New computer...dark prints??

I,ve upgraded to a new dell,64bit,windows7 machine.

Problem is, after I calibrated my monitor{nec},my prints are coming out dark.
I have an epson1800 printer,and use Lightroom for my editing ,them send the tiff files, to qimage for printing.

I,ve run nozzle checks,and the printer seems to be working fine.
I am using a 2 year old, spyder2 express calibration device.

Up till now,my prints matched my monitor almost exactly.

Is it time for a new calibration device?
Do these things wear out or become obsolete over time?
If so,which one do you recommend
I,ve been looking at the spyder3,and the color munki

Also,I,ve read some where that the tank on, the epson printers should be emptied ,that this could possibly be a cause of the problem????

Any help/suggestions, would be greatly appreciated
Thanks
Mike

Are you using the latest software version (64 bit support)?

http://support.datacol​or.com …sion&_m=downloa​ds&_a=view

Also can you (barely) distinguish between the two left-most black boxes on the grey scale chart on this page? http://www.displaycali​bration.com/

Bob,Thanks for your reply

Yes,I updated to the new 64bit driver.
Let me throw this at you,if I may

I,m having Lightroom edit the raw files in prophoto rgb....then I bring the edited image to Qimage ,as a 16 bit tiff.
Should I use Srgb instead
Will,this make any difference??

Looks like I,m grasping at straws,here.
I'm really bugged with this problem,my printer is basically dead in the water..

Mike

Can't you convert to sRGB and print directly from Lightroom? Also, when you soft proof how does the image look?

Hopefully Rene or one of the other color management gurus will step into your thread to help.

Its in your print settings. Check and experiment with letting ps color manage, or the printer. I guarantee it in there.

Tristimulus colorimeters don't wear out. Software kills them.

mike397 wrote in post #9536782
I,ve upgraded to a new dell,64bit,windows7 machine.

Different machine or just different OS?
Different monitor as well?

Calibration went well? (No error messages, 'old' images still look the same, etc)

You have the latest (64 bit) versions of Qimage and printer drivers?
Everything else (settings etc) identical to your old system?
Have you tried running in 32bit mode (is that possible in Win7?)

Does your NEC monitor support the NEC Spectraview system?

Rene,thanks for your reply.

Yes,a new machine,and a new OS{now windows 7}
Same monitor.
Calibration went smoothly-no error messages.
Old images ,seem to look a little brighter,
64 bit upgrade drivers for all.
Everything else is exactly the same
Not sure about 32 bit mode,I will look into this.

Please keep in mind,the differences are not severe,but I can see the difference.
I'm using the epson printer profile for the Luster paper,and a custom profile that Eric Chan made for the Museo silver rag paper{my paper of choice}
Chas,,not sure about the spectra view software,but I'll check into this.

Thanks again guys
Mike

Bob A
Yes,I can export to a jpeg,and also if i choose,print directly from Lightroom...but,
I really like the job Qimage does,it's a great program

Your idea,is a good one,I will try to print directly from Light room ,to see what the result might be..

I'll get back to you on this..Thanks

Mike

Mike, if your prints are dark and older images look bright it just sounds like your monitor brightness needs to be notched down. Sometimes a calibration run will get it just right, sometimes not -- it depends on the monitor, the ambient light, and how the software/hardware does the job.

Tony
Thanks for your reply.

Here are my settings ,after calibration:
Brightness=30.4%
Contrast=50%
Sharpness=16.6%

These are the same numbers I had,before I got the new computer ,when I was running windows XP..
Do you think,I might need a new calibrator,say,Spyder3 or color munki??

Mike

Mike, I'd try notching your brightness down until the display looks bad, then notch it up just until it looks "acceptable" -- it will tend to look dimmer than you are used to, but it's at least a start. Run a test print and see how it compares and take it from there.

Adjusting monitor brightness can be hit-or-miss, depending on the monitor, and calibration software handles it in different ways, and maybe running the fresh calibration on the new OS just didn't "catch" the proper levels?

I know when I print to Smugmug's EZPrints I need to soft proof using EZPrints printer profile and do a curves adjustment to get the soft proof rendition to match what I want.

When you print to your own printer don't you still need to soft proof?

Tony--I'll try what you suggest,and post back ,hopefully this will work?

Bob--To be honest,I rarely soft proof,the results I was getting ,prior to my new computer, were more than acceptable.
Edited in Lightroom,sent the resulting image to Qimage ,and that's it.
My results were perfect,especially using the silver rag paper,with Eric Chan's profile

Thanks again guys,
Mike

mike397 wrote in post #9538537
...Chas,,not sure about the spectra view software,but I'll check into this.

Hmmmm... If you don't know, then most likely it doesn't support Spectraview. I was just thinking that maybe you could use your Spyder2 with the NEC's own calibration software and eliminate the calibration as a factor.