Dragonophile

What am I doing wrong or missing? I have a notebook computer with screen and a separate Dell 27" monitor. When my pictures look good on the notebook monitor, they print out darker than I would want. So I have set up my Dell screen in a way that mimics the printed picture appearance. I have set up my notebook screen in a way that seems to make internet pictures display best. The colors are not a problem or even sharpness, but merely the level of brightness. When you calibrate a monitor, can it make pictures look equally good on the internet & printed?

I submit my photos as jpegs to a web site as a hobby. The pictures on this web site look best on my notebook screen. They are much darker on my Dell. Yet, I am planning on using my Dell when I print my next photo book because it should give me better results. When I up the brightness on the Dell screen too much, I start blowing out sky and white areas on the notebook screen. Sigh.

OK, I have my dunce cap on. Help me get it off...

yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey

Calibrate your screens using either Xrite or a Datacolor Spyder device. There is no other way to get consistent and accurate color, especially over multiple computers. BTW, the color calibrators have been going on sale this Christmas season.

Tomfl101 Loc: Mount Airy, MD

I admit I’ve never done a true calibration, but I’ve made adjustments like you and still get variance from every photo finisher I’ve ever used. What I do now when I need a large size is have a small print made first, then have the lab tweak the color and brightness, then after I’m satisfied have the large print made. I know that’s ridiculous and time consuming, but it works.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

All displays are different, only some are similar.
Look at all the TVs in a store, are they all identical in the way the picture looks?
My AMOLED phone display seems to run rings around my other displays.
To match anything, a monitor needs to be calibrated to that thing.
So, I'm guessing that not all printers are created equal either.

Don't even consider that each of us "see" things the same way either.
Each of our visual perception is different than other people's perception.

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

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

First off, displays will always be brighter than prints.

You can get close, however, by properly profiling your display, paying particular attention to the white point setting. Your display is probably factory set to 120 candelas/meter². I get good results using a setting of 80 and using the histograms in post processing to help ensure the image is the right brightness for printing. If the prints are still too bright, use a lower setting, and vice versa. This is better - and more accurate/repeatable than what you are doing now. I like the Xrite i1 Display Pro which costs around $225. The color Munki has less sophisticated software and lacks the granularity of adjustment possible with the i1. The same goes for Datacolor products - the SpyderX Pro is similar to the Munki. The SpyderX Elite is similar to the i1. I don't know if Datacolor supports displays with programmable LUTs, (Dell Ultrasharp, Eizo ColorEdge, HP Dreamcolor, and others use programmable LUTs). They never did before. Something to check out if you are looking to get a solution that is compatible with any display you might purchase in the future, if your Dell isn't an Ultrasharp model.

bleirer

"If the prints are still too bright, use a lower setting, and vice versa"

I'm hoping you typed that backwards, or maybe explain it too me, because I'm walking around thinking that if a print is too dark one would blame a too bright monitor. By the way I did calibrate based on advice from you and many others here, very worthwhile move and only about $160 for the Spyder Pro.

Rich1939 Loc: Pike County Penna.

"When you calibrate a monitor, can it make pictures look equally good on the internet & printed? "
In a word, no.

When you view on a monitor the image will always be brighter than could ever be in a print. that is just a hard and fast fact of life in he photography world.

Your use of one monitor for prints and another for the web can help you to find the right settings for each situation (usually bright for the web and considerably darker for prints. But you should also "soft proof" using your post processing software for the image you will be printing.

I don't need to use two monitors because mine has six different set up possibilities So I have one adjusted for prints and another for sRGB for the web. If I didn't have that I might consider a second monitor.

PS: when setting the monitor brightness for prints try to compensate it for the lighting conditions the print will be viewed under.
PPS: Gene's suggestion to use your processors histogram to adjust an image's brightness should be followed. Our eyes tend to lie to us when we judge that.

Dragonophile

It seems several are saying that what I am experiencing is not unusual because monitors are backlit and paper is not. Others suggest I calibrate my monitor and my results will be better. Colors are not my problem. Does calibrating solve my screen versus printing brightness problem?

Rich1939: yes, that was a lesson I learned early on. I only edit at night under lights. When I edit under daytime/sunlight, the results do get skewed.

Rich1939 Loc: Pike County Penna.

"Does calibrating solve my screen versus printing brightness problem? "
Not directly. Calibration is mostly for colors. I use a Spyder calibration which will suggest brightness based on what my ambient lighting is. I usually ignore that and set the brightness for the print screen to 80 CD/M2. The Spyder will then calibrate the colors using that setting.

bleirer

I know the Spyder will assist you in setting the initial brightness and then monitor the room light as you work and make an adjustment as needed. Ideally you will have little or no sunlight in the room where you edit, at least not direct light.

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

Typed it before coffee.

I meant if the prints are too dark, use a lower setting.

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

On laptops, you can only calibrate a laptop for a particular use in particular light; each time you move you would need to recalibrate to match that light. It is not unusual for images to print out darker than a screen. Is there a setting in your software where you can lighten the photo when you set it up to print? Lightroom has such a setting. It's mostly a trial and error approach when printing to get the brightness correct if all of your equipment is not matched up. Are you using the correct ICC profile for your paper?

Dragonophile

Not sure about the ICC profile for paper. I have photo albums printed by Shutterfly and Adoramapix and I have set my Dell computer to the brightness shown in those printed jpegs. Both albums are comparable in brightness.

User ID

Seems to me that would defeat his efforts.
At present, without Xrite etc he already has
a reasonably useful calibration regime. The
notebook screen represents good output for
any uses online, electronic display, etc etc
while the 27" Dell monitor represents good
output for printing. Thus, any effort to get
both screens to match would deprive him
of his current useful means of previewing
his results for two different forms of image
presentation.

IOW there is nothing to be gained, AND
something useful to be lost, by following
your recommendation. Carefully read the
opening post to see what I mean.