I'm just learning photoshop, etc. and have started having a problem with my prints. They look great on the screen and on my website, but when they're printed they come out too dark. Any ideas what I could be doing wrong? This has happened with a local printer as well as an online printer.
Posted by Jack Garrett on June 22, 2012 at 10:42 PM
I had the same issues so what I did was save the master file and then go back in and bring the brightness levels up to about 35 on the slider. It will look horrible on the screen but the print should look good.
Almost all LCD monitors are too bright right out of the box. That appeals to most consumers.
Is your monitor calibrated? If so, does the calibration software have a luminance (brightness) control?
If not, then you're going to have to lower the brightness of your monitor to match your prints and then adjust your images accordingly with PS from now on.
BTW, who does your printing?
I had my printing done at Bay Photo. I ordered 5 canvas thin wraps on metallic and they were all dark. I haven't had my monitor calibrated. How do I go about doing that? I can also try the suggestion about the brightness level and see how that works. Thanks for your input!
Posted by Doug Koepsel on June 23, 2012 at 9:58 AM
Well, you need to purchase calibration software that comes with a measuring device like the Spyder4Express, but this affordable color calibration solution will not fix your brightness issues. For that, you'll either need to spend more money on something like the Spyder4Pro solution or simply turn down the brightness of your monitor to match the print from Bay Photo and then adjust your work in PS.
*EDIT*
The free solution shown by Doug will work for a basic monitor calibration, although not as well as a hardware/software solution. But again, the monitor brightness issue will not be resolved.
Using the free solution and turning down your monitor's brightness will be your cheapest option.
How much darker are the prints? Is it slight?
Because there really is no perfect match between transmissive (monitor) and reflective (print) media.
Posted by Grant Collier on June 23, 2012 at 11:15 AM
I know Spyder was rated quite poorly when I bought calibration software many years ago, but it's probably improved since then. I use XRite and I know they've always made good software. It's probably worth reading some current reviews.
That being said, prints always come out looking darker than what I see on my large LCD monitor, even though I have the brightness set to 0 on the monitor. So I'll often view the images on an old CRT monitor or laptop monitor, where the brightness tends to match the printed image better. If you still have this issue after calibration but don't have a second monitor, another option is to just do a Levels adjustment at the end and move the center slider to around 1.1 so it appears a bit too bright on your monitor. But like John says, there is no perfect match, as the apparent brightness of prints is dependent on the lighting in the room.
Recommendations on monitor calibration options (which is also crucial) aside, if I have a critical piece either for sale or display, I usually get an 8x10 proof print. It usually only cost a few bucks and gives you the best indicator on how the image will look in print. Once you get a feel for your printer and output you can forego the proof if you feel comfortable.
All wonderful suggestions, and thanks to everyone who replied. I'm going to get to work and try these. To answer one of the questions about the degree of darkness, it was pretty dramatic, not just a little dark. I was very disappointed in what I had and thought no one would be interested in any of them, but when putting one up at the gallery I'm in just to "try it out", it was sold before the nail was in the wall, go figure! Is there any chance that having had them printed on metallic could have contributed? Has anyone had color issues using metallic?
"Is there any chance that having had them printed on metallic could have contributed?"
I was going to ask you this, but you also said that "This has happened with a local printer as well as an online printer", indicating to me that the problem lies with your monitor.
Have you used your WalMart store there to print a test shot? Surprisingly, they do a pretty good job of producing accurate photos as long as you check the 'Do Not AutoCorrect' (or some such) button.
Posted by Tom Stermitz on June 24, 2012 at 5:38 PM
A calibrated monitor is essential. A GOOD, calibrated monitor is better.
Color Space Issues:
Online print services usually ask for your upload to be a JPG file. This means that the color space is sRGB. Your camera, monitor and software can work in Adobe RGB 1998 or in proPhotoRGB, which have much wider color spaces. The conversion of your photo to sRGB can make your colors very dull, especially if you are working with colorful, saturated images.
The discussion can get very technical, very fast.
(0) Serious photographers and and control freaks will snicker, but an easy way out is to always work in sRGB and JPEG. Modern cameras are quite good at exposure, dynamic range, and noise reduction. WYSIWYG, make minor modifications in software, and upload to the web or to be printed.
As soon as you are trying to optimize a sunset, improve exposure on a bird in the shadows or the sunlight, or any other more difficult photographic situation you need to face the music.
(1) On the web, an sRGB image can look fine IN SOME BROWSERS, as the file sometimes embeds the fact that it was Adobe RGB.
(2) For your print workflow, "some" print shops can handle non-sRGB files, but usually they are more expensive.
(3) Soft Proofing is a good way to see what your image will look like on a printer or when converted to sRGB. Lightroom 4 makes viewing your soft proof extremely easy, just click a little button below your image, and you will see all the bright reds and yellows go out-of-gamut. Unclick, decrease saturation or highlights globally or for individual colors, and then the colors in your prints won't shift so much.
Discussion
11 repliesIs your monitor calibrated? If so, does the calibration software have a luminance (brightness) control?
If not, then you're going to have to lower the brightness of your monitor to match your prints and then adjust your images accordingly with PS from now on.
BTW, who does your printing?
http://www.pcworld.com/article/241957/how_to_calibrate_your_monitor.html
quick Gamma (free)
http://www.quickgamma.de/indexen.html
*EDIT*
The free solution shown by Doug will work for a basic monitor calibration, although not as well as a hardware/software solution. But again, the monitor brightness issue will not be resolved.
Using the free solution and turning down your monitor's brightness will be your cheapest option.
Because there really is no perfect match between transmissive (monitor) and reflective (print) media.
That being said, prints always come out looking darker than what I see on my large LCD monitor, even though I have the brightness set to 0 on the monitor. So I'll often view the images on an old CRT monitor or laptop monitor, where the brightness tends to match the printed image better. If you still have this issue after calibration but don't have a second monitor, another option is to just do a Levels adjustment at the end and move the center slider to around 1.1 so it appears a bit too bright on your monitor. But like John says, there is no perfect match, as the apparent brightness of prints is dependent on the lighting in the room.
Have you used your WalMart store there to print a test shot? Surprisingly, they do a pretty good job of producing accurate photos as long as you check the 'Do Not AutoCorrect' (or some such) button.
Color Space Issues:
Online print services usually ask for your upload to be a JPG file. This means that the color space is sRGB. Your camera, monitor and software can work in Adobe RGB 1998 or in proPhotoRGB, which have much wider color spaces. The conversion of your photo to sRGB can make your colors very dull, especially if you are working with colorful, saturated images.
The discussion can get very technical, very fast.
(0) Serious photographers and and control freaks will snicker, but an easy way out is to always work in sRGB and JPEG. Modern cameras are quite good at exposure, dynamic range, and noise reduction. WYSIWYG, make minor modifications in software, and upload to the web or to be printed.
As soon as you are trying to optimize a sunset, improve exposure on a bird in the shadows or the sunlight, or any other more difficult photographic situation you need to face the music.
(1) On the web, an sRGB image can look fine IN SOME BROWSERS, as the file sometimes embeds the fact that it was Adobe RGB.
(2) For your print workflow, "some" print shops can handle non-sRGB files, but usually they are more expensive.
(3) Soft Proofing is a good way to see what your image will look like on a printer or when converted to sRGB. Lightroom 4 makes viewing your soft proof extremely easy, just click a little button below your image, and you will see all the bright reds and yellows go out-of-gamut. Unclick, decrease saturation or highlights globally or for individual colors, and then the colors in your prints won't shift so much.