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I just started dipping my toe into printing some of my images using my new Epson SC-P800. I'm sure it's user incompetence, but although I've calibrated my iMac monitor with an x-rite i1 and am using the right paper profiles, my prints are coming out substantially darker than on screen.

 

Can anyone offer me some advice?

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Your screen must be too bright. I'm not sure how the print preview in Lightroom develop module knows what's going to happen in the print module.

Doesn't the iMac adjust its brightness to the ambient light? I don't use Lightroom under the same lighting conditions as I view prints.

(My problem is that prints are too yellow).

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Most probably Your Monitor is too bright. Office Monitors like the iMac Monitor are mostly too bright and even the lowest brightness setting is too much. It should be not more than 120 cd.

 

Elmar

 

 

I'd calibrated the monitor to 100 cd before printing

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Of course the judgement by eye is important, but there still is another measure. The "L" of LAB is the measure of the luminosity. 

So with the "curves" function of PS you can not only spread the picture from dark to light, but also adjust the general lightness.

 

By the way "The picture postcard workflow" of Dan Margulis was very helpful for me.

Jan

Edited by jankap
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I just started dipping my toe into printing some of my images using my new Epson SC-P800. I'm sure it's user incompetence, but although I've calibrated my iMac monitor with an x-rite i1 and am using the right paper profiles, my prints are coming out substantially darker than on screen.

 

Can anyone offer me some advice?

Hi Jennifer,

You should also calibrate the printer.

Jean

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I just started dipping my toe into printing some of my images using my new Epson SC-P800. I'm sure it's user incompetence, but although I've calibrated my iMac monitor with an x-rite i1 and am using the right paper profiles, my prints are coming out substantially darker than on screen.

 

Can anyone offer me some advice?

I used to have similar problems . I would sudgest you download a trial of Image Print 10. Saves me a lot of time,paper and easy to use. Very good paper profiles and you are working with the soft proof image on the screen so "what you see is what you get". A

little expensive, but as a % of my total outlay on equipment not such a big number. The version for the P800 is a star performer.

Jeff S put me on to the programme last year .He has posted many favourable comments on IP 10 on the forum. Worth looking at the revues on Luminous Landscape Lu La.

Edited by Guest
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I had similar issues printing from LR on my Epson 3880 and always had to adjust brightness up a notch or two.

 

Since I shifted to Printao .... as I could never get the borders right from LR ...... images are now pretty close to what is on the screen and what I expect. No idea why. 

 

Anyway, it makes printing far less painful, even if at the expense of some flexibility......

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Can someone with both LR and Image Print display a picture using both in soft proof mode and tell us if the LR picture is brighter than the other one. If so, the IP should fix Jennifer's problem. If not then it won't.

IP 10 will easily fix her,problem with the Epson printer she is using. Obviously the problem can be solved without it,it's just a more difficult and time consuming workflow from my perspective. As our America friends say ,Keep it Simple S-----They call it the KISS principle.

As Jaapv correctly comments IP only works with Epson which again from my own perspective is not important as I have the Epson P800 which I am 200% happy with.

Edited by Guest
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My problem is that Imageprint only supports Epson. I use Canon :( Printao only supports industrial Canon printers. :( :(

 

Jaap,

 

I think you'll find Imageprint are now starting to support Canon printers.  I see they are listing the Canon Pro 1000 under their supported printers.

 

https://www.colorbytesoftware.com/Ver10/supported_printers.shtml

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I now use Imageprint and wouldn't go back, mainly simplicity and I'm very happy with the results. 

 

I recall when I attended a printing workshop a few years ago that one of the settings in the print module should really be set to Dark as default and not Darker..  This can be found under the Advanced B&W Settings when using the advanced B&W driver.  This may be worth taking a look.

 

I used to find the Epson videos (John Sexton and Kim Weston) really helpful too.  They also mentioned the above default should really be Dark and not Darker in the Advanced video.  Unfortunately the videos appear to have vanished!  This was the link to the news of the videos.  Can anyone track them down?

 

http://news.epson.com/news/epson-celebrates-the-black-and-white-print-with-new-video-series

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I now use Imageprint and wouldn't go back, mainly simplicity and I'm very happy with the results. 

 

I recall when I attended a printing workshop a few years ago that one of the settings in the print module should really be set to Dark as default and not Darker..  This can be found under the Advanced B&W Settings when using the advanced B&W driver.  This may be worth taking a look.

 

I used to find the Epson videos (John Sexton and Kim Weston) really helpful too.  They also mentioned the above default should really be Dark and not Darker in the Advanced video.  Unfortunately the videos appear to have vanished!  This was the link to the news of the videos.  Can anyone track them down?

 

http://news.epson.com/news/epson-celebrates-the-black-and-white-print-with-new-video-series

 

The beauty of IP 10 is you can forget all about the Epson driver and everything to do with it. It transports the user from black art to modern art.Just makes for an easy life .Not every one will agree,but its all about opinions.

If I manage to find those videos I will post a link.

Edited by Guest
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If you're printing from Lightroom, in the Print module check the Print Settings dialog (left side) for whether the printer is controlling (like with the Epson Advanced B&W driver) or if Lightroom is controlling. Make sure it matches up with the info in the box on the right side panel (which is either "Controlled by printer" or the profile you're using). If both are controlling the printing, problems crop up.

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