Printing with HP ENVY 5540?

[DGMPhotography]

Hey folks,

So I finally got around to buying a printer. It's nothing too fancy, but it's a decent inket. I don't do a ton of printing, but figured it'd be nice to be able to every once in awhile.

Problem is the colors.... on my computer colors look great. But when I print a photo, it turns out looking really warm, and not really resemblant of the photo on my computer.

I even scanned the photos that I printed and when I view them on my screen they almost look like they should. So it obviously has something to do with how my screen is calibrated, and my color management. I tried converting to CMYK, but that didn't seem to have any effect.

Below is a photo from my computer (left), and a scan of a printed photo (right, edited to show kind of what it looks like in real life).




I fully admit my ignorance to printing techniques. Please help!

 

[Scatterbrained]

Is your monitor properly calibrated?
Are you converting the images to sRGB before printing?
Is the printer calibrated?
Have you tried sending an image out to see you they look elsewhere? Try sending one to Costco (if you have a Costco near you). They're in house printers are usually pretty good. Just make sure to turn off the "auto correction" feature. Don't use Wal mart, Sams, Walgreens etc.

Unless you have a pro account with Richmond Camera I wouldn't use them. They will run the image through auto corrections unless you have a pro account. There is no way to turn it off (I went round and round with them when I lived over there). You need to print some uncorrected images to make sure it's not just your printer. My Epson ET-2250 sends everything out with a magenta hue, but it's the printer, not my computer. Uncorrected images from Bay, MPix, and Costco all come back looking like my monitor.

 

[DGMPhotography]

Is your monitor properly calibrated?
Are you converting the images to sRGB before printing?
Is the printer calibrated?
Have you tried sending an image out to see you they look elsewhere? Try sending one to Costco (if you have a Costco near you). They're in house printers are usually pretty good. Just make sure to turn off the "auto correction" feature. Don't use Wal mart, Sams, Walgreens etc.

Unless you have a pro account with Richmond Camera I wouldn't use them. They will run the image through auto corrections unless you have a pro account. There is no way to turn it off (I went round and round with them when I lived over there). You need to print some uncorrected images to make sure it's not just your printer. My Epson ET-2250 sends everything out with a magenta hue, but it's the printer, not my computer. Uncorrected images from Bay, MPix, and Costco all come back looking like my monitor.

I'm pretty sure my monitor is calibrated right. Whenever I export the photos from Lightroom they are exported to sRGB. The printer told me it was calibrated. I'm guessing it is.

Well I actually have had photos printed from Richmond Camera before and they looked just like my monitor when I got them back.

If it is "corrected" perhaps I can learn to do that myself.

 

[table1349]

Making fine prints in your digital darkroom: Getting started

 

[Scatterbrained]

You can get a printer calibration device. For me though I've never seen them as worthwhile. I simply don't print enough to warrant the cost of a quality printer, printer calibrator, ink, paper, etc. For me it's more cost effective to send out for prints.

 

[DGMPhotography]

I just printed out a picture of a cartoon character and the colors are spot on.

But not with my portraits...

 

[KmH]

Which device do you have doing color management? The computer, or the printer?
Printing is a set of technical skills separate from the technical skills of doing photography.
The basic fundamentals of preparing a photograph for printing and the fundamental technical aspects of printing are a book length subject that can't be covered in an online forum.

The Digital Print: Preparing Images in Lightroom and Photoshop for Printing
Fine Art Printing for Photographers: Exhibition Quality Prints with Inkjet Printers

 

[DGMPhotography]

I'm using the computer for color management. Like I said, the cartoon photo comes out fine, but not my portraits

 

[chuasam]

Still staring at the photos. Erm what film technique?

 

[DGMPhotography]

Still staring at the photos. Erm what film technique?

What do you mean??

I don't use film.

 

[chuasam]

Still staring at the photos. Erm what film technique?

What do you mean??

I don't use film.

This is what the preview looks like on my phone.

Do excuse the derailment of train of thought.