enlargement dramas

jemmy

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hi all. For the past month I have had cardboard templates stuck up on the wall for clients to choose enlargement sizes. Yesterday I spent the $ and had an image printed in all sizes.... The smaller ones up to 8 x 10" came out beautifully but the larger sizes ( up to 20 x 30") were a bit disappointing. The colours are noticeabley different, yellowish almost... I havent had a shot printed at 20x30" before so was wondering if this is normal or should the colours be same as smaller sizes??? Should I be visiting my lab and asking for them to be printed again?????? Thanks in advance x jemma
 
Sometimes they use a different machine to print big prints to the small prints and it seems likely that there may be different contrast settings applied.

Sometimes they print the settings on the back, it'll be a set of letters with a +1 or whatever near it.

My advice would be to take both back to the lab and ask them to reprint the big one like the little one!

Rob
 
If the prints were all ordered at the same time, they should match fairly closely. If you want prints ordered at different times to match it's advisable to provide a sample print for the lab to try and match. It sounds like to me that they are using different machines (and maybe different people with different skills) to print the different sizes. Many labs use inkjet printing for larger sizes, but they should still be able to color correct. I'd take them back, and politely discuss your concerns with them. Hopefully it can be worked out.

Is your monitor color calibrated? I was having problems with yellowish prints that looked fine on my monitor. After I started regularly calibrating my monitors the problem went away.
 
You should definatley bring both prints back to the lab. Ask them to make the larger ones look like the smaller ones. If they are using the same machine to print them, it is as simple as the technician performing a paper emulsion test because they are using different batch numbers for the paper. If they are using different machines, they should still be able to make it look the same, they may just have to make a few adjustments. Leave one of the 8X10's with the technician for reference. If they can't make the prints look the same, request a refund and bring it somewhere else.
 
Rip into them "Jemmy" Take them back for reprinting. If you took your car to a panel beaters and they resprayed your mudguard a different colour, would you say "wow" it looks great. I trust not. The previous posts explain it pretty well. Forget all the labs technical jargon and excuses, you are the customer, and the customer is always right, even when they're wrong.
 

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