Morning All. I have finally decided I should attempt to have a couple of my photos printed so I can hang them in my office. I have only done this once before and I thought the prints (5X7) came out too dark. Had it done at big box store (Staples). We do not have a photo printer at home. This was done using my 2009 iMac. I now have a 2019 27" iMac running Catalina. Should I try to use the built in calibration tool or just pick some photos and get them printed and see if they look OK? I think they look good on my monitor but I see and hear a lot of stories how they never look good when printed. Would I do a few small ones to see if they are alright and then go bigger to hang? I guess my real question is "What do you guys do so your prints look good?" Average JPEG from my old Rebel XS is 2.5MB to 4.5MB and anywhere from 2000-3000 X 3000-4000 (whatever that is).
Colour Calibration before printing photos?
- Thread starter JackC
- Start date
Sir JackC, congrats on having some notable pics to print!
My reco, FWIW, is to try any of the many reputable internet labs.
If you don't like the print result, you can usually get them to reprint.
Doing a small print initially makes sense.
Your file resolutions should be fine for prints even 16x20".
My reco, FWIW, is to try any of the many reputable internet labs.
If you don't like the print result, you can usually get them to reprint.
Doing a small print initially makes sense.
Your file resolutions should be fine for prints even 16x20".
- Thread starter
- #3
Thanks for the info sarimento1. I think that is what I will try. I am not sure if they are all that good BUT the LOML says “why don’t you print a couple of yours and hang them”? We have been married long enough that I KNOW the correct answer to that question!!
The reason your images are turning out too dark in print is, because your monitor brightness is too high. That's very common as normal users are also working in rooms that are too bright for photo editing they tend to increase monitor brightness to compensate.
Calibrating your monitor is an easy fix for this issue and will help you to get the results exactly as you see them on screen (not only brightness, but also color rendering). Each printer/paper will alter brightness/colors a bit. Better printing services will therefore also provide the color profile of their printer/paper, which you can use to simulate the prints on your screen. This way you can optimize your files for each printer/paper.
If color accuracy is important for you, there's also the possibility to create camera profiles (using a test chart like colorchecker).
Calibrating your monitor is an easy fix for this issue and will help you to get the results exactly as you see them on screen (not only brightness, but also color rendering). Each printer/paper will alter brightness/colors a bit. Better printing services will therefore also provide the color profile of their printer/paper, which you can use to simulate the prints on your screen. This way you can optimize your files for each printer/paper.
If color accuracy is important for you, there's also the possibility to create camera profiles (using a test chart like colorchecker).
- Thread starter
- #5
Thanks for the info SilverSteel. I looked at the steps to calibrate my monitor in Finder on the iMac. Way beyond my level of computer skills! I found a local place who will take my pictures (on a flash drive) and process them so they will look good at the size we want them printed. Satisfaction guaranteed so that is the way I am going.
Yes, that's of course also a good possibility that can give fine results without the need worry about any of those topics. Most consumer grade print shops will offer this service.
I like to have full control of the final print and therefore choose print services, that don't optimize/alter the files I send them.
