Discrepancy between PC photoshop corrections and actual prints

[rosapearl]

When I correct and view digital photos on my PC they never look the same when I print them out. I always use my Dell Ultrasharp monitor and not a laptop. Yesterday I corrected over 300 photos and when I test printed some of them, they were actually too dark. How do you know when a photo is optimized correctly for color balance/brightness/contrast without test printing every one of them? I normally don't have to do too much correction, but on this bunch I was shooting in a low light situation that my camera could not handle. Would appreciate any info. BTW - this is just snapshot shooting, not professional. I have a Canon Rebel EOS300.

[Ads]

[KenC]

The two most common causes of this are not letting PS control the color output of the printer (see settings in print dialog box) or having the monitor set too bright. The former has to be done for all sorts of reasons, so get that right first, and then if the prints are still too dark, check your monitor.

[kundalini]

Are you printing at home or sending files off to a lab?

[Peano]

Two questions:

1. Is your monitor calibrated?

2. Do you soft-proof the images using the printer profile?

[rosapearl]

KenC - I will check these settings.

Kundalini - I was test printing a few a home before sending to a lab to have printed, either Snapfish or Shutterfly. I know these are not professional labs, but these are just snapshots.

Peano - Duh, about both questions. Not sure what you mean.

[KmH]

That you don't know what Peano is referring to, is in fact the root of your problem.

Read these tutorials about color management and printing: Tutorials on Color Management & Printing

Mpix is an online consumer lb that is quite a bit better than the ones you have been using.

Here is one of ththe Mpix support pages: Mpix.com - Help

Note at the bottom they have a section: Are ICC profiles available for soft proofing? Click the 'Download Here', and when saved open the ICC profiles folder, and then the Softproofing .PDF folder and read some more.

[rosapearl]

Yep, I am afraid so. Ooooooover my head. I'll read up and see if I can figure it out.

[rosapearl]

PS. I do appreciate everyone's answers.

[rosapearl]

I don't know ANYTHING about photography other than point and shooting, but I am determined to learn. I was just needing help with these photos I took. They were photos of an event for my BIL and I was trying to get the color/brightness adjusted so i could get them printed for him. Believe me, I am SO dumb when it comes to photography and I know it takes time to learn it all.

[manaheim]

Yep, I am afraid so. Ooooooover my head. I'll read up and see if I can figure it out.

Welcome to the Pandora's Box that is printing and color management.