Didn't know printing was this hard!

[RedGoblinz]

Okay, so i suddenly wanted to print my photos, and went to pick out the HP 990 cxi (really old!) printer, and took some really weird third party photo papers, i think the brand is Kokuyo.

So, i did the first print, and i was very very disappointed with the difference between screen and print. What i want is the closest match, but using photoshop to print, there are so many ICC profiles but i cant find one that works well, i had a setup yesterday that i had to tweak the image before printing to compensate for the factors affecting a print (paper, relective-ness etc.)

But today, i tried to do some changes so that i have to do less tweaking and get more predictable results. But i ended up getting bad results like, Gamut warning areas turning literally gray in prints, skin too red, skin too dull, skin too purple. Theres one print that has the skin tone nicely done but has plenty of black clipping (Like super contrast).

So, my question is, what do i do now? Get myself REAL photo paper that has ICC profiles to match, get a new printer (not really economical, since the prints arent for sale). Or are there things i can try to get better prints?

Thanks for any help

[Matthias099]

Do you have your screen calibrated to get a good idea what the photo looks like? Maybe that has already an influence on what you see and print.

[OsmosisStudios]

Find a good lab. Work with them.

[RedGoblinz]

Matthias - Probably not completely calibrated, only those that need me to eyeball to calibrate.

Osmosis - Even when making 4 x 6? D:

[ravncat]

Don't forget to make sure you're not managing colors twice - make sure that if photoshop is managing colors, your printer isn't.

[3bayjunkie]

The budget choice, I think, would be to print them from an online vender (according to Google chrome this isn't a word...) like mpix.com have them print them and send them to you in the mail. its really cheap.

The other more expensive approach would be like you said, buy a nice photo printer. You can get a good one for as little as $1200. So depending on how much you plan to print you can weigh the costs.

[John Hendry]

Ravncat has a good point in that you want to make sure photoshop and your printer aren't both managing colours if possible. It sounds as if your monitor hasn't been calibrated and I would suggest your printer is not the best for getting "perfect" results. If you are strapped for cash, I would suggest you use Boots or Tesco or some other online print offer. They can produce prints quickly and effortlessly for you.

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by RedGoblinz

Osmosis - Even when making 4 x 6? D:

Yup: you'd be surprised how low your costs really can be if you develop a good relationship with a reliable local vendor.