Computer vs. Printer Brightness Dispute

The image's brightness on my computer is completely different from how it comes out on the printer. I'm just doing some test prints for now on a less than stellar HP printer, but am going to send some files off to Richmond Camera to have them printed. Is this more than likely a dispute on the HP printer's end or should I expect the same thing from Richmond Camera's prints??

As far as my computer's calibration is concerned, it seems fine to me. The images I see on my computer and on other's computers all come out to look the same. Or it could just be all our computers are miraculously calibrated incorrectly.

Also, the B&W prints seem to come out with a cyan accent to the gray tones...have messed around with the images and the printer settings to reduce that, but it's still present.

Start here:

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=296149

As far as you B&W images, the printer driver should have a "Black and White Only" setting of some sort. Use that -- you may need to do this in the color management area, meaning the printer will manage the color.

As to brightness, that typically just means your moniitor brightness is set to a "normal consumer" level, meaning way to bright for photo editing. Turn your brightness down -- inexpensive monitors will tend to go crummy too soon, but you do what you can to get things close to the prints you have done. And, as much as you can, do your editing in dim neutral light.

Then, run some more test prints. If your monitor took well to the brightness adjustments, you should see the improvements in prints. Once you are satisfied, then send a few images for test prints to the print shop. A set of 4x6 or 5x7 prints at different color and luminance tones should show how wll the shop printers line up with your setup. If they have profiles for their printers and you have Photoshop, that can help to "fine tune" things using softproofing.

And, if you are confident in your colors/calibration, make sure the shop turns off color correction.

Read this:

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

What everyone else said. I had the same issue so I upgraded my monitor to the Dell U2311H and calibrated it and now my prints match but it comes out too bright online for most monitors. It's a give and take.

You can also send a standard step wedge to the printer and to your monitor, and if it prints and looks right on the moitor, to reproduce all the steps in the full scale of brightnesses, then at least you can identify where the shortcoming lies.

Thanks for the info all, I'll see if I can figure it out.