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I hate printing photographs.....

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    I hate printing photographs.....

    Hello All,

    I have an iMac, Canon EOS cameras and a simple Canon MG4150 printer. Earlier this year, in Cornwall I took this photograph (with my EOS M) in RAW:

    Sun Setting Over St Ives by wakarimasen1, on Flickr

    The version you see is the JPEG developed by Canons' own software, Digital Photo Professional 4. It's nothing amazing but I like it, and decided to print it today. So far, I have six copies: none of which look like the print above. I'm dimly aware of colour profiles, but the last time I dipped my toes into their murky waters, it all ended rather badly. Does anyone know of a simple primer that I can follow, to set up my system for reasonably accurate printing?

    I prefer film (slides) for colour if I'm honest, but am trying to embrace the digital world a little more. However, if I can't make a simple print, I think I may go mad .

    All help gratefully received.
    Tap tap tap...

    #2
    Re: I hate printing photographs.....

    I'm not into printing but shouldn't you be printing a tiff rather than a jpeg?
    :- Ian

    5D Mk III, 24-105 / 70-200 f2.8 L / 100-400 Mk II / 100 macro / 16-35 L / 11-24 L / 1.4 & 2x converters and a bad back carrying it all ;o)

    :- https://www.flickr.com/photos/fotosespana/

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      #3
      Re: I hate printing photographs.....

      Printing is a tricky issue and getting what you see on the screen can be a problem. And this isn't easiest of images either. I'm sure there are more knowledgeable people on here that maybe be able to suggest a way forward. I'll be interested to see the advice.
      Canon 5D3, 7D2, 60D, Canon 70-200L f2.8 IS II, Canon 300 f4L IS, Canon 16-35 f4 L, Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS USM, Canon 1.4 MkIII extender, Sigma AF 10-20mm f/3.5 EX DC HSM, Sigma 150-600 Contemporary, Tamron SP AF 70-300 F/4-5.6 Di VC USD, Canon EF-S 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS
      https://www.flickr.com/photos/16830751@N03/

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        #4
        Re: I hate printing photographs.....

        I think your starting point is to make sure your screen is calibrated so that the colours and tones of the image you see on screen are correct, then your printed image should look as you think it should be - not sure about printing tiffs - I only ever save images a high quality jpeg and print on a canon MG 7150, which is an updated version of yours and I always find the colours are as I would expect from what I am seeing on screen

        Stan
        Stan - LRPS, CPAGB, BPE2*

        http://neptuno-photography.foliopic.com/
        flickr

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          #5
          Re: I hate printing photographs.....

          I've been printing for nearly 12 months with a Canon Pro10...I'm finding that I need to brighten the image by 0.6 to 1.0 stops to get a print with similar brightness...colours are pretty good without adjustment...I'm using a Mac and DNG from Lightroom .....I suggest making a test print of 1" wide images at a range of brightnesses and then select the best setting for the final print. The proper method is to calibrate of course but I can't make my free colour monkey work with my Mac...no idea why.
          Brian Vickers LRPS

          brianvickersphotography.com

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            #6
            Re: I hate printing photographs.....

            My experience is similar, printing with the 7550. Every session I intend to print I always run a calibration on my screens. I have the box ticked in lightroom to allow the printer to manage colours and I initially had to brighten my prints a little in the printer settings and a very slight reduction of yellow but I can print on permajet oyster with the printer set for semi gloss and it's a very good match. I switched to first call inks on Stan's recommendation with no ill effects too. Permajet will actually create a custom profile for you for your printer using their paper and I always intended to have one done once I had changed all the cartridges to the first call inks, but I haven't needed to because it's fine as it is. It takes a few prints to adjust it initially, but once done it's done for that paper type. Obviously if you wish to print on a variety of paper types then you'll need to profile.
            Paul

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              #7
              Re: I hate printing photographs.....

              I print using an Epson R2000 A3+ printer I only use the Permajet Oyster range of papers and I took advantage of their free profile service where I printed out their test page sent it to them with details about the printer, what inks I was using etc they then sent me a profile to use with the printer. Make sure you have turned off your printers colour correction and if printing from photoshop select the option that tells the printer that photoshop will handle the colours.

