Need Help

I am trying to calibrate my monitor to my print shops printer. The problem I am having is that when I match my pictures to there calibration prints, my pictures look way too dark on my monitor. The reason I am doing this is because my prints have been printing darker than what I see on my monitor.

Picture 1 looks correct (brightness-contrast) on my monitor. Picture 2 is after calibrating it to the calibration prints. Does #2 look to dark to you on your monitor? This will be a lot of help to me.

Thanks
#1
Attachment 74093
#2
Attachment 74095

#2 looks a tpuch darker on mine but still acceptable - I am using a DELL calibrated LCD monitor.

Can you explain your workflow in getting the picture printed including what colour maps you have set, because the porblem could be in the way your exporting the file for print. Are you using and icc file from the print shop for the specific printer?

Roger R.

to me number one looks the best. I don't print my own I use MPIX and everything I send them comes back good.

Thanks for the reply.
The print shop that I am using now offers "Full color correction,images. This includes adjustments for Lightness/Darkness, Red, Green, Blue, Saturation and Contrast. Each image is viewed and color corrected individually by hand. We fully guarantee all of our prints ordered through our Full Color Correction Version of ROES: ROES Professional."

The prints I send are sRGB IEC61966-2.1 with the embedded ICC profile and at 300dpi JPEG. I have my Gamma set at 2.2 and my wb at 6500, no calibrator, just useing monitor and gamma test patterns for gama and black light. I use a SoLux Desk Task Lamp with a 4700K 36 degree 50W bulb for viewing.
The first set of prints was dark. I told them and they re-sent them and they looked better, still not as close as I had hoped. I then ordered 10- 8x10's of different scenes. They all are darker than what I see on my monitor, some more than others. The monitor I am using is a 25" Hannspree Active Matrix TFT LCD that I bought about 2 months ago new.
This print shop is well known and used and recommended by many of the photographers here in California. I thought by using the full color correction I would no longer have this problem. But here I am. I'm thinking it is something I am doing wrong and my next step is to go buy a spider, but If I can get it right without having to spend the money that would be great. Any ideas,suggestions?

Thanks again

Darin

Thanks Greg. Do you have more info or web address for them? I am ready to order 16 prints, Giclee canvas gallery wraps, luster prints and a couple of metal prints for a portfolio. I don't want to spend that much money without knowing exactly what I'm going to get. That is why I have been ordering smaller prints, trying to make sure the bigger ones are going to print as good as possible.

Thanks again

A Spyder won't help the problem Darin. I know because I use Spyder, and I have the same problem.

The problem (I think) is that the brightness level of your monitor produces a much brighter white than white photo paper does. That skews all the brightness levels.

It's probably not the best solution, but I've found that lowering my brightness while using a blank piece of photo paper for comparison, and THEN doing the color calibration has helped the problem considerably.

- Joe U.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Medley

A Spyder won't help the problem Darin. I know because I use Spyder, and I have the same problem.

The problem (I think) is that the brightness level of your monitor produces a much brighter white than white photo paper does. That skews all the brightness levels.

It's probably not the best solution, but I've found that lowering my brightness while using a blank piece of photo paper for comparison, and THEN doing the color calibration has helped the problem considerably.

- Joe U.

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Hmm..Interesting, I will try that. I know my monitior produces a much brighter white just from the calibrations i have done. I have my brightness set at 5 right now. I never would have thought of that Joe. Thanks a ton I will try that. Another question I have and cant find an answer for anywhere is X-Contrast. I have this option on my monitor and have no idea what it really does. I know it boosts the brightness when I turn it on, but I know nothing else about it. I cant even find a explanation on the monitors website.

Thanks Joe

Darin

Very interesting!

canyon h, the second pic looks slightly darker in my monitor - thinkpad T61P

good tip from medley, my monitor is significantly whiter than than photo paper

#2 looks better to me -- I wouldn't say it's darker necessarily, but it is more vibrant. Thinkpad T61

X-contrast is a form of active contrast adjustment by your monitor. It is used in HD video as a way to improve the contrast in some scenes. But it has a drawback. Users report that it is slow to respond, resulting in a contrast shift mid-scene.

X-contrast adjusts the contrast by manipulating the white point according to image content. So, as it pertains to still image processing, I would say leave it off to keep manual control of the image's contrast.

- Joe U.

Thanks for the info everyone. Medly, thanks. I am going to leave it turned off.
After doing more poking around on the internet I found free software that did a much better job than what I was using for calibration. It seems part of my problem was my Gamma was off. I am going to get another set of test prints in the mail Monday. Hopefully everything should be in sync. Below is the link to the software I used and some great info on monitor/printer calibration and setting up a digital darkroom. Some of you might find it a good interesting read. I used QuickGamma 2.0 and it worked great.

http://www.normankoren.com/makingfineprints1A.html

Thanks again,
Darin