Prints much darker than screen

[chuckp27]

hey guys,

love this blog and articles!

anyways, i have a question. i am an amateur photographer and i'm having an issue with printing. i use lightroom to do all sorts of editing and when i'm done, i love the photos. i adjust the saturation, hue, brightness, etc. they look great to me. i even lighten them a little because prints sometimes come out dark.

i typically use iphoto to print photos from apple directly. lately, the photos are terribly dark. i hate them. if i compare them to the screen, they are like night and day. apple use fuji, which i think is a recent switch from kodak.

is there something i'm doing wrong? i use an imac with a glossy screen, but is the color i'm seeing on the screen vastly different from the print?? i understand there might be some slight differences, but these are pretty major to me. Or do I simply need to print them at a better place, with higher quality color and image processing? If so, any good online recommendations that won't kill the wallet? I printed some 8x10's from apple and i basically have to throw them out they are so dark. That sucks.

Here's a quick example.

[kuvahmagh]

Wow that is horrible. I don't think I've ever seen anything that bad before.

Personally I use a local, professional printer for everything that way I can look through the prints with them and discuss those types of issues, I've never had a problem that way and the only time they screwed up they fixed it while I waited for free.

[mseigafuse]

Let me guess... you have a new flat screen monitor, LCD perhaps? I had the same issue, turns out the new monitors are WAY brighter than old CRT monitors. Calibrate your monitor, especially the luminosity. I use a Spyder 3 Pro and it works great for me.

Mike

[PS*]

Have you tried printing else where? Using the same file and shopping around, like a local printer, a drug store kiosk, a different online company?

[SusanH1970]

Originally Posted by mseigafuse

Let me guess... you have a new flat screen monitor, LCD perhaps? I had the same issue, turns out the new monitors are WAY brighter than old CRT monitors. Calibrate your monitor, especially the luminosity. I use a Spyder 3 Pro and it works great for me.

Mike

+1. This should solve your problem.