question on printing

jim1971 · #1 05-02-2005, 05:52 PM

i seem to have this problem often... after i restore a picture it always looks great on my monitor, colors are bright, detail is great ect.. then when i print it out it seems to lose the brightness, & dull in some areas, or the colors look diffrent, (a shirt may look purple in photoshop,then when printed it looks more blue.) what should i be looking out for or what steps can i take to make sure this doesnt happen? thanks

I usualy print on high gloss kodak paper. my printer is HP1115 series

Kraellin · #2 05-02-2005, 08:57 PM

jim,

try this link: http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10156

also, if i'm going to print a photo i like to add a bit of extra contrast and brightness, then turn the ink saturation down a bit on the printer software. you may also want to check out your printer manufacturer's website and their tech support area. if it came with a manual, check that also. some printers have internal calibration which you can check. also, run some test pages and see if they look ok. and, if the printer is still under warranty you can often take it back to the shop and have them check it. barring that, take your images into the shop on a cd or dvd and have them print them on the same brand printer to see if they match your results.

also, it's a good idea to post these questions in the appropriate forum. you'll get more help that way. i'd suggest the hardware section for this one. do a search also. often your questions are already answered somewhere.

K.

llinares · #3 05-02-2005, 09:03 PM

Frustrating isn't it? The problem lies with the way color is displayed on the monitor versus the printer. A monitor is capable of displaying a much wider range of color (color space) than a printer. It is nearly impossible to print exactly what you see on the monitor. The condition you describe where purple print out as blue is the opposite of what I encountered. My blues came out purple. Look at Luminious Landscapes's site for more information. The bottom line is that if you want your prints to look more like what you see on the monitor you will need to learn about color management. Your monitor nedds to be calibrated and profiled before anything else. I recommend reading anything by Tim
Grey (timgrey.com) on color management. Just so you know, there is almost no limit to how much money you CAN spend on acheiving a print that looks close to what you see on the monitor. On the low end, try Adobe Gamma since it comes with Photoshop. Adobe has a page(http://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/321608.html) that explains it. Also, the paper and the ink you use can be a big factor. I know how you feel about your prints. I did not try to print until I had been using Photoshop for over a year. I never gave it a thought. Then when I printed my first one, I was stunned. It looked a kid's indergarten project gone horribly wrong. Let me know if you want more information. I have tons of links. Or just Google search on color management, monitor profiles, or printer profiles and you will find more links than you can count. I hope this does not discourage you. I know many people have had success using Adobe Gamma and the correct printer profiles for their printer and paper. It really does make a difference. Printing the exact same image on glossy paper and then on matte will produce two very different prints colorwise. I'm sure there are many other members on this site who have beeen at this way longer than I have who could also help you. Hope this helped a little.

jim1971 · #4 05-02-2005, 09:21 PM

thank you both, tremendously helpful, actually i do have adobe gamma installed. ( pretty sure i do,gonna have to check)
thanks for the links ,I will def. check all of them out,
although i really dont print that many of my own photos that i retouch, this is something i need to know if i happen to do some side work for somebody, i want to be confident that when they go to print the photo's they are going to be grade A quality

Vikki · #5 05-03-2005, 05:01 AM

It is possible to achieve a near perfect match between screen and print.
If you understand and utilize the following topics, you should be able to achieve a match:
Color management
Monitor calibration
Paper selection (most printers work best with the papers developed by that manufacturer. You have an HP, so you should use HP paper).

p.s. Although one would think Kodak paper would be a best choice, I have found it produces terrible prints, when using either an Epson or HP printer.

jim1971 · #6 05-03-2005, 11:35 AM

thank you Vikki,
seeing that there are so many diffrent types of photo paper on the market, what paper gives the best over all print,. they have high gloss, gloss, matte. im sure each one has their pos./ negs. as far as what type of picture is gonna be printed on it as . ive always used high gloss but maybe a matte finish would be better..

as far as the color management situation. im learning that. thanks to all the great links that have been posted in this thread