Printing help

[firebuffgal]

Hello. I have taken an old photograph, colorized it, saved it as a JPG in RGB. Color Working Space in PS5 is at sRGB IEC61966-2.1 profile

I uploaded to Wlagreens web site, and when they printed it the colors turned mostly black or if there is any color very very dark. The technician tried to correct things on his end but couldn't.

Any ideas on why it printed so black? Thank you in advance!

Link to JPG file: http://www.wyliephotos.com/ynp/dark_print.jpg

[hue-e]

my first bit of advice is to go somewhere other than walgreens

[firebuffgal]

Well, that's a given. :) I needed this right away, however...

Basically, if the print looks fine on my ink jet Epson but prints to dark at a vendor, is it something I can fix on my end or do they need to try to fix it on their end?

[studiocygnet]

The photo is very high contrast, the colors are all very dark, but there is more white than anything else, with little middle scale. So I'm guessing their machine was trying to make some of that white grey, which then darkened the darks even more. Might have to be custom printed, instead of machine printed.

[firebuffgal]

Thanks youf ro looking and your input, studiocygnet.

The tech mentioned he tried to take autocorrect off but said that it could have been done before he even received the file; internally after I uploaded the photo. He was pleasant, didn't charge me and was willing to work with me. If I could do some thing on my end to ensure a quality print, I would do it to assist him.

[texkam]

my first bit of advice is to go somewhere other than walgreens

Wow Patrick, really? Sure it's easy to cheap shot Walgreens, but as I've posted before, Provided the equipment is properly maintained and calibrated it will yield a decent print. Color and density are supposed to be checked on a regular basis. If it's a Fugi system, regular system checks are wired directly to Fugi Corporate. Sounds like they may not have re-calibrated the machine after changing paper, as changing from one roll lot to another without doing this can yield this result. Ask the Photo Specialist to let you see the latest density check results for this roll or ask them to run a density check. If they are clueless then your local Walgreens manager is not doing their job properly. Good luck.

[venchka]

If your Epson prints ok, print from your Epson. Is that an option?

If the local tech person can override some auto correction thingies (a tech term) did you try taking the file to him on a flash drive? That way he can handle the file without any unseen corrections being made. Just a thought. Are there anyother alternatives in your neighborhood?

[KJ Smith]

You probably should have put this in the "Printroom" sub-forum.

We expect to see wet print issues here.

I looked at their site, JPEGs are correct. They don't specify, that I saw, a color space. sRGB should work.

Answer some questions.

Did you let them color correct?

Are you using a calibrated monitor?

Are you on a LCD?

What program do you print out of now?

[texkam]

Were you asking for a print other than their usual 4x6 size. It's possible the last time they used their 5 inch or 8 inch magazine they ran out of paper, dropped in a new roll and just put it away. If this is the case, every other print they will try to produce from this roll will have the same characteristics until they calibrate. If their printer yields different results, an acceptable print, on the very next order printed from this magazine (another customer's), then it's not the printer.

taking the file to him on a flash drive? That way he can handle the file without any unseen corrections being made.

+1^

[venchka]

Thanks Mark.

[firebuffgal]

Thanks all for the suggestions and assistance. Much appreciated.

venchka, I ended up printing on my Epson. At some point I'll meet with one of the techs and bring the file on my usb thingy (). That way if I need a quick turn around in the future we can work together. Thanks for the suggestion!

KJ, thanks for your interest. I couldn't find an appropriate forum for this at first glance and now I see the word "film" staring at me in plain black and white! Will remember it for next time and...
-Did you let them color correct? There was no mention of auto-correct when placing the order but the tech seems to think this is an automatic process when uploaded files are sent to the store.
-Are you using a calibrated monitor? Yes Spyder3 Pro
-Are you on a LCD? LED actually
-What program do you print out of now? Photoshop 5. I scanned an original black and white, processed it using different layers, then flattened the photo to create the JPG.

Digital photos from my D300 have printed just fine at this Walgreens. Never had an issue before and thus leaving me to believe this is an issue on the vendor's end. But since this isn't my typical digital file I wanted to seek some advice to see if I needed to change things on my end.

Thanks again for the assistance!

[philnT4]

For what it's worth, I upload photos to BWC in Dallas. They turn things around pretty quickly and provide custom results at a fair cost. I had a Hawaiian sunset photo that printed very dark in some areas yet looked great on the screen. Minor corrections were all that were needed. But, certainly not as cheap as Walgreens, nor as fast.

[firebuffgal]

Thanks, Phil. How do you reach them? I have never had any luck getting an answer via email. In fact that reminds me: I emailed them last week for a quote on gallery wraps and 8x10 prints and still haven't heard from them.

[philnT4]

I set up an account with them and have used them a few times with good results. I believe you can upload items without setting up a pro account and have them printed pretty reasonably. But, I do think they cater to pros and like to have accounts set up to streamline billing.