Help with printing

staffitaxi

staffitaxi

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Andrea
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I've just been printing off some of my Chester Zoo photos and they just seem dark and dead in colour.

Is that something I can sort out or is it likely to be just the printer?

Or is my laptop screen set up wrong and the colours aren't as bright as I think they are?

Anyone else print their own?

Am using a Canon IP5200 if that means anything to anyone.

Should I just be paying out to get them printed properly?

Thanks

Andrea
 
This is an issue I have with my prints. Using an Epson. I spend ages getting the picture to look right on CS2, then it prints off completely different. No amount of tweeking or manipulation that I do in the printer software will get the prints to come out as good as they should be.
 
Hi Andrea,

It could be your screen or your printer or both - I borrowed a monitor calibrator and calibrated my laptop and my screen, also sues laptop and it made a big difference, I haven't made any prints as yet but just to the colours on the screen.

Its also possible to get a printer profile made, I know there are a few people that have had theres done, you basically print out some charts, leave them to dry and then send them to a company who analyse them and send you the relevant settings over email.

If I'm doing a big print run, we sometimes use photobox, my dad does a lot of his own printing and a lot of his seem to come out quite well after a levels tweak on his epson R300.

You could try changing the brightness settings in your pictures and just see what effects that has on the prints you are doing and go from there. Do you use photoshop? Try a levels tweak.
 
Also check the following:
- You should only have either the Printer or PS2 (whatever software) decide on the colour settings. If both do it you get dark prints.
- Set one to "none" and the other to decide on the ICC profile

I get best results by forcing the printer into dumb "none" mode and letting PS2 decide on the colour correction
 
I'm no expert on this, but have struggled through getting reasonable results myself. Hopefully, someone more knowledgeable will also be along to help us both :)

Whilst your prints will never match exactly what you see on the monitor (just google for ICC profiles and you'll see lots of confusing reasons why ;)), you should be able to get pretty close.

It could be down to one or more of the following:
- calibration of your monitor
- mismatch between printer ICC profile and paper used (Different types of paper can give quite different colours from exactly the same output).
- Inks (compatibles may not provide the same colours as originals)
- the printer's capabilities (some printers are obviously better than others)

I've do print my own A4s on a Canon iP4300. It can give a fairly bland representation of strong colours, but you can usually get away with them for most purposes.

What paper are you using? Are you then choosing the correct paper profile when you print? The drivers for the canon printers only come with profiles for Canon paper.

Paul
 
Thanks all for your replies so far.

Matt - Cheeky question but what do my photos look like on your laptop. Do they look dark and dull, normal or overdone? Just to give me an idea of whether its my screen. I might have it set a bit brighter for playing games. Don't groan anyone!!

Paul (old git) - Thanks. there doesn seem to be a printer utilities bit but I have to be linked up to mess around so I'll have a go with that later.

Paul (mr grumpy) - Thanks also. I'm using Canon inks not replacements, however I think there is an even better set they do for photographs so might try them next time. Its an expensive do though as I've just bought a normal set of cartridges and it cost me £55.00. Need to shop around for cartridges next time.

Have been using viking 145g/m2 High Gloss paper so far but have a new pack of HP superior paper 180 glossy to use now as I've just finished the other pack. It was double the price though but if the picture quality is better I'll try and get hold of the same thing cheaper elsewhere.

Will have a play around later and see if I get some better results.

Thanks

Andrea
 
Printer calibration will be the main issue. If you and I have a calibrated screen, both images should apprear the same on both our screens. This is the culprit for most issues relating to dark prints.

Buy a Pantone Huey or a Spyder2 (I have the spyder) and you'll see a big difference. You probably have your monitor set too bright.

Printer calibration is another matter and you really need to use the right profile for your paper/printer combo. If you don't have a profile try and download one or use a paper that has them. I use Ilford papers and download the profiles from their web site.

Also if you cahange inks you should get a profile for the inks and paper you use. I prefer to use the OEM cartridges. You buy a printer for a reason and quality is usually one of them. Other manufacturers inks are not always tried and tested and without good profiles your prints might never be what you see on the screen.
 
I have a similar problem with my Epson. I've never used an epson before this one, i've always had HP, and never had to calibrate it or anything, it just worked and printed great photos. However i'd heard good things about epson printers, and decided that i'd give them a go... I tried a test photo and it was rubbish! Dark, dull, flat photos! Wasn't impressed, and i've hardly used the printer since!

Problem being, i know nothing about printers and how to calibrate them *sigh*
 
Ive heard the same about Epson.

My canon prints perfectly whats on the screen, with canon inks and canon paper.

Had loads of trouble in the past with Epson though :|
 
staffitaxi said:
Have been using viking 145g/m2 High Gloss paper so far but have a new pack of HP superior paper 180 glossy to use now as I've just finished the other pack.
Click to expand...

That seems quite low density for high quality paper. The Canon Photo Paper Pro and the Kodak Ultima Photo Paper are around 270g/m2.

Try here for great deals on Kodak Paper (but be quick if what you want is in stock - it goes quickly!) http://svp.co.uk/products-list.php?bid=161 (They have great service too - if you subscribe to their newsletter, you'll occasionally be notified of a 99p shipping offer too)

Your printer uses the same catridges as mine - here's the cheapest place I've seen for 'em -> http://www.valueshop.co.uk/inkjet_cartridges_canon/canon_pixma_ip5200.asp

The bundle of all 5 inks (which comes in at just over £40 inc P&P) includes a pack of genuine canon Photo Paper Plus Glossy 6x4s too.
 
Thanks everyone

I have just printed off loads of photos and they are much better than before.

Have messed around with all the settings for the printer and the difference is amazing.

I might tweak them again next time I print to see if I can get it even better.

Thanks

Andrea
 
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