Printing trouble

[JamesDH]

Hello,
Just picked up an Epson R220 at WM for $69 and was trying to print some pictures.
Of course a problem cropped up..
My prints are way darker than the screen. So dark you can't make out detail.

If I crank up the brightness to get a nice printed picture all the light areas loose detail.
I'm printing from Nikon Capture NX with color management turned off.
I tried the three modes of the printer and they all three look alike.
(Color Controls, Photo enhance and ICM)

I'm about to try ICM with the "No Color Adjustment" check box checked and try using Capture NX color management.

Any suggestions?
I've attached a picture before and after cranking up the brightness to show the difference.

James

[johnastovall]

Get and read Real World Color Management.

You need to use color management in you workflow and it's not just one thing but many. Starting with a hardware calibrated monitor and going to the correct ICC profile for your printer, ink and paper set.

[JamesDH]

I picked up Spyder2 and calibrated my monitor. What a difference.
Greens look green and reds look red.
Took a little getting used to but it looks great now.

Printing?
Ok went by Barnes & Noble looking for the book you recommended but didn't find it or any other that dealt with color management.

I decided to go looking for printer profiles for the paper I am using, Kodak Premium Photo Paper - Glossy.
I went to Kodak's site, nothing listed for the R220 as I think it's just too much of a beginner type device.
I figured what the heck and downloaded a profile for the R320.
Those crafty guys at Kodak included some documents with the profile so I took the time to read a few.
"Work flow for CS2" Hmm.. that might help.
They looked pretty simple so I followed them to the letter.

BINGO!! my first print was outstanding.

What about Capture NX? Well I basically applied the same steps to a print from there and wound up with equally good prints.

I may see if Amazon has the book you recommended.

Thanks

[theophilus]

A local library in College Station will be able to borrow the book for you from a larger library, that is what I did (if you don't want to buy it). It may just take a few weeks to come in.