Simply, want to print and control the outcome!

[Cherish]

I am trying to get many years of photos printed. I have an Epson Stylus, Photo RX595. In the past years, I have had no trouble. I do everything on this workhorse from photos to scrapbooking to wedding invitations, cards and more...
I have been reading about switching up inks etc...in the forum, hope you can direct me with my problem.

I want to first concentrate on 4x6's. I have my printer all set up to print through elements colors etc. When I look at my screen, my biggest problem, the photo is perfect, when I print it is quite dark. In the past I would just keep brightening up the photo, but now that I am a little more detailed, I am hoping to print what I see on my monitor.
I was reading about monitor calibration devises...confused.
I am also thinking maybe I need a new monitor, any suggestions on that?
Is the type of monitor a big factor?

I am using Epson paper.

I am looking for help with the monitor, ink, paper, and knowing that my photos will last and keep their color.

I would appreciate any help, maybe where to start...

...one opps I am noticing when I print a sheet of paper on my printer there is a black wet puddle in the very corner of the paper...the ink has been changed...what does this mean?...it happened before...I opened up the printer looking to clean more than the printer maintenance normal run, and there was a piece of plastic caught inside, must have been there since the factory...once pulled out, everything was fine...
Printing 4x6 isn't affected by ink drips, although I hold my breath to order more ink.

So this is my current situation, excited to be in the forum @Cambridge in Colour!!
Cherish

[Polar01]

Welcome to CIC, just a couple of housekeeping items first, I see that you go by Cherish, I go by Polar01 however may real name is Allan as you will see we use are real names in posts. So if you could go back into setting and put in you name along with where you are from as it helps if you need something from a dealer or supplier.
As you know what you see on your monitor is projected light from the back so the image is and can be bright, however what you see on the printed paper is reflected light so the image does not appear as bright but darker.
Now most monitors are set too bright, now this will sound strange it took me sometime to wrap my head around it but back down the brightness not just a little but a lot, your eyes will quickly adjust to the new brightness in a matter of seconds and the image will appear to ok. Now try printing that image and see how they compare.

Cheers: Allan

[Geoff F]

Ink drips certainly sound ominous. That is how all my previous printers eventually died!

Starts with just the odd blob of ink on the first print of each day then gradually gets worse.

Do you have anything like test charts for roughly checking your monitor? Some computer operating systems have a basic check hidden somewhere in their technical files.

Failing that, how does an image from your camera appear on the screen? Look at the ambient light levels before shooting, then how it appears on the camera viewing screen; and finally on your monitor prior to editing.

All very rough checks, but you have to start somewhere; and I assume you don't want to spend out on a special and rather expensive calibrator if you are likely to be needing a new printer sometime soon.

[Cherish]

Printer is low on two colors, I am going to change them and check into a new printer. As much as I love my printer, it is giving me hints!

Ok, now I will work on the brightness, is it ok to work on a photo in PSE12 to adjust the monitor. That is what I was doing last night. So, I darken my monitor to match the one printed, then lighten the photo through PSE, correct?

Any suggestions of printers and ink for archive quality, and also trying to keep my printing price low?
I hope it isn't always you get what you pay for...lol

ty

[Cherish]

The screen looks like my camera. Correcting shadows etc. photo is dark when printed.

I found the gamma test and the brightness test, I would think because I have my computer linked up with the colors with my printer it should work fine.

With the drips, no sense in spending more money on ink. New printer probably needed.

I may check into that and not take time on this printer, use the ink as I see fit and start with a new printer.

I did send some out to be printed, didn't like the time of uploading etc...they were just ok compared to what I can do.

[Polar01]

Hi Sharon that should get you in the park, yes lower the brightness of the monitor until it is close to that printed image, once close now print the image and the newest print should not be as dark.

Cheers: Allan

[Geoff F]

The correct approach, Sharon, is to get one of the monitor calibration systems; but that will probably cost you well more than a new printer. And unless you are a pro, a good quality monitor set to the default position should be sufficient for average use.

But by all means get the calibration equipment if you want perfection and don't mind the cost!

I have used various printers but have finally ended up back with Epson. Canon worked fine for me, but the lifetime was less than I expected.

Currently I have an Epson R1900 because I wanted to occasionally do A3 size prints. Whether you need to go that big is up to you.

I certainly wouldn't want to be without my own printer. But this may be different for people who have a good quality commercial photo printer just around the corner.

Uploading data for high quality prints certainly wouldn't work for me. I suppose sending everything on a disc once or twice a month, or whatever, might be an alternative.

[Cherish]

I don't think I could be without a printer, there are so many on the spot photos when I get a creative idea and I print them right then.

I did have an HP and very high end Canon Printer, the Canon just never performed to what I was looking for...a chunky look to me even with Canon Paper which I still have around and am not fond of.
With time on my hands now, who knows how big I will want to print. I am still in love with the Epson.
Once I get the co-ordination going, the sky is the limit.

Ok, Geoff, I was looking at the calibration systems and really don't understand how they work. Taking into consideration, I am not a pro, still love perfection, had to reduce to a PowerShot camera for now because of my shoulder, creative and have a good eye for my pics.

What price would I be talking?? How do they work and how perfect are they? What is it comparing to for the color?

This is a lot, if you have the time...I really would like to know a little more about them. I will be doing over 1,000 photos just run of the mill low effects to catch up, not to mention when I play in PSE.

