# monitor and printer calibration



## GaabNZ (Dec 22, 2014)

Hi all

I've just read Dylan 777's great post on what printer do you use and it got me thinking about my printer.

I currently have an Epson R2880 and calibrate my monitor using Spyder 4 Express. I use Ilford Gallerie paper and use the correct profile from the Ilford website. 

I only do prints for myself, friends and family and print mainly A4 or A3 sized paper. My problem is my prints come out way darker than my monitor is showing.

I will look at home at the Lightroom softproofing as I've never done that and generally print direct from CS6.

Any other ideas or help as to why I am printing so dark?

Thanks in advance for any advice

Gary


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## YuengLinger (Dec 22, 2014)

Go into Color Control. Near the top, change Tone from current setting to a lighter one.


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## privatebydesign (Dec 22, 2014)

The problem is your ambient light.

Do this simple test, put a foamcore or piece of card next to your screen, hold a piece of blank photo paper next to your screen with the card between them so that no light from the screen falls on the paper, is the paper the same brightness as your screen?

Over 99% of people will say no, prints will always appear dark if they don't have the same ambient light on them as your screen is putting out, a perfectly calibrated screen set to 110 cd/m² will be way too bright when next to most prints ambient light.

When I print I try to find out how the light is where the print will be hung, often 85 cd/m² is far more realistic.

I use these to get correct screen/print balancing. https://www.solux.net/cgi-bin/tlistore/colorproofkit.html it might be overkill for most people, but the idea is the same, good even light with the correct luminance levels to match your screen.


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## GaabNZ (Dec 22, 2014)

Thank you for the replies, I'll have a look when I get home from work.

Cheers


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## tolusina (Dec 22, 2014)

Is there no softproofing function in CS6?
---
Here's a double self quote from two different threads regarding what works for me.



tolusina said:


> TLDR version,
> Calibrate a wide gamut monitor, profile each printer/ink/paper combination to be used, soft proof in software such as Lightroom, you WILL smile at the results.
> - - -
> 
> ...


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## Famateur (Dec 22, 2014)

I noticed the same thing when I started printing, and comments so far sound correct to me. What I've found helpful is just bumping the brightness up to 5 or 6 in Print > Color Management > Print Adjustment, depending on the paper I'm using.


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## Dylan777 (Dec 22, 2014)

I recently upgraded to LG 27MB85Z-B. I'm using one of three LG MFG pre-calibrated presets, Gamma 2.2. My monitor is now sitting inside DYI hood http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=23884.msg467631#msg467631

As privatebydesign mentioned about ambient light changing, I'm not worry much about that anymore. I reduced brightness to 50 for PP and 15 when I'm online. I recently did some x-mas card printing at home. The brightness, colors, vibrant and clarity level look good.


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## Dylan777 (Dec 22, 2014)

privatebydesign said:


> The problem is your ambient light.
> 
> Do this simple test, put a foamcore or piece of card next to your screen, hold a piece of blank photo paper next to your screen with the card between them so that no light from the screen falls on the paper, is the paper the same brightness as your screen?
> 
> ...



What do you think about this? 
https://www.solux.net/cgi-bin/tlistore/colorview.html?id=hAZFZEdZ


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## mackguyver (Dec 22, 2014)

Dylan777 said:


> privatebydesign said:
> 
> 
> > The problem is your ambient light.
> ...


I find the soft proofing booths to be too rich for my blood - I use Ottlites (http://www.ottlite.com/) for my proofing. They're D6500 vs. D5000 (which the print industry uses for the most part), but I prefer D6500 for photos that will be displayed as it's not quite so warm.


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## tculotta (Dec 22, 2014)

I echo using Lightroom for soft-proofing and printing. I find it as important as using a calibrated monitor. The ICC profiles can be selected from a drop down so you can also see how a specific paper profile changes things in soft-proofing.


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## privatebydesign (Dec 23, 2014)

Dylan777 said:


> What do you think about this?
> https://www.solux.net/cgi-bin/tlistore/colorview.html?id=hAZFZEdZ



Hi Dylan, 

They look very overpriced to me, but as mackguyver points out most of the dedicated viewing booths are overpriced, the reason given is that they have very precise dimming controls that maintain full spectrum light with different power levels, but they are still too much money. I got the lamp set I linked to and put the track on the ceiling, I also got a 7'x3.5' piece of metal and painted it white, I screwed that to the wall and use magnets to hang prints, it is great for true side by side hardproofing, and works really well for multiple prints or big panos. I like the four ceiling fittings because you can change the angles to give you broader coverage and also adjust the brightness levels by altering the spread of the lamps.

Solux are the name for this kind of light, when you really get in to printing you start to learn about metamerism and other print specific issues, Solux bulbs go much deeper than the easily faked CRI index many "full spectrum" bulbs claim to have. For me the print illumination is as important to getting what you want from your prints as profiling your monitor, that is why I spent more on print viewing bulbs than my screen colorimeter.

It might well be overkill for most people but I print for other photographers, some of whom print themselves, so I feel the investment is worth it for the results I get.


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## Dylan777 (Dec 23, 2014)

privatebydesign said:


> Dylan777 said:
> 
> 
> > What do you think about this?
> ...



Thanks privatebydesign.


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## mackguyver (Dec 24, 2014)

privatebydesign said:


> Dylan777 said:
> 
> 
> > What do you think about this?
> ...


Private, those are good points about metamerism and if I'm doing a large commercial print, I'll be sure to check out the lighting of the installation space first to make sure I know what type of lighting they have.

Also, speaking of overkill, here's the ultimate viewing booth with 5 different light sources (for a mere $1,725) - I used to use one like this back in the day when I did graphic design: PANTONE® color viewing light (5-light Unit)


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## privatebydesign (Dec 25, 2014)

Yes those graphics types can be as anal as us photographers! Though if the Lottery money was forthcoming then I'd go for a GTI Viewing station http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=gti+viewing&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ma&Top+Nav-Search= but without the flat file, I got a very nice oak flat file off eBay that just fits my 4900 on and I put castors on it so the whole thing is mobile, solid, and reasonably priced, who said you could have any two?


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## LDS (Jan 2, 2015)

GaabNZ said:


> Any other ideas or help as to why I am printing so dark?



First, check the brightness you set your monitor to when calibrating. Most monitors are set around 200cd (or more), which is usually too high for print proofs (good for movies and games, not photo....). it should be set around 110-140 cd (or even less) depending on the ambient light.
Also, the prints contrast will always be much lower than on screen images. Glossy papers have more contrast, matte ones less, both have far less contrast than a monitor. Dye inks and pigment inks will lead to different level of contrast as well.
That's why proper soft proofing is important, after proper calibration of monitor and printer. It will try to show you how the final print will look, and let you fine tune parameters specifically for that image, printer and paper combination.
In Lightroom, is important to activate 'simulate paper and ink' to see the final result with ICC profiles correction applied. Photoshop AFAIK can soft-proof too.
A relatively inexpensive lamp to assess prints is the GraphiLite, which can be find around 80 euro, it also takes less space than a proof box, if your needs are not so 'professional'.


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