Printing Photo issues, please help.

sactown024 · Aug 8, 2012

Hey guys I am having trouble printing my photos. I do all of my editing in Lightroom 3 at my house and then print the photos from work (cheaper ink :lol:

). The issue I am having is that all my photos look just how I want them to at home but when i bring them to work and print them they are way darker (clipping). When using lightroom the histogram doesnt say I am clipping and the photos look great, even after I export them and view them in windows media. Soon as I bring them to work they look way darker and print darker. what is going on with this? I am afraid if I bring it to a printing lab the same thing will happen and ill waste my money!

Bitter Jeweler · Aug 8, 2012

Is your monitor calibrated?

sactown024 · Aug 8, 2012

No its not, can you recomend a cheap software?

also why doesnt lightroom show it clipping but when i print it, the blacks are cover tons of detail.

Ysarex · Aug 8, 2012

You need a hardware/software combination to calibrate your display and the display at work.

http://www.xrite.com/product_overview.aspx?ID=1912

You'll also need to get proper control of the printer. Tell us about the printer and printer paper.

If LR doesn't show clipping then there's no clipping. If the print shows clipping then the print process is not being properly managed.

Your problem falls under the topic color management: Tutorials on Color Management & Printing

Joe

sactown024 · Aug 8, 2012

I was just using staples brand paper and I have a HP deskjet 6940. The photo looks good on both home computer and work computer but looks like its clipping after being printed. Maybe it is the printer, good call. anyway i can adjust the way the printer prints?

Ysarex · Aug 8, 2012

sactown024 said:
I was just using staples brand paper and I have a HP deskjet 6940. The photo looks good on both home computer and work computer but looks like its clipping after being printed. Maybe it is the printer, good call. anyway i can adjust the way the printer prints?

What software are you printing from? Yes you can adjust the way the printer prints, but that printer will not be supported by quality paper vendors so you'll have to have a custom profile created. That paper from Staples is a low-grade product. Nonetheless it and the printer can be coaxed to perform better as long as the software you're printing from will support an ICC printer profile.

You were looking for answers to why your prints didn't match your display. The paper and printer are the biggest problem.

You need:

1. Calibrated displays both at home and at work. That's the first step.
2. Good quality paper would be a real plus (not sold at Staples). Try here: Inkjet Printers, Cartridges, Photo Paper, Toner Refills, Canvas The Moab Lasal paper would be a decent inexpensive choice.
3. An ICC profile for the printer/paper combination. You can have this custom created. Here's an inexpensive source: Custom Printer Profiles - Color Management for your printer
4. Software that will properly use that printer profile, i.e. Photoshop.

In lieu of the above you will likely get better results if you just use the HP paper that HP sells for that printer. You're entire chain is broken, but if you want to zero in on the weakest link it's probably that Staples paper.

What I would do:

1. Get the displays calibrated.
2. Focus on the printing paper and select a premium quality product from a vendor that supplies ICC printer profiles; Legion, Hahnemuhle, Museo, Canson, etc.
3. Find out what printers/ink set combinations that paper vendor supplies profiles for and buy one of those printers. This will save me the trouble of having a custom profile created. If I use a printer that most/all of the paper vendors support then I can increase my repertoire of papers without having to pay for a new profile. (Each paper requires it's own profile.)

Joe

sactown024 · Aug 8, 2012

interesting, the only reason i used this paper was because its what we had at work. I will first try the HP paper that goes with the printer (not even sure if this is a photo printer) and if that doesnt work I will bring the file to a lab and have them print it see how it comes out. If neither work then I guess I will have to get my monitors calibrated (dont think this is the issue becuase both monitors show the photo very similar but it is clipping when printed)

thank you!

sactown024 · Aug 8, 2012

do you have a reconmendation for a good photo printer? preferably under $200

MLeeK · Aug 8, 2012

Good printer for photos under $200: Order from a lab. It's really not economical to print at home on a cheap printer. The combination of the paper and the ink will cost you more than the print plus shipping from a lab.

While changing the paper will probably make a difference, the difference lies in your calibration. The print is fairly realistic, your displays are not.

Displays out of the box are extremely high in contrast and brightness. They are set up for internet and gaming, not photography. You THINK everything is bright, contrasty and beautiful in an image and when it prints-it's not at all. The first thing you can do to help a little bit is to turn your brightness and contrast down to about 50-75% depending on the monitor. 75% is PROBABLY where you will fall pretty OK.

Displays also tend to be a bit cool in color which will make you think your print is a nice skin tone or correct color, but when it prints you find that your skin tones are orange and everything is a bit too warm in color.

LR doesn't show you clipping when you are using the alt key to view it because LR works in ProPhoto colorspace which is the largest gamut colorspace out there. This is where I failed miserably in LR because I can't seem to get it in my brain how to tone down for the ultimate change in colorspace.
I don't know how you are saving and if you are converting to sRGB in your save or if you are saving in the wide gamut colorspace. If you are not converting it will have a big bearing on your printing as well. If you print a ProPhoto colorspace image in an sRGB printer it will look dull, flat and lifeless. Almost as if you had never post processed the raw image.

cgipson1 · Aug 8, 2012

I would also verify with your manager that this kind of misuse of company resources "cheap ink!"won't get you on trouble! Cheap but crappy prints aren't worth losing your job normally!

Just a suggestion!