Printing tips

[JamesDH]

Hi,
Pretty new to digital photography and no idea how to get the prints to look like the monitor.
I worked over this picture in Capture NX and when I was happy with it I took it to.. Ok don't laugh.. Walmart to get it printed.
Well as you might guess.. it doesn't look like the picture on the monitor.
The reds are more brown, The greens are very dark and the browns are almost yellow. (the other picture had a lot of brown ground in it that looked almost yellow)
The blue sky is white.
Heck the one I printed on my $29 ink jet looks better than the one from Walmart.

Is there a formula or secret to getting the print to look like the monitor (tried it on three monitors and also on the Kodak monitor in Walmart. Looked great on all of them)

I read somewhere to go heavy on the sharpening and I did. That part looks OK, nice and sharp.

Suggestions?

Thanks

[engstrom]

James, you might try talking to the photo lab tech at WalMart and see if he can print it without color correction.

[pippin]

immediately tell them to turn off the 'image intelligence' on their pic unit. It really only serves people that do no image adjustments on their own. they leave it for us to do.

Also, if it is really important, tell them to do a density correction - which they should do at the beginning of the day and with every new paper change. If they don't - I'd be looking for someplace that does.

Just so you know, the lab techs there only know basic stuff. Fuji come out to do periodic maintenance (which I belive is monthly or possibly longer - but that may vary lab to lab), and fix the machines.

Cheap is not always better.

Also, do you have a calibration device to calibrate your screen? On my calibrated monitor the rocks are red to the point of going pink, and the sky is washed out kind of blue.

[JamesDH]

I do not have a monitor calibration device.
What would you recommend?

I will go back tomorrow and see what they can do about turning off the automatic correction.
They had three machines. Kodak and two Fujifilm.
I picked the Kodak.

It's not that I want to go cheap ($4.75 per 8x10 is cheap?) it's that they are the only game around.
I'm in Groesbeck :)
The closest printing place is the Walmart in Mexia, 14 miles away. After that it's Waco which is 40 miles.

[picasso]

There is no cheap way to do this. You need to calibrate your monitor using a calibration device. I use a Spyder Pro. Then you need to send it to a place that calibrates their printers. I would use an online service if you really want to get a decent print. I have done some really nice landscapes from Mpix on their metallic paper. This picture might look good on it. You also want to get a larger picture like 16x20 or larger. 8x10 won't do this justice.

There are whole books written on color calibration. You have to calibrate your monitor and your printer and that sometimes is still a pain to get the exact same print as what you see. Your monitor will always have more contast and brightness then what you can print but you should be able to get the same colors.

Paul

[jeffkohn]

I'll second the suggestion to calibrate your monitor, until you do that there's really no way to be sure whether the problem is with your image or the printer. Looking at this image on my (calibrated) display is has a pretty strong magenta cast to it.

[ivgonzalez]

One other question, what software are you using to print with?

Just becase you calbrate your monitor, does not mean that the print will be correct.

[pippin]

did the kodak print instantly while you wait? if so, they've got auto color correction (think kodak perfect touch) and there's really no real way to not apply the correction. You can say no adjustments, but it will do it anyway.

[johnastovall]

Originally Posted by picasso

There is no cheap way to do this. You need to calibrate your monitor using a calibration device. I use a Spyder Pro. Then you need to send it to a place that calibrates their printers. I would use an online service if you really want to get a decent print. I have done some really nice landscapes from Mpix on their metallic paper. This picture might look good on it. You also want to get a larger picture like 16x20 or larger. 8x10 won't do this justice.

There are whole books written on color calibration. You have to calibrate your monitor and your printer and that sometimes is still a pain to get the exact same print as what you see. Your monitor will always have more contast and brightness then what you can print but you should be able to get the same colors.

Paul

Not just calibrate your printer but you have to have the correct ICC profiles for the paper/printer/ink combination.

If you want it right, you have to get into those books....

[JamesDH]

The photo was processed in Capture NX then saved to CF and taken to Walmart where I printed it using the self serve printer from Kodak.

Not sure what you mean by what software did I use to print with.
The software to prepare it for printing or the printer software?
Maybe I missed a step.


Spyder PRO or Spyder express?

[johnastovall]

Originally Posted by JamesDH

The photo was processed in Capture NX then saved to CF and taken to Walmart where I printed it using the self serve printer from Kodak.

Not sure what you mean by what software did I use to print with.
The software to prepare it for printing or the printer software?
Maybe I missed a step.


Spyder PRO or Spyder express?

Walmart doesn't have clue when it come to color mangement. You might ask the if they can provide the ICC profile for their printing system. That should prove amusing.

Dry Creek Photos list places in Texas which you can get ICC profiles for their printers.