[Leica] Prints are way too dark. Driven to distraction
Ken Carney
kcarney1 at cox.net
Sun Mar 1 16:18:01 PST 2015
Not sure I can add much here. I keep my monitor (Dell U2410, Spyder Pro
calibrated for room light and color) at a brightness and contrast
setting of 11/50 and keep the room lighting consistent. I think the
default brightness is 50 which is too much and 100 is like looking into
a searchlight. To print (in Photoshop) I make a duplicate image and set
them side by side on the monitor, then load the paper profile for the
duplicate. This gives a sense of how to adjust the duplicate for
printing. Usually it is just a slight brightness increase with the
curves tool, and sometimes a small saturation bump. To print, the Epson
panel is set to "Photoshop manages colors" and the same paper profile is
selected. The print is a good match to the monitor unless the viewing
conditions are extreme. I say a "good" match since I don't think it is
possible to have a perfect match with one source backlit and the other
with reflected light. I don't use LR for printing but the process is
similar with the LR soft proofing mode.
That is for color. With B&W using Epson Advanced B&W or a RIP so far as
I know there is not an easy way to soft proof. However, after a while I
can usually make an educated guess. I used to use the ImagePrint RIP
for B&W. It is excellent but I'm pretty happy with the Epson driver now.
Ken
On 3/1/2015 4:28 PM, Robert Adler wrote:
> I now have 2 monitors: I have one darkened to match print output (I am
> actually trying to have a different profile on that monitor for the paper
> that I use) and one to work on for web viewing. I initially process for web
> viewing. I find that most times a simple pulling up on the middle of the
> curve adjustment in CC or LR works just fine for prints. Sometimes it gets
> more complicated.
> Bob
>
> On Sun, Mar 1, 2015 at 1:23 PM, Aram Langhans <leica_r8 at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Similar. I noticed that, too. No matter how I calibrate the monitor, the
>> prints are always darker than the monitor. Whether I was printing myself,
>> or using Costso. Since two outputs were giving me the same results, my
>> input must be at fault. So, then, I learned a few years ago to turn the
>> monitor down. I downloaded Color HCFR and got it to work with my Spyder
>> and found out the monitor was WAY to bright. The profile software for
>> Spyder did not adjust the monitor brightness. I had to turn my monitor
>> (Dell 1224 IPS) down to 17 to get to the recommended brightness. It looks
>> pretty dark compared to my other monitor, but it works. Prints are dead on
>> from monitor to my printer (R3000) or to Costco. The trend in consumer
>> monitors seems to be bright and saturated, but that does not translate to a
>> standard print file, evidentially.
>>
>> so, try getting the HCFR Colorimeter program and see if you can get it to
>> work on your Monki. The crank that monitor brightness down.
>>
>> Aram
>>
>> --------------------------------------------------
>> From: "Robert Adler" <rgacpa at gmail.com>
>> Sent: Saturday, February 28, 2015 4:02 PM
>> To: "Leica Users Group" <lug at leica-users.org>
>> Subject: Re: [Leica] Prints are way too dark. Driven to distraction
>>
>>
>> Personally, I don't think your missing anything Lew. Even though these
>>> calibrations are supposed to calibrate for "luminance", I tend to turn my
>>> monitor down 2-4 stops to match a standard calibration chart that I've
>>> printed on my printer. Then I adjust in CC or LR on a monitor that has
>>> been
>>> darkened by the above process. Seems really dumb, but it works...
>>> Best,
>>> Bob
>>> PS-Please let me know if you find out differently!
>>>
>>> On Sat, Feb 28, 2015 at 2:02 PM, Lew Schwartz <lew1716 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> I'm printing on Epson Proofing, using LR 5.7, Epson 4880, ViewSonic
>>>> monitor
>>>> and I've just re-profiled monitor and printer using colormunki, plus I
>>>> confirm that both monitor and printer are using the new profiles. The
>>>> resulting prints are aprox 2- 4 stops too dark. Too dark is an on going
>>>> problem for me, LR, the 4880 and this monitor; I expected things to get
>>>> better after the colormunki stuff. I've just been winging a solution in
>>>> the
>>>> past by using the exposure control in the LR develop module and the
>>>> brightness setting in the print module. Not a great solution, but
>>>> workable.
>>>> Now, with these new profiles, I'm not even close. WTF? Things are way
>>>> worse. What am I missing?
>>>>
>>>> -Lew Schwartz
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Leica Users Group.
>>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Bob Adler
>>> www.robertadlerphotography.com
>>>
>>>
>>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Leica Users Group.
>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>>
>
>
More information about the LUG
mailing list