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Question about having prints made
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Jul 31, 2021 09:05:59   #
rhudston Loc: Nova Scotia
 
I am trying to have some images printed but they keep coming back with a yellowish cast. First I tried the Costco photo lab, and I thought it was their error, so I went to a local photo lab to have prints made. Same result. They told me I needed to calibrate my monitor so I could see the image as it would be printed. I bought a Spyder device to calibrate my monitor, but soon found it was not possible to get my monitor to agree with the actual prints. Next I bought an Acer monitor which is supposed to be 99% accurate in Adobe RGB. I brightened the digital images with Capture One, saved them as Adobe RGB .jpgs and took them back to the photo lab. One of the images is a black & white scene of trees and snow, and I raised the blue tones to make the snow even whiter and remove any vestige of yellow. I had test prints made this time - 5 x 7 - and they are still yellowish. So frustrated. What am I doing wrong? In one of the of the images the subject is wearing a blue checked shirt, but the print shows the shirt as almost grey. In another the subject's face is lit by firelight, but the print is far darker than the digital image. I can't even adjust my monitor's brightness down far enough to be as dark as the print. Am I making some error in saving the digital files?

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Jul 31, 2021 09:18:48   #
CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City
 
First, unless the lab says in writing they will accept and print Adobe RGB, you should not be using this colorspace in your print files. Rather, create your print-file images in sRGB.

Next, (1) tell us about your capture workflow. Do you capture in RAW? Is your digital editor set to ProPhotoRGB? What digital edit software are you using? (1a) If you capture in JPEG, what colorspace in the camera? What colorspace in the digital editor?

(2) When you calibrated your monitor and looked at any of your 'yellowish' images sent to print with no new changes to the files, could you then see the yellow in the calibrated screen that matched to your print in your hand?

(3) Where are you editing? How is the room lit, what types of lights, any external facing windows?

(4) Post and store some examples. Any / all of us with calibrated monitors should 'see' the same color issues. Actual images will save you tens of thousands of words attempting to describe. We can also inspect / confirm the actual colorspace of the attachment, where we regularly see people posting to UHH claiming 'x', when the file says clearly 'y'.

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Jul 31, 2021 09:42:42   #
Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States
 
CHG_CANON wrote:
First, unless the lab says in writing they will accept and print Adobe RGB, you should not be using this colorspace in your print files. Rather, create your print-file images in sRGB.

Next, (1) tell us about your capture workflow. Do you capture in RAW? Is your digital editor set to ProPhotoRGB? What digital edit software are you use? (1a) if you capture in JPEG, what colorspace in the camera? What colorspace in the digital editor?

(2) When you calibrated your monitor and looked at any of your 'yellowish' images sent to print with no new changes to the files, could you then see the yellow in the calibrated screen that matched to your print in your hand?

(3) Where are you editing? How is the room lit, what types of lights, any external facing windows?

(4) Post and store some examples. Any / all of us with calibrated monitors should 'see' the same color issues. Actual images will save you tens of thousands of words attempting to describe. We can also inspect / confirm the actual colorspace of the attachment, where we regularly see people posting to UHH claiming 'x', when the file says clearly 'y'.
First, unless the lab says u in writing /u they ... (show quote)


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Jul 31, 2021 10:06:51   #
mikegreenwald Loc: Illinois
 
rhudston wrote:
I am trying to have some images printed but they keep coming back with a yellowish cast. First I tried the Costco photo lab, and I thought it was their error, so I went to a local photo lab to have prints made. Same result. They told me I needed to calibrate my monitor so I could see the image as it would be printed. I bought a Spyder device to calibrate my monitor, but soon found it was not possible to get my monitor to agree with the actual prints. Next I bought an Acer monitor which is supposed to be 99% accurate in Adobe RGB. I brightened the digital images with Capture One, saved them as Adobe RGB .jpgs and took them back to the photo lab. One of the images is a black & white scene of trees and snow, and I raised the blue tones to make the snow even whiter and remove any vestige of yellow. I had test prints made this time - 5 x 7 - and they are still yellowish. So frustrated. What am I doing wrong? In one of the of the images the subject is wearing a blue checked shirt, but the print shows the shirt as almost grey. In another the subject's face is lit by firelight, but the print is far darker than the digital image. I can't even adjust my monitor's brightness down far enough to be as dark as the print. Am I making some error in saving the digital files?
I am trying to have some images printed but they k... (show quote)


"X"

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Jul 31, 2021 10:13:03   #
TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC
 
The second part of a calibrated workflow is to soft proof the image. First, download the ICC profile from your printing company and install it. Then, in your post processing application enable soft proofing using that profile. Then adjust the image based on that view.

