Dark Printing


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HTCahHTC

Senior Member
May 9, 2008
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hello CSers!
recently went to print out some pictures for testing.
but it turned out pretty dark although the computer reflected the exposure as the way i wanted the picture to turn out to be.
printed in RGB was dark. printed in CMYK was way darker.
any solutions? or do i have to up the exposure before sending it for printing? :dunno:
or do i just suck?
thanks!

btw all were lab printed and instant printed. results were the same.
 

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hello CSers!
recently went to print out some pictures for testing.
but it turned out pretty dark although the computer reflected the exposure as the way i wanted the picture to turn out to be.
printed in RGB was dark. printed in CMYK was way darker.
any solutions? or do i have to up the exposure before sending it for printing? :dunno:
or do i just suck?
thanks!

This is roughly what you need to do. First of all, you need to calibrate your monitor. Calibration will ensure that your monitor correctly reflect the color, contrast and brightness. The second step is to ensure that you use the correct paper profile. This will depend on the printer and paper. Most print or paper manufacturers provide canned profile of their papers that you can download from their websites. Cheers!
 

This is roughly what you need to do. First of all, you need to calibrate your monitor. Calibration will ensure that your monitor correctly reflect the color, contrast and brightness. The second step is to ensure that you use the correct paper profile. This will depend on the printer and paper. Most print or paper manufacturers provide canned profile of their papers that you can download from their websites. Cheers!

wa. fast reply. thanks thanks ;)
but i sent the exact same shots for instant print. seems to have the same problem too?
 

wa. fast reply. thanks thanks ;)
but i sent the exact same shots for instant print. seems to have the same problem too?

Same reason...you need to calibrate monitor first to get baseline. At the printer, you may need to make minor adj..but printing yourself is still the best if you want total control.
 

Hi TS..... did you PhotoShop your pics ??

Even after calibrating my monitor.... I always felt that my Canon printer would produce a darker print. Even those common photolab warn me not to PS my photo or get the same 'darken' result. :sweat:

I used to save my pics in Jpeg after PS and then print using Canon's own printing software.... But now I start to print straight from PS itself, and is getting better result :thumbsup:.

Not too sure..... but maybe the Canon software (like those at the PhotoLab) have a slightly difference way of 'Reading' colors and tones of Adobe PhotoShop.... and could have cause the problem. Which is why most Pro recommed that we not only calibrate our mointor, but also our printer.

Hope this helps. :thumbsup:
 

That is quite a rubbish "warning".

Not too sure.... but thats what the Shop Assistant said to me. That's why I end up printing my 200+ photo of my recent trip myself.... :bsmilie:
 

Not too sure.... but thats what the Shop Assistant said to me. That's why I end up printing my 200+ photo of my recent trip myself.... :bsmilie:

it is quite obvious that the shop assistant does not understand color management.

When you let the printer manage the color, the printer will use a generic profile, a one size fits all. This will not give you the right color and likely cause the dark print.

When you let photoshop manage your color, it basically means photoshop will control the output color in conjunction with the printer/paper profile. This is the most "accurate" way of printing. To take it one more level up, you shld also do soft proofing before printing. Soft proofing is necessary because a photo will look diff on the monitor than on paper. This is because a monitor is a light emitting device whereas a paper reflect light. Proofing is the final step of printing where you try to match as closely as possible the output from the monitor against a simulated printed output. You do this usually thru varying the color and contrast. In photoshop, we usually use the curve tool and the hue/saturation.
 

it is quite obvious that the shop assistant does not understand color management.

When you let the printer manage the color, the printer will use a generic profile, a one size fits all. This will not give you the right color and likely cause the dark print.

When you let photoshop manage your color, it basically means photoshop will control the output color in conjunction with the printer/paper profile. This is the most "accurate" way of printing. To take it one more level up, you shld also do soft proofing before printing. Soft proofing is necessary because a photo will look diff on the monitor than on paper. This is because a monitor is a light emitting device whereas a paper reflect light. Proofing is the final step of printing where you try to match as closely as possible the output from the monitor against a simulated printed output. You do this usually thru varying the color and contrast. In photoshop, we usually use the curve tool and the hue/saturation.

Hahaha.... it is one of those neighbourhood - Mass Produces - PhotoLab.... with workers that are overworked, and underpaid..... quite likely he understands the color management part..... but don't really gives a da**. :bsmilie: But at 20 cents or less a print.... can't really blame them :sweat:
 

hey...
yeah, i did ps my image before printing.
seems like quite a number of people is facing this problem? :dunno:
main thing is, should i up the exposure level before sending for print (assuming that all the pictures are of desired exposure without calibrating my present monitor)?
 

My solution.

Find a quality lab that knows what they are doing. I go to K-100 (basement of Excelsior Hotel, next to Funan, on the side facing Central Fire Station) and without fail my prints are of same colour as what I see on my screen.

It helps to find out what colourspace they work and print in (usually sRGB, as consumer cameras also output as sRGB), calibrate your monitor and working space to sRGB and do a proofing before you burn your images to a CD.

I usually tell them not to make any adjustments and it comes out fine.
 

My solution.

Find a quality lab that knows what they are doing. I go to K-100 (basement of Excelsior Hotel, next to Funan, on the side facing Central Fire Station) and without fail my prints are of same colour as what I see on my screen.

It helps to find out what colourspace they work and print in (usually sRGB, as consumer cameras also output as sRGB), calibrate your monitor and working space to sRGB and do a proofing before you burn your images to a CD.

I usually tell them not to make any adjustments and it comes out fine.

ok!
thanks!
i normally print at sunshine plaza off bencoolen street!
now i have another new place! ;)
 

ok!
thanks!
i normally print at sunshine plaza off bencoolen street!
now i have another new place! ;)

Erm, would that be digital print shops or photo labs? AFAIK, sunshine plaza is a hub for digital print (on paper), not photo print.
 

Erm, would that be digital print shops or photo labs? AFAIK, sunshine plaza is a hub for digital print (on paper), not photo print.

but the shop that i went is also specialize in photo prints.
can't remember the name though.
 

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