printing problems: hi all, i am sure this has come up before but i have tried to print a pic and its printing way darker than what i see on the screen, to the point where all detail is...

billozz Loc: Birmingham, England

hi all,
i am sure this has come up before but i have tried to print a pic and its printing way darker than what i see on the screen, to the point where all detail is gone in some of the darker areas of the pic. is there a method for printing different areas of the pic with slightly different brightness etc levels all on one sheet, so that i can pic the settings i like and print with those settings
thanks
Bill

normsImages Loc: Alabama for now

The most common problem Ive seen is the brightness on the monitor is too high. Are the colors correct between the print and monitor if not try calibrating the monitor. Another issue is matching the printer profile with the paper being used

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

Calibrate your monitor.

big-guy Loc: Peterborough Ontario Canada

Another common problem is dual profiling. Where you tell the printer to profile the print and also let your software do profiling. It can make for some real interesting effects but most of them are baaaaad. Turn off one or the other.

TucsonCoyote Loc: Tucson AZ

billozz wrote:

hi all,
i am sure this has come up before but i have tried to print a pic and its printing way darker than what i see on the screen, to the point where all detail is gone in some of the darker areas of the pic. is there a method for printing different areas of the pic with slightly different brightness etc levels all on one sheet, so that i can pic the settings i like and print with those settings
thanks
Bill

As one who has quit printing pics due to the exorbitant cost of ink I will say this.
Unless you have high end hardware and software ($$) that allows you to print exactly what you see on your screen the easiest way is to print a few shots and adjust your printer settings..............me I just send pics that need to be printed to either of my sisters who like to and can afford to print then send pictures to whoever needs one.
Also here in southern Arizona it is so damned dry that it takes half your ink to clear the printer nozzles if you can do it at all !
I wish they would come up with less costly digital frames you could send to whoever you wanted to send pictures to who don't have a PC.
We will get there I'm sure!

Wall-E Loc: Phoenix, AZ

normsImages wrote:

The most common problem Ive seen is the brightness on the monitor is too high. Are the colors correct between the print and monitor if not try calibrating the monitor.

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Mason Jar Loc: Mason, OH

My solution is to have them printed by the camera shop. At Dodd Camera here in OH they charge $0.29 for 4x6 print unless I join their "club" which saves $0.03 ea. It costs about $0.395 ea for me to print myself for paper and ink, not to mention a printer, ink, etc. I can pic them up the next day( same day if ordered early enough). Or mailed takes to 2nd day. Saves me $0.10 per print and they always have great quality. I can email them the shots too. Unless I'm in a hurry for the print, it makes a lot more sense ( and cents) plus NO frustrations.

Wall-E Loc: Phoenix, AZ

Mason Jar wrote:

My solution is to have them printed by the camera ... (show quote)

So....They do their own color/brightness corrections?
Cuz the OP is complaining about *D*A*R*K* prints compared to what they see on the screen

normsImages Loc: Alabama for now

Mason Jar wrote:

My solution is to have them printed by the camera ... (show quote)

I used to use a local lab. He went out of business 2 years ago. The next closed lab is over an hour away. Most of my printing is 8 x 10 and 11 x 14 doing my own save me $$ along with control of what I get. It just works better in my case. Everyone is different, depends on how much and sizes you print. Any thing less than 5x7 is not cost effective for me.

f4frank

billozz wrote:

hi all,
i am sure this has come up before but i have tried to print a pic and its printing way darker than what i see on the screen, to the point where all detail is gone in some of the darker areas of the pic. is there a method for printing different areas of the pic with slightly different brightness etc levels all on one sheet, so that i can pic the settings i like and print with those settings
thanks
Bill

Bill;
First, second, third and fourth; PROFILE YOUR MONITOR.
Make sure that your ambient lighting in your work area is correctly set and measured, this does and will effect how images are seen. Then and only then can you expect your images to reflect what was viewed on your monitor.
If your interested in printing your own images then step two is building a custom profile for your paper and printer.
While most paper manufacturers offer icc profiles for their papers they are generic in nature and may not provide the full gamet possible on your media. Depending on your type of equipment, MAC or PC, there are comparative tools that will allow you to view custom vs. generic profiles and be able to see when they differ. These tools are FREE for the PC and come preloaded with MAC's.