhibition) then do test strips again.

Eudon

Originally Posted by lordpain Hi eudon, Thanks for the tip. Regarding the experiment, do I have to do that for every paper profile that goes with my workflow? So like, once I have found my optimal settings I could set it as a photoshop action, and just make it run before I print out my photos? Or does it work with that particular photo. If it is like this, I think there should be a better way to do it other than to trial and error right? So any pros would like to educate us?