DaveyA Posted September 20, 2011 Share #1 Posted September 20, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) I have been finding my prints appear too dark and I am having to pump up the brightness to around 63, using LR3 by the way, vibrance up to 70 and saturation around 30 to get what is actually a nice result. The image was taken with my Digilux 5, although the problem is the same whatever camera I use, and shot in raw. I have my screen calibrated. Whilst looking around on the net I discovered that there might be an issue with the screen brightness on the iMac being too high. Even the Mac's own brightness control doesn't take it down too far. I have downloaded an app which lets me adjust the brightness even more. It does take a bit of getting used to, looking at a darker screen, but I have tried printing another couple of photos and there is an improvement. Can anyone confirm that this is helping me or is it perhaps just imagination. One other problem is that I cannot seem to get really deep reds to look correct, ie pillarbox red. I have a picture taken of a big red signpost and it appears more crimson than red. Is there a way to adjust "redness" without upsetting other colours? I am sure there is but I am not knowledgeable enough. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted September 20, 2011 Posted September 20, 2011 Hi DaveyA, Take a look here Screen brightness. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
archi4 Posted September 20, 2011 Share #2 Posted September 20, 2011 The only way to get consistent results first of all is to calibrate your screen. I have calibrated my iMac screen to a brightness to 80 cd/m2. The second step is to have LR or photoshop to manage the colors and use the printer profile for the paper you are using. If you prefer having the printer manage the colors, then you can best use the papers from the printer manufacturer. The important thing is to calibrate your screen. Some reds and other highly saturated colors can be out of gamut and beyond what the printer can reproduce on paper. You can check this in Photoshop, but not in Lightroom. My Epson 3880 can reproduce saturated bright reds quite well, but there are limits. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
perb Posted September 20, 2011 Share #3 Posted September 20, 2011 Why Are My Prints Too Dark Regards Per Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
archi4 Posted September 21, 2011 Share #4 Posted September 21, 2011 Thanks Per for pointing to this excellent article. I am able to calibrate my iMac's (one older matte screen model and one of the latest type) down to 80 cd/m2 using either x-rite i1 pro or the display2 meter without any problem using either the eye-one match software or Color Eyes display software. Since the prints from my Epson 3880 on a number of different papers (Harman, Ilford Gold Fiber Silk, Innova etc.) are extremely close to the screen image except for the occasional out of gamut red or blue, I have stuck with the iMac. regards, maurice Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyA Posted September 21, 2011 Author Share #5 Posted September 21, 2011 Yes, thanks also for the link. It is very informative. At the moment the only screen calibration tool I have is the basic i1 Display 2, it seems to do everything automatically and I don't know if you can set the display brightness. Will I need to upgrade to a better version or is there some other way to achieve the correct setting? Thanks again. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
archi4 Posted September 21, 2011 Share #6 Posted September 21, 2011 Yes, you can set the screen brightness using the i1 Display 2 and eye-one match software. Just don't use the automated option of the program, but the detailed one. In one of the screens, you can adjust the brightness using the slider in your your systems' display preferences. As I remember, the slider should then be at about 1/4 from the left hand side. It is easier if you have the screen preferences in the menu bar because you may have to move the brightness slider a number of times to narrow the brightness down to what you want. I use the Color Eyes Display software because it automatically sets the screen luminance to my preferred setting. maurice Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyA Posted September 21, 2011 Author Share #7 Posted September 21, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) Thanks Maurice. I'll give it a try tomorrow. Dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
archi4 Posted September 21, 2011 Share #8 Posted September 21, 2011 Dave, should you have any problems with going through it, let me know and I will try uploading some screen shots. In the eye-one match software, the first few screens are not applicable for an iMac because you have no controls to adjust colors or contrast. The first screen you can do anything about is adjusting the luminance, or as you will brightness. The bar which shows how far you are off is is in the upper right hand corner of the screen and adjusting it until it is at the center is pretty fiddly. maurice Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyA Posted September 21, 2011 Author Share #9 Posted September 21, 2011 That's very kind. I will try it tomorrow and let you know how I get on. Thanks again Dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyA Posted September 23, 2011 Author Share #10 Posted September 23, 2011 Well, I have had a go at the