Also as a side note, if you print at home, download the ICC profile for your particular paper and install that, making sure to disable Windows color management for your printer, letting your PP application handle management.

Reply
Jul 31, 2021 11:47:12   #
rhudston Loc: Nova Scotia
 
CHG_CANON wrote:
First, unless the lab says in writing they will accept and print Adobe RGB, you should not be using this colorspace in your print files. Rather, create your print-file images in sRGB.

Next, (1) tell us about your capture workflow. Do you capture in RAW? Is your digital editor set to ProPhotoRGB? What digital edit software are you using? (1a) If you capture in JPEG, what colorspace in the camera? What colorspace in the digital editor?

(2) When you calibrated your monitor and looked at any of your 'yellowish' images sent to print with no new changes to the files, could you then see the yellow in the calibrated screen that matched to your print in your hand?

(3) Where are you editing? How is the room lit, what types of lights, any external facing windows?

(4) Post and store some examples. Any / all of us with calibrated monitors should 'see' the same color issues. Actual images will save you tens of thousands of words attempting to describe. We can also inspect / confirm the actual colorspace of the attachment, where we regularly see people posting to UHH claiming 'x', when the file says clearly 'y'.
First, unless the lab says u in writing /u they ... (show quote)


Hello and thanks for the reply.

1), 1a), and 4) The files that I sent to the Costco lab were in sRGB and the first set that I took to the photo lab were in sRGB. The owner of the photo shop told me to save them in Adobe RGB, but a second set of prints made no noticeable difference. I'm going to try a different photo lab and I'll take a set in both colourspaces and ask their preference. I've attached four originals and four edited images. Images 1 and 2 were shot on a Pentax K110D as .jpg auto. Image 3 is from a cell phone (.jpg), Image 4 was shot on a Fuji as RAW, Provia Standard, colour chrome effect off, dynamic range auto. Unfortunately I can't give much accurate information about which digital editor was used for each image - I use both Capture One 21 and Photoshop Elements. Image 2 was changed to black & white with Photoshop, both masking and cloning were used in all images. Exposure, luminescence, and colour adjustments were done with Capture One. I haven't found ProPhotoRGB in either program, but in hunting for that I did notice that Photoshop is set to "computer screens" in colour settings and Capture One is set to "perceptual" in Rendering Intent. I usually do my final save from Capture One, but I'll set Photoshop to "no colour management" to discard embedded colour profiles, or to "optimize for printing"; I'll try "relative colorimetrics" or "absolute colorimetrics" in Capture One. I haven't found a way to set my preference for the editing colourspace in either program

2) No luck at all in that department. Neither the Spyder-calibrated Samsung monitor (good monitor but not really colour accurate), nor the factory-calibrated Acer monitor, nor the Spyder-calibrated Acer monitor could come anywhere near matching the prints. All the prints were much darker and "muddier" (yellowish cast) than I could produce with any monitor settings.

3) The editing room is not bright, but I do sit at the monitor with my back to an external window. The Spyder reports that the room is too bright and I should adjust my monitor brightness accordingly. I have yet to try calibrating with the blinds drawn, the door shut, and no other lights on.

4) In the following images the first is the edited image, the second is the original image. The final shot was taken on a Fuji as a raw image and it too large to upload so I changed it, unedited, to a .jpg image.

















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Jul 31, 2021 11:56:21   #
rhudston Loc: Nova Scotia
 
TriX wrote:
The second part of a calibrated workflow is to soft proof the image. First, download the ICC profile from your printing company and install it. Then, in your post processing application enable soft proofing using that profile. Then adjust the image based on that view.

Also as a side note, if you print at home, download the ICC profile for your particular paper and install that, making sure to disable Windows color management for your printer, letting your PP application handle management.
The second part of a calibrated workflow is to sof... (show quote)


Thank you for your reply. I noted in my reply to CHG_CANON that the error may be coming from my rendering intent. I might be saving the file as suitable for a computer screen rather than as suitable for printing. I'll try that, but at the same time I'll ask my print lab about their ICC profile. It does make sense that if I adjust my image based on their profile, the next time it is printed it should come out right.

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Jul 31, 2021 12:04:59   #
Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States
 
Did you have the box for color correcting checked for Costco?
I check "use as is" so they don't "color correct".

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Jul 31, 2021 12:17:17   #
rhudston Loc: Nova Scotia
 
Longshadow wrote:
Did you have the box for color correcting checked for Costco?
I check "use as is" so they don't "color correct".


Haahaaahaaaaa, yes, they do have that box and they did ask me whether or not I had opted for colour correcting when I complained about the quality of the prints (and I did make sure to avoid the colour correcting option after I had spent a whole bunch of time editing to have the photos exactly (or so I thought) as I wanted them). Later, when I had them printed elsewhere with the same results, I did feel bad for telling them how unsatisfied I was with their work. Blamed them for a mistake they never made.

