Prints keep coming back to dark...suggestions please.

Hello,

I'm looking for suggestions on how to get my prints to come back close to what I'm seeing in the final processing in my LR 2 as displayed from my monitor. I do have a flat screen LCD Gateway monitor and I have used a Spyder Calibration, and also set the printing profiles for my local Costco. I upload to the Costco using their profiles and make sure there is no autocorrection. Also I save my pictures with the printing profiles when I convert to jpeg. My prints are still coming back too dark, especially any of the low light ones like sunsets. I would appreciate any help with this as I'm frustrated spending the time and money, and having my prints always too dark. I live 2 hrs one way to a Costco and use them because the price is great. I'm open to using a different lab that could mail prints if they will do a better job, and not to pricey.

Thanks

Take a print from your lab and hold it up next to your monitor. From there, turn down the brightness on your monitor until it comes as close as possible to matching the print.

Well, it sounds like you're doing all the right stuff. However, given that monitors are typically brighter than printed media, have you looked at the histograms of your images to see if that accurately reflects the perceived brightness?

Just brighten them a hair before you send them in. That is what we do, no worries.
If they are consistently dark now they will be consistently better.

Hi

Try this: http://www.luminous-landscape.com …_my_prints_too_​dark.shtml

Having your LCD at more than ~100cd/m2 may certainly have the effect you're describing. But simply correcting that won't help if you are not happy with the prints. They won't get lighter just because your monitor is less bright: the files would then need to be reprocessed to your satisfaction with the new monitor settings before printing.
Hope that makes sense
Tim

Mac Mahon wrote in post #11936885
Try this: http://www.luminous-landscape.com …_my_prints_too_​dark.shtml

Having your LCD at more than ~100cd/m2 may certainly have the effect you're describing.

Don't you find it ironic that the author of that article sets HIS monitors to higher than 140cd/m2?

quoting from the article:

jra wrote in post #11936517
Take a print from your lab and hold it up next to your monitor. From there, turn down the brightness on your monitor until it comes as close as possible to matching the print.

excellent suggestion

jra wrote in post #11936517
Take a print from your lab and hold it up next to your monitor. From there, turn down the brightness on your monitor until it comes as close as possible to matching the print.

But the light illuminating the print must be equivalent to the "normal" viewing light that you use to judge your prints. Essentially, I'm talking about a controlled viewing area off to the side of your monitor screen. It could be as simple as a lamp with a 5000k bulb or as elaborate as a viewing booth.

http://digitaldog.net …nt_to_Screen_Ma​tching.jpg

ChasP505 wrote in post #11936984
Don't you find it ironic that the author of that article sets HIS monitors to higher than 140cd/m2?

I did catch that irony when I first read that article. When I first learned about turning my monitor way down (learned it right here, of course!) it was very helpful to do that and it was the only way I could get anything done. Now I sometimes edit in a darker room light with monitor turned down to almost nothing, and sometimes it's easier in normal room light with the monitor turned up a little (but never to factory brightness!).

I guess that somehow starting with a darker monitor in a darker environment helped to give me some sort of sense of how things should look.

I fundamentally believe that if you cannot view 26 discrete levels from black to white in this step wedge, you haven't a snowball's chance in Hell to get the same 26 discrete levels in a print, to match.

If your prints are darker than your monitor, barring issues with the printer, your monitor is too bright. I send my stuff out to a local pro lab and occasionally print at home. My monitor is calibrated with a luminance setting of 100 cd/m2. My prints come out a tiny big darker. I might try lowering the monitor to 95. I work in a relatively dark(er) environment. My previous monitor was also set to 100. It may take some getting used to but in a few days you'll wonder how your eyes survived a BRIGHT monitor.

There is also a contrast difference between prints and monitors that could give the illusion of one being darker than the other. Prints have a contrast ratio of < 300, closer to 200, monitors much higher but that can also be calibrated in to more closely match print (raise your black point target when calibrating). The contrast on my calibrated monitor is somewhere around 350, if I recall.

Judging from all the comments, I believe that in addition to having the monitor too bright, the second most common cause of mismatch between the print and monitor display is working in cave-like lighting conditions.

Having done most of my work in a bright corporate office environment, I've learned that it's not necessary to use a luminance lower than 120cd/m2, and 140cd/m2 is even better for consumer level monitors.

I think everyone goes through this when they first start having prints made. I don't like my monitor as dark as a lot of people suggest. Its 27" of LED magnificence, I'm not going to dim it that far when there's quite a bit I do besides photography on this machine.

I use 4 different labs. I've learned how much I need to step up brightness for each one. Once I have all my prints ready, I just adjust brightness across the board a pre-determined amount and the prints come back perfect.

krystal99 wrote in post #11936296
Hello,

I'm looking for suggestions on how to get my prints to come back close to what I'm seeing in the final processing in my LR 2 as displayed from my monitor. I do have a flat screen LCD Gateway monitor and I have used a Spyder Calibration, and also set the printing profiles for my local Costco. I upload to the Costco using their profiles and make sure there is no autocorrection. Also I save my pictures with the printing profiles when I convert to jpeg. Thanks

That jpg is sRGB, & not aRGB, right?

If you use Image> Mode / Convert to profile, uncheck the ICC profile box at the bottom when you File> "Save As".

In 5 years, I've never had a problem with Costco prints that I didn't cause myself. But...

This may be the source of your problem. Mailed prints uploaded online aren't made in the store by Costco. You should check into what profile they should have.

Thanks Everyone,

When in LR 2 print module I change the color management to the Costco printing profiles when I save it to jpeg file. Then I upload to Costco online and choose the Costco I used with the profiles. Are you saying that when you do this the photos are not printed out at the Costco store? I pick them up at the store, so figured that is where the printing is done.

I believe when I calibrated with the spyder it set the luminance to the 120cd. My monitor is in a cabinet so I work in a low light conditions with only some light behind me. Confused on what is best light to do editing.

I'm planning on purchasing a monitor calibration, does anyone recommend a good one? I borrowed a friends spyder and due to calibrate again. I wish there was some way to share what I see and get from the lab. I have even tried doing test prints with different color management settings such as the sRGB and spyder calibration profiles. That is the confusing part shoud I be saving with spyder profiles to the jpeg or the Costco?

Thanks Again