calibration. Just to make sure I got it right here are the results when done. Do they look about right or is anything amiss, should I do it again and change anything? Colour temp; 6500k Gamma; 2.2 Luminance; target 90, actual 88.9 Ambient light; colour temp 4200k, illuminance 173 lux. I chose 90 as the target luminance value for no other reason than I have noticed that other people have theirs set around this figure, and now the screen is much less bright. When it measured the ambient light I could not get the indicators near the centre of the scale. The monitor is beside a window, but not facing it, I tried closing blinds etc and turning the monitor around a bit but it didn't seem to make much diference. There is a noticeable difference in the before and after examples at the end of the process though, and I have to say it is for the better. Thanks Dave I think I might not have done a good job of setting the white point. It asked for me to place the instrument over a white part of the screen, but there wasn't anything that I would call "proper" white. Should I prepare something before hand to place the instrument on? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
archi4 Posted September 23, 2011 Share #11 Posted September 23, 2011 Dave Colour temp 6500 and gamma 2.2 are the settings I use. I go to 80 cd/m2 luminance but 90 may be fine for your printer. If prints are still a trifle too dark, then you can always go lower. I never set ambient light because my workspace does not constantly have controlled lighting. I seem to remember that the eye 1 display should be placed on the white rectangle which comes up after the brightness screen, and which in the rest of the process changes colour. regards, maurice Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyA Posted September 23, 2011 Author Share #12 Posted September 23, 2011 I think I did notice the white square Maurice, I will run through the calibration again to make sure. I was thinking about downloading a test image to print. Should I print the image straight off, without any adjustments regardless of how it looks, and then compare the print to how it looks on my screen and if it still looks dark lower the luminance some more? Sorry about this, I seem to keep tagging on extra questions . I do appreciate the help though. Thanks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
archi4 Posted September 23, 2011 Share #13 Posted September 23, 2011 Dave, I would try one print from LR using color management by printer, and in the printer dialog the correct settings for paper and color space if applicable. In my Epson 3800 and 3880 printer that would be sRGB when letting the printer manage the colors. Do not apply any color, brightness or contrast corrections. In the i one match folder in applications you will find a lab test picture you can use, after importing into LR. so that it is in LR's colour space, which is a variant of ProPhoto RGB. On the premise that I only correct one variable, my advice would be to only correct the monitor luminance and leave all corrections in the printer and LR alone. The goal is to be able to correct any image in your software until it looks good on your monitor screen and then expect a print that matches that as closely as possible. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyA Posted September 24, 2011 Author Share #14 Posted September 24, 2011 I have tried a couple of prints of the test picture as you describe and they still seemed a little dark at 90. I have taken the luminance down to 80 so my settings are the same as yours now. The test prints are better, the color chart grid and bar look ok to me but the three faces seem to look just a tad "muddy" on the shadow side of their faces. I realise they will never look exactly the same as they do on the screen, but is it worth trying to lower the luminance even more? While I was checking the print settings to be managed by the printer I noticed that the Gamma was set to 1.8 and there was no colour management selected, the only choices were RGB, Epson vivid and Epson standard. Should I leave these alone? Thanks Dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
archi4 Posted September 25, 2011 Share #15 Posted September 25, 2011 Dave, To judge the skin tones, you need a better test picture. Either a picture you take yourself, or I can send a good one if you pm me your email address. I don't know which printer you use, so I can't say anything sensible about the settings. I will check what my epson 3880 dialog gives me when letting the printer manage colors later today when I have access to the iMac attached to my printer. I always print letting Photoshop or Lightroom manage the colors, either using profiles from the paper manufacturer but usually profiles for the various papers which I make myself. To do this determine which profile belongs to the Epson paper you are using and choose that in the dropdown profile menu. Then choose perceptual and when you click on print and the Epson dialog appears choose the correct paper setting and turn color management off in the settings menu and then print. regards Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyA Posted September 25, 2011 Author Share #16 Posted September 25, 2011 Thanks very much, I have sent you a PM. I am using an Epson R1800. I use the Epson paper and profiles. I also do exactly as you describe for the other steps. Very grateful for the help Dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.