I love to enhance and print everything!!!
What is your secret for a good print? Res 300? and.....

thank you
Sharon

[Cherish]

Thanks Allan - duh! I was doing it in PSE, lowering the brightness, then realized, that was silly, if I lower my monitor it is going to be quite dark, worth it for my photos...still working on it...
thank you
Sharon

[royphot]

Hi. Your problem is a very common one. Most flat panel monitors are too bright for photography work. There are ways of getting them calibrated to a correct standard, but the equipment needed is expensive. You can simply adjust your monitor until the screen looks very similar to your print. Then if your print is still too dark, brighten the image in your editing program, and print it again. Repeat until you are getting the results you want. You will never get the screen and the print to match exactly, but you will get close.

If you want to see if your monitor is inaccurate, go to

http://www.imaging-resource.com/ARTS.../CALIBRATE.HTM

Their tests are a bit too critical for most folks, with ordinary monitors, but it is still worth a look.

Roy

[royphot]

Hi again.
I have just spotted a couple of new posts while I was searching for that link. As you are using Epson, the ideal dpi / ppi for your image would be 360, but nowadays that is not really all that important.

My Monitor has been calibrated and profiled, and it is running at only 50% of its factory brightness (White Point). My eyes have adapted.

Roy

[Richard Lundberg]

Both Windows and Mac have built in monitor calibrators. They're just "eyeball" but you can get decent results for home use if you follow directions. Before you spend any money try it. You need a color managed workflow whether you get a new printer or not.
Your monitor only has its full gamut at the factory brightness, but turning it down will not make any significant difference. Make sure your images have embedded profiles.

[Cherish]

Thank you Roy, I can set my dpi to 360 and check out the results. Somehow I also thought I heard using lower than even 300 would help the colors, read it somewhere...I thought maybe less ink build up? Don't know. I just don't want them fading, this is why I wondered if a lab would be better, but it takes away from my perfection of the end result.
Important or not, I will use the 360, kind of like getting my ducks in a row...

...50% good to know, gives me a start

Thank you for your help.
Sharon

[Cherish]

ty Richard
What do you mean by a color managed workflow (newbie at this printing perfection info)?

How do I make sure my images have embedded profiles? I will be looking this up...

Sharon

[Cherish]

I see where I can change the dpi internally, because it has screen display 72dpi, does this affect my photo? I understanding posting is lower, but should my screen in PSE also be raised to 300-360?

thank you, Sharon

[pnodrog]

I see where I can change the dpi internally, because it has screen display 72dpi, does this affect my photo? I understanding posting is lower, but should my screen in PSE also be raised to 300-360?

thank you, Sharon

Do not adjust screen display to 300 or 360. The screen display should be set to the actual screens dpi that will probably be somewhere between 72-120dpi

In Photoshop in the View menu select print size and if you use a ruler and measure the image size on the screen it will be the same as the print size set if the dpi for the screen is correctly set.

[Cherish]

ahhh...got it!

thank you L.Paul

thank you everyone for your patience and support...I am learning...

[Geoff F]

I normally have a resolution of 240 ppi for my images, Sharon.

Some printing companies insist on 300 ppi but that isn't necessary in most cases. In fact 200 ppi is normally sufficient. Which is why I find 240 to be a compromise figure.

As previously mentioned, the normal standard for monitors is 72 ppi in the US and 96 ppi in Europe. But there is quite a bit of leeway.

Selecting the correct printer profile to match the paper can make a big difference. Even if you don't have the perfect profile installed, choosing the approximate paper type is a great help.

At one time, my printers had options regarding the output dots per inch (which is different from pixels per inch) and there was a noticeable difference between the results. For example plain paper printed best at 360 dpi while best photo paper could be as high as 2880 dpi. (Remember this is a measurement just for printers and not the pixels per inch used on computers etc)

Most printers just have basic quality settings now; like Normal; Better or Best etc and providing you select the correct paper type everything else is automatic.

The pro photographers wouldn't consider using a monitor which wasn't calibrated with one of those expensive bits of kit which you place on the screen every few weeks for a colour/brightness test.

But if you are happy with your quality, when using a good printer, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Things like that come after getting really good lenses etc.

My editing monitor is reasonably good and auto adjusts for quality; but this cheaper monitor on my internet only computer is never totally accurate. And I can't get it perfect with the basic adjustments.

I know that a lot of people have monitors which are a long way off being correct.

Something else which you may hear about is which Colour version to use on your camera/computer. The simplest answer is sRGB which is fairly accurate and universal.

You may get a slightly larger colour range with alternatives like Adobe RGB, or others, but they have to be changed to sRGB colour space before internet use and you need the correct printing profile etc.

[Richard Lundberg]

ty Richard
What do you mean by a color managed workflow (newbie at this printing perfection info)?

How do I make sure my images have embedded profiles? I will be looking this up…
Sharon

Please google "color managed workflow", there are innumerable articles on this. CiC probably has a tutorial as well, among their excellent collection. You can see the profile data in PSE. You can convert to the profile you need in PSE. Adobe RGB for printing, sRGB for web. What is the source of your original images?
Your images are in ppi, not dpi, dpi is a printing term referring the actual dots laid down. For an inkjet printer, these are the number of dots that make up the resolution/color cell, NOT the print resolution. In the case of Epson , the print resolution is 480 ppi horizontal, 360 ppi vertical, no matter what the advertised dpi is. No one can tell the difference between a resolution of 600 ppi and any higher number in print.

[Cherish]

Richard

Through PSE I do have sRGB

I pulled up my printer...this is where I made need some changes...

Choices under Color Mode - Epson Vivid
Should this be changed to the ADOBE RGB ?

Printer Color Management - Color Controls
other choices are Photo Enhance and ICM
any changes here?

Do you always print under Best Photo?

thank you so much
Sharon