I have read several posts which ask which photo labs are best. I know that photo labs often do a very good job, and are generally modestly priced. And, I generally bring my own work to Costco when I need a bunch of 4x6s.

That being said, during the last year and a half, I have discovered the joy of doing my own printing. I purchased an Epson 3880, and I have tried out a number of their papers. I love their fine art papers, such as Hot Press Bright and Hot Press Natural. I love editing my photos, and then seeing them come to life, in print, just as I imagined them. If there are any aspects of the print with which I am not satisfied, I can make corrections. Holding the final version in my hands, on a good quality fine art paper gives me a feeling of satisfaction I cannot get from a lab. I know this can be a little pricey, and it is not for everyone. I am just wondering if anyone feels the same way. (Yes, I know I could have posted this in the printing section, but it would not get as much exposure.)

International Color Consortium is a standards body. They set the standards for photographic color reproduction.

An ICC color-managed workflow starts with a profile for an image, typically sRGB, sometimes Adobe RGB, or something else. Either the camera or post-production software converts the raw color information to color that "fits within" the specific STANDARD profile "space" of an output file.

Then post-production software opens that image into a "connection space" or "working profile space", that can be much larger. Lightroom uses ProPhoto RGB, an impossible-to-display HUGE color space, so:

For viewing, the image colors must be converted to a monitor profile space, which is best custom made from a freshly calibrated monitor on a frequent and regular basis.

Finally, image adjustments can be made with reference to a standard. IF:

• The camera white balance was accurate for the light falling on the subject, and IF

• The camera was calibrated correctly at the factory, and retains that calibration, and IF

• The image is interpreted with the correct profile, and IF

• The monitor is calibrated and profiled accurately, THEN

• The image on the monitor is a reasonably accurate representation of what is in the file. You can use post-processing to adjust the color to look technically accurate, or to look the way YOU want it to look. And IF

• You installed a custom printer profile for the EXACT model of printer, brand of inks, and paper surface being printed, then your output should MATCH your monitor quite closely. It will never be precisely the same, since the monitor makes color by adding red, green, and blue light together to make white, and the printer uses (often multiple versions!) of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black to subtract color from white paper... But it is close enough for most applications.

Bear in mind that this is a vast oversimplification, and I've glossed over a lot of finer points. But that's the gist of it. Google ICC Color Management, or visit ColorVision Systems DataColor, or X-RITE, for more information.

Oh, and YES, virtually ALL modern printers and printing processes use profiles for the specific papers they print. In the lab I worked for, we had 40 Noritsu mini-labs running Kodak Endura Supra paper; several Epson 9600 and 9880 printers running Epson's photo paper and canvas; 20 Fargo and Pebble dye sublimation ID Card printers printing on plastic, two Konica Minolta electrostatic printer/copiers driven by EFI Fiery raster image processors, printing on one brand of copier paper; a Kodak NexPress electrostatic printer running multiple types of papers... ALL devices used ICC color management profiles.

You might not see them, but when you drop down the "paper type" menu in your print driver software, you're choosing a profile!

I have read several posts which ask which photo labs are best. I know that photo labs often do a very good job, and are generally modestly priced. And, I generally bring my own work to Costco when I need a bunch of 4x6s.

That being said, during the last year and a half, I have discovered the joy of doing my own printing. I purchased an Epson 3880, and I have tried out a number of their papers. I love their fine art papers, such as Hot Press Bright and Hot Press Natural. I love editing my photos, and then seeing them come to life, in print, just as I imagined them. If there are any aspects of the print with which I am not satisfied, I can make corrections. Holding the final version in my hands, on a good quality fine art paper gives me a feeling of satisfaction I cannot get from a lab. I know this can be a little pricey, and it is not for everyone. I am just wondering if anyone feels the same way. (Yes, I know I could have posted this in the printing section, but it would not get as much exposure.)