Question about Mpix

[AdamN]

Hello everyone. I'm not sure where this question should be posted but thought I would get better responses here. I just ordered my first set of pictures from Mpix and got them in today. Not a large order since it was my first time ordering pictures; Kodak Professional Endura paper. Anyways, one was an outdoor picture and the tshirt of the subject looked like it had a bit of blue mixed into the red but the rest of the colors seemed okay(the shirt looked dark). It wasn't a big deal but something I noticed. But on the other picture I ordered(an 8x10), the colors were way off. The background and christmas tree were very dark, skin tones seemed to be off, and clothes were a little dark. Now since it was my first time ordering through them, I'm not sure but do many of you experience the same results? Do I need to overexpose pictures before submitting them to be printed? Or could it just be a one time mistake? And before submitting, they were all adjusted in CS2/Mac flatscreen. I even viewed them on 2 other computers to make sure they appeared okay. Thanks

[babybluetx23]

Did you have the check box that says DO NOT color correct my order Checked? that could have been the cause of it. If you dont they end up color correcting your order and it doesnt look right. I made that mistake ONCE! hehehe

[JohnT]

Do you have their printer (ICC) profiles loaded in your system so you can soft proof with them? If not, email them and they'll send them to you. Regarding brightness, I'm finding that I need to bump it up some so the prints will come out the way I like them. In fact I reordered a couple today with increased brightness. Also, don't let them color correct your images.

[AdamN]

ICC profiles? What is that? Sorry, never heard of it before and how could I see the difference? OH! And another dumb question, should I save the pictures in CMYK format first before submitting? Or does it matter? Thanks

[Silvernic]

That's strange to hear. I send all of the shots my wife takes on her little camera to Mpix and DO have them color correct it and it's the best automatic color correction that I've seen from a printer.

[Jake]

Originally Posted by Silvernic

That's strange to hear. I send all of the shots my wife takes on her little camera to Mpix and DO have them color correct it and it's the best automatic color correction that I've seen from a printer.

Same here. I've used there auto correction on some orders and thought they looked really good.

On most LCD monitors the brightness is turned WAY up, so when you look at pics on screen they look nice in bright but when you get prints they come out dark.

[JohnT]

Originally Posted by Silvernic

That's strange to hear. I send all of the shots my wife takes on her little camera to Mpix and DO have them color correct it and it's the best automatic color correction that I've seen from a printer.

I suppose if you just resize and send, their color correction will be fine. However, I spend a lot of time getting my images to look just the way I like them and do not want Mpix "correcting" them.

[JohnT]

Originally Posted by TxCarGuy

ICC profiles? What is that? Sorry, never heard of it before and how could I see the difference? OH! And another dumb question, should I save the pictures in CMYK format first before submitting? Or does it matter? Thanks

Best thing to do is peruse the Mpix FAQ, where much of this is explained. I guess it comes down to how much color correction you want to do versus how much you want Mpix to do. No, do not save in CMYK. This is also covered in their FAQ.

[wjmphoto]

The first question that should be asked is whether or not you are working with a color calibrated monitor when you are working on your pictures. If you are not, it is probable that the error is yours and not Mpix.

I always send prints to them and check for them not to color correct but I am also working with a calibrated monitor and am sure that all shots are taken with correct white balance and exposure. Any of these things being off can make your prints come out with off colors or too dark when printed.

[AdamN]

Well, I did NOT click the DO NOT color correct button so I just reordered some more. Hopefully it was something that simple. o:) And thanks for all the help and suggestions everyone! I appreciate it.

[Silvernic]

You have to let us know how much of a difference it made.

[René]

If Mpix did color correct your files and you are not happy with the prints send them back and they will refund your money.

[AdamN]

Good news everyone. I just got the new pictures back today and they were alot better. One was a LITTLE dark but not too bad(outside picture).

[Outlaw]

Good article at Luminous Landscape on monitor calibration: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tu...rofiling.shtml.

All about the calibration and ICC, baybee.