Photoshop - Costco (Page 2): Is your new monitor in a different place, different light? Have you compared the new and old monitors side by side?

JD750 Loc: SoCal

Jules Karney wrote:

Yes that's right. My photoshop finished shots are right on with exposure, etc. Send to Costco and they come back much lighter. She ran them twice once with auto on and once with don't touch my exposure. They were nice about it. Dry Creek is to much for me to understand at my age. Help!!

Is your new monitor in a different place, different light? Have you compared the new and old monitors side by side?

Photographer Jim Loc: Rio Vista, CA

Jules Karney wrote:

Yes that's right. My photoshop finished shots are right on with exposure, etc. Send to Costco and they come back much lighter. She ran them twice once with auto on and once with don't touch my exposure. They were nice about it.
Dry Creek is to much for me to understand at my age. Help!!

Unless you are adjusting the print file using Costco’s profiles loaded into PS when you edit AND you have calibrated your monitor you will continue to be “shooting in the dark” to get back images that are what you expect. Look at the steps I outlined earlier. It works.

Deanie1113

Photographer Jim wrote:

Unless you are adjusting the print file using Costco’s profiles loaded into PS when you edit AND you have calibrated your monitor you will continue to be “shooting in the dark” to get back images that are what you expect. Look at the steps I outlined earlier. It works.

Can you load Costco's profiles into LR also?

Jimmy T Loc: Virginia

Jules Karney wrote:

From my Photoshop to Costco my colors are way off. I asked Costco and they said go to printer profiles and Dry Creek Photos will help you. I did just that, ever try to understand what Dry Creek is talking about. For an old guy it's not me. Any easy answers out there?
Thank you.

Have you tried
https://www.drycreekphoto.com/
Smile,
Jimmy T Sends

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

[quote=Photographer Jim]1) Be sure to calibrate your monitor. VERY important!

2) Download the printer profiles provided by Costco on their site, and install in Photoshop. (Directions easily found on internet)

3) when you edit in photoshop with the intent to print at Costco, first select the Costco profile. [View > Proof Setup > Custom > (in the pop up window, select the Costco profile under Device to Simulate)

4 edit the image (saturation, brightness, exposure, etc.) until it is what you want.

5) save the file ( I usually designate it’s the Costco proof in file name)

6) upload file to Costco.

7 Be SURE to check box indicating that Costco NOT do any color correction.

You resulting print should be more of what you expect.[/quote]

applepie1951 Loc: Los Angeles,California

I had the same problem a couple of years ago, and the solution it to calibrate your monitor, I use dual monitors (Apple Thunderbolt 27”) both calibrated and since doing that never have any problems plus check - Do Not Ajust when checking out - the calibration solved my problem which was same as yours, what I see now on my monitors is exactly what I get, and I only let the print non important things like Birthday parties, baby showers, Road Trip, etc. any high end client work I’m paid to do I send to PCL West professional Lab prints are more then Costco but better quality, never never never had any print problem at that Lab,but AGAIN MY MONITORS ARE CALIBRATED,

waymond Loc: Pflugerville, Texas

How do you calibrate your monitor?

Thanks.

bleirer

waymond wrote:

How do you calibrate your monitor?

Thanks.

Buy this: https://spyderx.datacolor.com/shop/

It plugs into a usb port on the computer. You hang it over the screen about once a month and it measures the actual colors on the screen, compares them to a standard, and makes a profile to adjust the colors and brightness to the standard. Photoshop uses the profile to display 'correct' colors. As you work the device reads the room light and adjusts the screen brightness in response.

CanonShot Loc: Lancaster County, PA

James Van Ells wrote:

Do not allow any changes to your images. I quit doing that years ago and have been satisfied ever since.

This is exactly what I did, too, as a suggestion from our camera club prez. Costco is one of my favs due to the printers they use.

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

I use Costco a lot. I frequently say that their machines "eat" red. So I do sometimes bump up the red a bit. Sometimes it's OK. I did download the stuff from Dry Creek for the store I use, and I can "look" at the image with that applied before I send it off to be printed. Normally I see little difference, if any. I would say that if you consistently find the same differences between what you see and what gets printed, then you learn to adjust your images before sending them to Costco.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Jules Karney wrote:

From my Photoshop to Costco my colors are way off. I asked Costco and they said go to printer profiles and Dry Creek Photos will help you. I did just that, ever try to understand what Dry Creek is talking about. For an old guy it's not me. Any easy answers out there?
Thank you.

Do you calibrate your monitor?

The way the ICC profiles work from Dry Creek or any other ICC profiles for that matter is that you can "proof" your image from Photoshop or Lightroom. After installing the profile the way you are instructed by Dry Creek, then in Photoshop you choose that profile under proof, then you can click on the gamut menu and see what colors are out of gamut. By adjusting your colors so that they look right on your screen and are mostly in gamut, you will get what you see. The most important thing to make sure you do is calibrate your monitor. After you are done with your proofing, turn that off, save the file as an sRGB, then send it to Costco. Done.

Picture Taker Loc: Michigan Thumb

At Costco, when you enter your pictures, toward the end of the computer program to enter you pictures it asked something ,to the effect, do you want them fixed or corrected--SAY NO

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Jules Karney wrote:

From my Photoshop to Costco my colors are way off. I asked Costco and they said go to printer profiles and Dry Creek Photos will help you. I did just that, ever try to understand what Dry Creek is talking about. For an old guy it's not me. Any easy answers out there?
Thank you.

1. Calibrate your computer monitor (with a Datacolor Spyder or X-Rite ColorMunki or similar).

2. Install printer profiles that will give you reasonably accurate "soft proofing" in Photoshop.

A computer monitor designed for graphics work, with wider dynamic range and a broader range of colors can do a better job soft proofing an image... giving you a preview of what to expect in a print. But even with that type of monitor soft proofing is never perfect. What you see on the computer screen is illuminated by back lighting and constrained by the monitor's dynamic range. The print made from an image is viewed by reflected light and is influenced by the brightness and texture of the paper... often has greater dynamic range than displayed on-screen. With experience you learn to allow for these differences. (If you constantly switch printers, you'll be constantly starting over learning their nuances.)

jayluber Loc: Phoenix, AZ

I've had issues with prints and metal prints from Costco with colors being off and prints coming out too dark. So what I do now is send off a photo to be printed (paper or metal) and print at a smaller size. Get the print back and then calibrate my monitor to exactly (or as close as possible) match the photo. Then save the calibration. I then use the Costco calibration to edit my photo before I send it out. The metal print calibration is different from the store print one. And even after all of that I still need to lighten up my photo a bit bit before I send for metal print. Then I just return the first test bed photo.

I only need to do this once a year or two as I find the Fugi Film lab that prints the metal photos is pretty consistent over time.

I tried calling them at first but they were no help at all.

jayluber Loc: Phoenix, AZ

Oh.. I forgot - I calibrate my monitor with Datacolor SpyderPro every month or so. And the prints are always different from what I see on my iMac.
If you can't beat em - join em.