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Jul 31, 2021 13:09:38   #
TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC
 
rhudston wrote:
Thank you for your reply. I noted in my reply to CHG_CANON that the error may be coming from my rendering intent. I might be saving the file as suitable for a computer screen rather than as suitable for printing. I'll try that, but at the same time I'll ask my print lab about their ICC profile. It does make sense that if I adjust my image based on their profile, the next time it is printed it should come out right.


You can typically download the profile from a printer’s website. Calibrating the monitor is only half the job - soft proofing is the other half. If you download the profile and soft proof, that will show you how the print will look.

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Jul 31, 2021 13:09:54   #
joecichjr Loc: Chicago S. Suburbs, Illinois, USA
 
rhudston wrote:
Hello and thanks for the reply.

1), 1a), and 4) The files that I sent to the Costco lab were in sRGB and the first set that I took to the photo lab were in sRGB. The owner of the photo shop told me to save them in Adobe RGB, but a second set of prints made no noticeable difference. I'm going to try a different photo lab and I'll take a set in both colourspaces and ask their preference. I've attached four originals and four edited images. Images 1 and 2 were shot on a Pentax K110D as .jpg auto. Image 3 is from a cell phone (.jpg), Image 4 was shot on a Fuji as RAW, Provia Standard, colour chrome effect off, dynamic range auto. Unfortunately I can't give much accurate information about which digital editor was used for each image - I use both Capture One 21 and Photoshop Elements. Image 2 was changed to black & white with Photoshop, both masking and cloning were used in all images. Exposure, luminescence, and colour adjustments were done with Capture One. I haven't found ProPhotoRGB in either program, but in hunting for that I did notice that Photoshop is set to "computer screens" in colour settings and Capture One is set to "perceptual" in Rendering Intent. I usually do my final save from Capture One, but I'll set Photoshop to "no colour management" to discard embedded colour profiles, or to "optimize for printing"; I'll try "relative colorimetrics" or "absolute colorimetrics" in Capture One. I haven't found a way to set my preference for the editing colourspace in either program

2) No luck at all in that department. Neither the Spyder-calibrated Samsung monitor (good monitor but not really colour accurate), nor the factory-calibrated Acer monitor, nor the Spyder-calibrated Acer monitor could come anywhere near matching the prints. All the prints were much darker and "muddier" (yellowish cast) than I could produce with any monitor settings.

3) The editing room is not bright, but I do sit at the monitor with my back to an external window. The Spyder reports that the room is too bright and I should adjust my monitor brightness accordingly. I have yet to try calibrating with the blinds drawn, the door shut, and no other lights on.

4) In the following images the first is the edited image, the second is the original image. The final shot was taken on a Fuji as a raw image and it too large to upload so I changed it, unedited, to a .jpg image.
Hello and thanks for the reply. br br 1), 1a), ... (show quote)


One and Three are amazingly beautiful πŸŽ―πŸ†πŸŽ― Sorry, but I know nothing about color profiles β˜€οΈπŸ€β˜€οΈ

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Jul 31, 2021 13:17:56   #
Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States
 
joecichjr wrote:
...... Sorry, but I know nothing about color profiles β˜€οΈπŸ€β˜€οΈ

Me neither.
I just edit, send to Costco or print on my printer.
One of these days I'll look to see which monitor the local print matches the most.

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Jul 31, 2021 15:17:20   #
rhudston Loc: Nova Scotia
 
joecichjr wrote:
One and Three are amazingly beautiful πŸŽ―πŸ†πŸŽ― Sorry, but I know nothing about color profiles β˜€οΈπŸ€β˜€οΈ


Thank you. That is my wife's eye for a photo and my editing. You can't edit what isn't already there, though, can you? I will pass along your compliment.

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Jul 31, 2021 15:20:41   #
rhudston Loc: Nova Scotia
 
Longshadow wrote:
Me neither.
I just edit, send to Costco or print on my printer.
One of these days I'll look to see which monitor the local print matches the most.


Not sure I'd recommend that. I used to be satisfied with my prints until I started comparing them to what they looked like as images on my computer screen. Now I'm on a quest, but it feels like I'm tilting at windmills.

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Jul 31, 2021 15:29:47   #
Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States
 
rhudston wrote:
Not sure I'd recommend that. I used to be satisfied with my prints until I started comparing them to what they looked like as images on my computer screen. Now I'm on a quest, but it feels like I'm tilting at windmills.

I did say someday...
It might determine which monitor I prefer to view on when editing.

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