Prints do not look like the image on the monitor

[Cicada]

I have noticed that the images I print are darker than the image on the monitor. What settings do I need to mess with to get them to look the same?

[Steve Foss]

Cicada, if you want a print that more perfectly matches what's on your monitor, the first step is to buy monitor color calibration software.

Even though I'm a photographer, I've never gone that route. My prints are very close to what I see on my monitor, and it's pretty simple for me to tone the photograph in Photoshop to look just a small amount wrong in just the right way that the print comes out right.

If the monitor and print differ significantly, the calibration software may be the route you need to take. Back before I was using LCD monitors, I'd make a print and then hold it up next to the picture on the screen and use the screen adjustment dials to more closely match them.

With the LCDs I'm running now, print and monitor pics are so close together I can't really tell the diff. All of my commercial printing is done via electronic order through White House Custom Color in St. Paul, and for $1 extra per file (not per print), they'll do the color correction.

Probably Dbl, finnbay and a couple others who more carefully calibrate their monitors can help you through it.

[Cicada]

So...are you saying that it is the monitor that needs adjustment? I like the way the photographs look right from my camera on the monitor. The print color seems ok, just that they are quite a bit darker once printed. The only exception is that I have a photograph of a purple orchid looking flower that will print blue.

[Dbl]

If you are serious about your work and you want to print at home you really must look at calibration hardware. Yes your monitor should be calibrated, it is the only way you can insure that you are seeing true colors and brightness. If you print you also should have a printer profile. Check with your printer manufacturer first, they may have a profile for printing already built that can be downloaded. There are folks that will make a printer profile for you but it is not cheap.

Calibration becomes important starting from what is viewed on the screen to following through with printing. That is one reason so many folks use a service like WHCC to fulfill their print requirements. They have printer profiles that can be downloaded and installed on your computer so that when you open the file in PS (I can't speak to other programs) you can do what is known as soft proofing. This allows you to see what the print will look like on your calibrated screen. Remember the printer is assuming you are using calibration hardware so that your screen will display the profile correctly.

If you don't want to go to that trouble and can live with off colors and darker or lighter prints just lighten up your shots and or change colors around until you get them to print to your satisfaction as Steve mentioned. It will be very hit and miss and cost you a fair amount of paper and ink. It often becomes cheaper to calibrate your hardware or to send out your shots for printing. Steve I know runs a Mac and they are much more friendly with color issues than Windoz is! So the bottom line is calibration is important even if you are not printing, it really is the only way you can insure what you see on screen is what your eyes truly saw! There is a lot that goes into this aspect of photography, and there are a lot of books out there and information on the web that cover this important topic! Hope that helps just a little.

[Cicada]

Thank you both. I will have to experiment on my own for a while. I was hoping it was the printer that needed adjusting.