              Edited to say: Don't forget that your print will look different in different light I bought a day light lamp from Hobbycraft for £20, which is LED and portable that outputs about 6000K colour temp for checking my prints.

              Link here
              Last edited by paulr5604; 30-11-2015, 10:54.
              1Dmk2, Canon 70-200 f4 L Non-IS & a borrowed canon 28mm

              Flickr
              Facebook
              www.paulraybouldphotography.co.uk

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                #8
                Re: I hate printing photographs.....

                Originally posted by brianvickers View Post
                ...I suggest making a test print of 1" wide images at a range of brightnesses and then select the best setting for the final print.
                Hadn't thought of that, what a great idea!
                Garry Macdonald on Flickr
                Garry Macdonald on Facebook

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                  #9
                  Re: I hate printing photographs.....

                  The lamp is a great idea too
                  Paul

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: I hate printing photographs.....

                    Check out the color munki support on their website they. I use a color munki with an iMac along with an old Canon MP640 printer and it works very well but some of the printing changes need to be done in the printer set up dialogue box. Do make sure that you've also got the latest firmware for it.

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                      #11
                      Re: I hate printing photographs.....

                      If you haven't calibrated your screen then you have no real chance of getting decent prints. Some other points to consider,
                      1. Are you using canon inks or compatibles?
                      2. What paper are you printing on?
                      If you are using Canon ink and paper there is a standard profile available for your printer which should give good results.
                      Alan

                      No longer using Canon but still teaching new Canon users (and others) the gentle art of Photography.

                      http://www.springfield-photography.com/

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: I hate printing photographs.....

                        I Use a Mac and find printing with my rather old Canon MP640 fine. I have calibrated both my screen & printer using a Color Munki. My canon printer is selected for colour management & then once you click print another menu opens up just before clicking the final print button you need to go into the print submenus and make sure you have the correct paper & that the canon printer is selected in Colour management .

                        Sue

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                          #13
                          Re: I hate printing photographs.....

                          I will probably get shot down for what I am going to say . But I have one of the cheap Canon printers , an MG5650 . It only prints up to A4 . But does have multiple inks and is advertised as a photo printer . I use Canon inks , and print on Canon photo glossy 2 paper , neither I suppose are cheap , but I don`t print hundreds of images so do not really count the cost . On my old Canon printer , I did find I needed to brighten them up a little , but not so on this printer . I have also calibrated my monitor , and I think this does make a big difference . I am told it`s very hard to get an exact looking print , as to how it looks on our monitors , because monitors are back lit and physical prints are not . I am assuming it`s the colours your not happy with , and I think if you have not , calibrating your monitor would help a lot . I would personally user the printer makers papers , ie if it`s an Epsom use Epsom papers , if it`s a Canon use Canon papers . If your after perfect home prints , it`s going to take a lot of trial and error I feel , and I would try not to get to hung up on it .

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                            #14
                            Re: I hate printing photographs.....

                            I got decent results from my Epson SX400, but, it was through trial and error. The colour was good, but the brightness was a struggle. Eventually I set up a preset of "adjustments for print" in Lightroom. Anything I wanted to print, I made a virtual copy, applied the preset, and printed. Worked for me!
                            Garry Macdonald on Flickr
                            Garry Macdonald on Facebook

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                              #15
                              Re: I hate printing photographs.....

                              I have been printing my pictures for years.
                              1. I always calibrate my monitor on a monthly basis,
                              2. I use genuine inks
                              3. I use the correct profile for my printer/paper combination (As i use manufacturers genuine ink I don't have worry about this)
                              4. I use soft proofing prior to printing and adjust if necessary.
                              5. I make sure that either Lightroom or Photoshop controls the printer colour management and NOT the printer
                              It is mportant to understand that the cour gamut of your monitor will be greater than the printer, also, remember that on a monitor adding all the colours will produce white whereas on a printer adding all the colours will produce black. This is fundamental and is the reason to use soft proofing in lightroom and photoshop.
                              Alan

                              No longer using Canon but still teaching new Canon users (and others) the gentle art of Photography.

                              http://www.springfield-photography.com/

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