Texukdoc

I am using an iMac about two years old with a 5K retina display and have not attempted to adjust its screen calibration. Most of the time photos uploaded from my camera or phone appear reasonable. When I have tried to print [and I admit I have only got a lowly all in one printer at the moment, an Epson XP 820] the color balance is way off. Until I retire my need for printing will be relatively rare but as soon as I do retire I plan to acquire a dedicated photo printer. In the meantime I would like to be able to produce acceptable prints with the equipment I have. Calibrating the computer screen is a mystery to me and when I print I want to be able to reproduce what I see on the screen. Any help would be appreciated

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

One place to start would be with a screen calibration device.
They are available from many sources, including B&H Photo and Adorama.
They come with detailed instructions and UHH members who use them are generally pleased with the results.

G Brown Loc: Sunny Bognor Regis West Sussex UK

depending upon the amount of prints you intend to produce, the easist way to 'correct' the printed image is to adjust in post processing and redo. after some practice you will be able to PP to suit your printer. An all in one printer will not have the ability to produce anything more than an 'acceptable' rendition, and going the 'calibration' route can be costly and needs to be regularly tweeked.
Alternately
send the same group of images to several different outside printers (see what free offers are available for 'first orders') there is a variation in 'their' colour printing too...you may find one that meets your needs.

The back lighting of your monitor could also be too high (making dull colours 'brighter) try adjusting manually your monitor. and see how bright your room is when viewing images. (a darker room is best)

have fun

SonyA580 Loc: FL in the winter & MN in the summer

If you have a laptop, because the color, contrast and saturation changes with the angle of the screen, you will never calibrate it satisfactorily. Your best bet is to by an auxiliary monitor. Personally, I use GBrowns method for monitor calibration using COSTCO prints.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

Regardless, software alone will not calibrate the color on your screen to match printer output. You will need something like a Spyder Pro Elite or a ColorMunki. For printing, depending on what software you use and what paper you are loading, there are printer color profiles available from paper vendors.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

You won't get a match because a print is reflective and a display is backlit. Also, the gamut will likely be a little different between the two. But you can come acceptably close.

If you use OEM paper and ink (highly recommended, btw), you can probably get away with just profiling your screen and keeping that profile current. I profile my display every 30 days. It does drift.

I suggest using an XRite i1 display Pro $240 at B and H. It also can be purchased with a ColorChecker Passport as a bundle for $300. The CCP is a camera profiling tool, and probably the best and most consistent way to get your camera to record accurate color.

The i1 is better than the entry level devices like the ColorMunki and the Sypder from Datacolor because the software has finer adjustment capability. Instead of steps you get continuously variable adjustment. There is no chance of needing make an adjustment that is "in between" two steps.

Largobob

An iMac is not a laptop...

It has an outstanding 5K resolution monitor...

I'm guessing it's not the monitor....It's the quality of the printer...

jeryh Loc: Oxfordshire UK

I think you will find that the current retina displays are factory set; I did attempt to do this a while ago- no dice; and really it isn't necessary,
the Apple monitors are first class, as usual. Aftermarket stuff does warrant calibration after a while, even the top stuff.

NBBPH Loc: Indiana

Use a quality monitor (that usually meant $1000+ Eizo or LaCie), and a good printer; I am familiar with and happy with the Canon pro printers. Calibrate the monitor and calibrate the printer using the paper you are going to use for printing. If you use more than one paper you must calibrate with each paper. Even with all of this you will never get an exact match because what you see on the screen is produced by an entirely different method than what you see on paper. I will not go into details. But you should get very satisfactory, and pleasing results. And, if necessary, after all of the calibration you may have to tweak the system slightly to get what you want.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

I also have the XP 820. If I need a good print, I look to a commercial outfit. All-in-ones have five cartridges, you need six or more to get much better quality. I might do some trial and error post processing if I want my print to be a better match for what I see on my uncalibrated monitor.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

A Retina display is a good one... But I have never seen ANY monitor that didn't benefit from calibration. Some of them A LOT!

Straight out of the box, virtually all monitors are too bright for proper photo editing. That causes you to make your images too dark and they will print that way.

