I really, really need some big time help with Outside Printing...

GeorgieGirl · Dec 8, 2011

I am having a heckova time getting excellent prints of some recent photos that I took. I sent the prints out to MPIX and they came back looking like I never white balanced or calibrated. I send them off to Costco because I've read they do a good job and it was even worse.

I have used MPIX before for printing and have not had the color issues that I have just experienced. They seem to do some sharpening at upload that I could do without, but this color thing is unacceptable. I normally select no work to be done to my photos and when I had posted them here I did get some feedback that I used to make some final adjustments, but what is on my montitor and what came back are two different worlds.

I have particapted in a thread here where print shops have been discussed and I looked at Millers, but one must derive revenue from their prints so I am disqualified and it seems that I would be as well with MPIX Pro.

I really want these photos for gifts and I am at a loss on what to do. I have just recalibrated my monitor, it was fine before I recalibrated it, so I am at the proverbial brick wall.

Can anyone make a recommendation on what options I might have, what I should do, or who or what I might try?

The photos went to MPIX as TIFF's. Costco as jpegs because it was impossible to load the files as TIFF's.

Rephargotohp · Dec 8, 2011

Mpix wants JPEGs and they want them in the sRGB Color space. if you sent Adobe RGB, you can get some funny looking pics back.

they don't apply sharpening

On checkout do you ask them NOT to color correct? If you did is that different than you normally have them do. If you believe your color calibration on your monitor is correct, then don't have them color correct

Rephargotohp · Dec 8, 2011

And Mpix and Mpix pro use the same machines and even some of millers stuff is the same machines

MLeeK · Dec 8, 2011

Sounds like you need to calibrate and check your colorspace.

Can you post them so that we can tell you what we see?

Kerbouchard · Dec 8, 2011

I told you, Mpix hired Ken Rockwell to do their color balancing. I actually just placed another order with them about an hour ago making sure I turned off the auto correct setting in the 12 different places it makes you do it and agreed to their waiver(which coincidently is what convinced me to let them do it last time). If these aren't better than my last set, I am going to have a fit.

Like I said in the other thread, my last order from Mpix went in the trashcan. If these aren't better, there won't be a next.

As far as other options, my next to stops are www.Bayphoto.com and www.whcc.com

GeorgieGirl · Dec 8, 2011

MLeeK said:
Sounds like you need to calibrate and check your colorspace.

Can you post them so that we can tell you what we see?

You commented on them the other day if you recall them....Here is the link as a reminder....I do think the color space might be the issue....looking at that now. I did make adjustments to the colors based on the notes given.

Photography Forum & Digital Photography Forum - Active Topics

GeorgieGirl · Dec 8, 2011

Kerbouchard said:
I told you, Mpix hired Ken Rockwell to do their color balancing. I actually just placed another order with them about an hour ago making sure I turned off the auto correct setting in the 12 different places it makes you do it and agreed to their waiver(which coincidently is what convinced me to let them do it last time). If these aren't better than my last set, I am going to have a fit.

Like I said in the other thread, my last order from Mpix went in the trashcan. If these aren't better, there won't be a next.

As far as other options, my next to stops are www.Bayphoto.com and www.whcc.com

Just set up the Bay Photo site...I am going to flood the plant until I get one good print. I am having that fit right now, I'm not waiting for it to happen, its here.

Rephargotohp · Dec 8, 2011

I use Bay, they are my Favorite.

If you are talking about those holiday images, They are a little dark and orange, Then you add onto that that Mpix's prints tend to run dark and orange and you got double trouble.

You could get MPIX's ICC profile and then softproof and try to take some of that out

Rephargotohp · Dec 8, 2011

Oh and the images are SRGB unless the one you set to the web woere converted . Otherwise you are OK with the Color profile

MLeeK · Dec 8, 2011

The link you posted just took me to the current active topics here.
Do you have a scanner where you can scan your prints in and show us what came from the lab?

GeorgieGirl · Dec 8, 2011

MLeeK said:
The link you posted just took me to the current active topics here.
Do you have a scanner where you can scan your prints in and show us what came from the lab?

I'm sorry about that....here we go....For example, the pearls in the necklace were a salmon hue....

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/people-photography/264958-holiday-gift-photos.html

MLeeK · Dec 8, 2011

They are definitely a creamy warm color. Maybe a super light peachy color.
The faces in them are almost all reds and oranges. I'd edit a bit to fix, but your stuff is do not edit!

Kerbouchard · Dec 8, 2011

GeorgieGirl said:
MLeeK said:

The link you posted just took me to the current active topics here.
Do you have a scanner where you can scan your prints in and show us what came from the lab?

Click to expand...

I'm sorry about that....here we go....For example, the pearls in the necklace were a salmon hue....

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/people-photography/264958-holiday-gift-photos.html

I would also say that the photos were a bit on the warm side, but not really unpleasantly, though.

In any case, if you download the ICC Profiles from Mpix, they definitely do show MPIX to print a bit darker and with heavily saturated Blues. It could be that if you just soft proof every image, you could make Mpix work. Personally, the more and more I think about it, the more it's not worth it to me. My monitor is calibrated. My prints should look like my monitor. I shouldn't have to edit two sets of photos. One for normal people on normal monitors and one for Mpix who thinks blues should look radioactive.

Rephargotohp · Dec 8, 2011

GeorgieGirl said:
MLeeK said:

The link you posted just took me to the current active topics here.
Do you have a scanner where you can scan your prints in and show us what came from the lab?

Click to expand...

I'm sorry about that....here we go....For example, the pearls in the necklace were a salmon hue....

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/people-photography/264958-holiday-gift-photos.html

Instead of relying on visual I color sampled the pearls and they come out in the taupe family of shades

But printing that image where she has the pearls on , on my calibrated Printer, they are a little dark and she does have quite a bit of orangey to her cheeks and forehead, Unless she just tanned or came back from the islands. Bringing in the highlight slider in levels or curves and a little shift to the left on the blue channel cured that. I do think you have a slight problem with the image but I think that problem was exaggerated by MPIX

GeorgieGirl · Dec 8, 2011

Here's what I have done so far with the futher adjusted file. Let me know how it seems, I will ship these off to a few print shops and hope for a winner.

In CS5 - I 'Converted to Color Profile' sRGB. I did see the photo jump a split second during the conversion.

I saved the file without embedding the profile which I have read the print shops don't like, and here is the jpeg.

Before and After