Printing your shots for display.....where to get them done?

[SteadyFromOz]

I'm wanting to display a range of my fave photos and have been down to a couple of my local print while you wait outlets and had some proofs printed up for me so I can get an idea of the end result. I've done this twice now at two different outlets and I must say I am very disappointed in the end product on both occasions. Most shots seemed too dark and the colour is just way off.

Obviously the calibration between my computer and these printers is totally out of line.

So how do we get around all this and what sort of printing outlet should I be doing business with?

I have very similar results with my home printing which is a calibration issue I'm sure but how do I ensure I can get a great print that looks as good as the one on the computer monitor when wanting it done by someone else.

[lputman]

Is your monitor calibrated? An investment of less than $100US in a monitor calibration tool would be a big help. I use a huey Pantone myself and there's a significant difference.

[OsmosisStudios]

Ask the lab what printer their using: you can often get a profile for it.

[mandyatm]

I just wanted to say that I am having the exact same problem myself. The pictures look bright on every monitor I look at them on, then they come in dark from every lab I try. Very frustrating. I am going to try a local lab that offers custom printing and you can get on their monitors and adjust the brightness and such for each individual pictures. Of course this is more expensive though.

I want to get the profiles from MPIX and try that, but I don't know how to go about it. Good luck to you!

[SteadyFromOz]

Thanks heaps for all replies as this is a new learning curve for me.

Can anyone else just add a little more detail as to what is available for calibrating computer monitors and is this all that is needed. I imagine any calibration that is needed would require some form of data from retail printers that would need to be entered into my calibration software once I get one. And is it a simple matter of asking the retail printers for a profile of their printer and what form would this be in?

Thank you in advance.

Ian

[mandyatm]

I wanted to come back and tell you that I have fixed my printing issues, and let you know how in case it might help you too. what kind of monitor are you using? I use a Dell laptop, which cannot be adjusted or calibrated. I viewed my pictures on several other computers and they looked fine, but these were all LCD screens. LCD screens make things look brighter than they are. My friend suggested picking up a used CRT monitor with contrast/brightness adjusting buttons on the front. I found a 19" one on Craigslist for $25. As soon as I hooked it up, the pictures looked totally different than my laptop. They looked just like the pictures I printed - too dark! I brightened my pictures using this monitor and tested them at wal-mart. A perfect match!

As far as asking for the profiles, I sent MPix an email for information on this a few days ago and never received a response, so I am not sure. For calibration, I have seen people recommend Spyder, but I haven't tried calibrating. I am adjusted the settings on this CRT monitor by comparing prints I have to make it look the same.

[SteadyFromOz]

Good to hear you have resolved some issues.

I use my laptop and also I use a Imac. They both display pics well although the Imac would be just short of sensational however the disappointment is when my pics are printed at the retail printer.

The Imac has its own callibration software and I used this and the screen is more or less the same so monitor issues are not the problem. However printing profiles seem to be the reason for my poor results.

Reading up on some of my local Pro printing services websites really helps one on the enlightenment of this subject. I just need to put it into practice and see what the results will be I think.