Likely the color rendition isn't entirely correct, either. It's also influenced by ambient lighting conditions.

And, it's true, monitors are "transmissive", while prints are "reflective"... Also, monitors never display "true" black or "pure" white. Prints done with a high quality photo printer are able to show a greater dynamic range. If you make a print on smooth, matte paper you will usually see additional shadow and highlight detail, that wasn't visible on the computer monitor.

So it's impossible to ever make the monitor and a print match perfectly. But you need to get them as close as possible.... and that can only be done by calibration. Some people try to calibrate by eye... make a print and compare it to the display, make some adjustments and make another print, compare it.... etc. You'll waste a LOT of paper and ink doing that. Trying to do it by eye also is never as accurate and repeatable as using a calibration device. Ultimately a calibration device will pay for itself in savings of wasted paper and ink. How quickly it does so just depends upon how much printing you do. But, calibration will not only improve your prints... it also will effect the accuracy of your images however you share them... even online display will be improved (though you obviously can't control the display of your images on other peoples' computer monitors).

AND monitors change brightness and color rendition gradually over time, so they need to be re-calibrated periodically. Some folks are obsessive about it, running calibration weekly or even daily. I do it monthly and am happy with that. To give you some idea... my monitor is 6 or 7 years old. When I first got it, calibration had me set the brightness to "20". Not sure if that's a percentage or what... and I don't recall what the default setting way... but I can tell you it was WAY too bright. After many years of use, calibration now has me set my monitor brightness to just over "50". That's how much it's changed over the years. Color rendition has shifted, too... though it's not as easily defined or compared. But, regular re-calibration has kept my results consistent over the years... and just as accurate today as they were 7 years ago.

Other brands work similarly, but what I use a Datacolor Spyder. It's a suite or hardware and software. After loading the software, a "colorimiter" sensor attached via a USB cable is placed on the screen and first used to measure and adjust brightness. Once that's done, the software automatically displays a series of color patches that are measured to create a color profile. It takes about five minutes for the process. Afterward it displays a confirmation screen with reports, before and after comparisons with a variety of sample images and more. The monitor profile that was created is saved and applied each time the computer is booted up. The software also can be set to give reminders when re-calibration needs to be done.

A calibration suite doesn't need to be all that expensive... some of the simpler ones from Datacolor and X-Rite are under $150. That will do the job described. I spent a bit more for one that can be used for other things (such as calibrating digital projectors and various types of TVs, even making custom printer profiles).

Some calibration devices are even able to work "real time". They detect changes in the ambient lighting and adjust the display on the fly. (Mine can do that... but instead I am set up in a workspace that has pretty consistent and controllable lighting, and have made a nice, deep shade for my monitor as an added precaution.)

My recommendation... Get a calibration device, start saving money, avoiding frustration, and making more accurate adjustments to your images.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

The $150 to $250 you spend on a calibration and profiling kit will save a LOT of money, time, and frustration, once you use it correctly.

I have an iMac and a cheap Epson. My prints closely match my monitor. I use a Spyder5Pro from DataColor.

Of course, ICC color management is a SYSTEM. All parts must be used correctly from end to end. Monitor calibration is THE critical link in the middle of the chain.

gerdog

Make sure to check the printer settings for the type of paper you are printing on and that the quality is set to "best." There can also be differences in color quality between different programs as well. When I get sloppy and forget to check my printer settings, I am always disappointed with the results.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

And let EITHER the driver OR your software manage color... not both! Double profiling makes a mess.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

I also use a iMac 5k to print from. The get acceptable prints, it is absolutely necessary to color calibrate your monitor. I use a Spyder 5 for this purpose and am more than satisfied. From there, you need to know what paper you're using and have the proper icc profile for your combination of paper, ink and printer. Using a printer with 4 inks will never produce anything except a mediocre print, so a printer designed to print photos is also important. I currently use an Epson P 800 for this task, with only OEM ink. I use Red River paper, almost exclusively. Lastly, your software must be set properly so that you are not double managing the process as Bill indicated. It sounds horrific, but once you've actually done it and followed through, it's not bad at all, and the results, and cost savings, are well worth it. Best of luck.