Screen Photos and Printed Photos driving me NUTS ! HELP !

Hi All

I have a problem which is driving me nuts, i have mentioned this in another thread but cant seem to get any joy.

The problem is when i load my photos on the PC and edit in photoshop or silky pix or whatever. I get the photo looking perfect etc.. But when i print the picture always prints a lot darker.

I know this issue is called caliberation but how can i match monitor to print or at least very close. Someone has told me to download WiziWYG for a start but when i extract this file i havent got a clue what to do with it. It is a .sis file I have downloaded a program that extracts .sis files but what then am i supposed to do with this file as it does not seem to be a program of sorts.

Also how do i calibrate monitor and printer ?? I have a Standard LCD monitor with my PC running on XP and a Canon Pixma IP4300 printer.

Dont get me wrong the photos are super but i end up having to ajust and print several (wasting ink and paper) to get near screen similarity.

I understand there are monitors one can buy but im looking for the best method with the equipment i have as i cant really afford to splash out as i just purchased my new baby the K10D

Please help folks

Yours
Pete

Pete,
Looks like you've downloaded the MAC version of WiziWYG
If you can't locate it, drop me a PM with your email address and I'll send it over...

It works like this:
* Install WiziWYG
* Run it
* Select "Monitor" and click Next
* Select "Visual" and click Next
* Follow the instructions on setting brightness and contrast (with an LCD you could just leave as-is)
* Now the tricky bit: squint hard at the Red, Green and Blue squares. You need to adjust the sliders until the inside square looks the same shade as the outside square (squint hard until you can't see the lines). It's easier to select the slider and use the arrow keys.
* When done, click Next
* Select the monitor - choose "Generic LCD color" and click Next
* Choose the white point and gamma - start with "D65" and "2.2 gamma" click Next
* Now name the profile (use the date in the filename). Also CHECK the box that says "Check here if you want this to be your default system profile", THEN click "Create Profile"

Should be it

Even if you paid £3500 for an Eizo you'd still need to calibrate it

Matt

Hi Pete,

not sure what you have there, but my zip files don't contain an .sis file???

You should have downloaded a zip file called..

wiziwyg_xp_install.zip

You need to open this file with Winzip (or Winrar) and then just double click th file called

Setup.exe

This should begin the installation wizard.

If this still doesn't look like what you have, then I've just uploaded it to my server.

http://www.liamsworld.org.uk/pug/wiziwyg_xp_install.zip

Click the link above and then click Open in the download box, and the zipfile should open automatically. Double click Setup.exe and follow the prompts.

The program itself is self explanatory, and you get nice clear instructions to follow. Again, if you get stuck, just ask..

Cheers

Liam

Wot Matt said..

My link still stands though..

hi guys have done all that

My montitor is taking some getting used to now as the screen looks quite murky

The screen looks more fawn to brownish is that normal ????

Pete

It will, or at least it does in my case. I liek to have a bright screen, so the calibrated version is darker than I usually use, but I've calibrated the monitor to wiziwyg for zero brightness, and I just switch it to that when working on or viewing photos, keeping it brighter for everything else.

Cheers

Liam

so will this give me better results when printing

IE printer and monitor similarity ??

Pete

There is another alternate if you prefer the screen as it is. Record the adjustments required to get one print to match the screen image. Process subsequent images to your liking, apply the print adjustment, print. Simplistic but should work and save you paper, ink, stress levels etc.

You can save the printer settings for the Canon printer (I have the 4200 model) under the 'profiles' tab of the printer driver. So once you've got all the settings right for a particulat paper, save the settings, then apply these before you print next time.

I've got ones set up for greetings cards, 6x4 prints on specific paper, calendars etc.

Dan

Thanks Dan but can you explain how this is done

Pete

Only unless you never want to:
a) email an image
b) post online
c) get printed onto real photopaper


If you've been getting massive differences between screen and print then I would expect your calibrated screen to look "off" when comparing against what you are used to!!

You should find that the printer will be set to sRGB and will be more or less correct if you are using their paper and inks. There are usually options within the printer driver for "optimising" your image - don't select these. There should also be an option that says "sRGB" or "ICC/ICM" - use that and print through Photoshop/Elements and you should be more or less ok.

Printing from other applications can be a bit of a game (e.g. IE) because 99% of applications under Windows are not colour managed!!

Matt

Colour management isn't a simple thing. Some past posts include: https://www.pentaxuser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2533 , https://www.pentaxuser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2619 , https://www.pentaxuser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1503 , https://www.pentaxuser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2567

Also, you should be aware that for photographic editing the ambient light should be very, very low. Surprisingly so in fact Then WiziWYG the monitor in the same light and try again.

You can also try this route:
* Look here: http://www.photobox.co.uk/static/colour.html
* Phone/email Photobox and ask for the test print
* Check that after WiziWYG-ing it looks more or less like the print
* If you still have printer problems - it's your printer settings.

Matt


Moderator note:
Associated, cross-threaded post here: https://www.pentaxuser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3727
Please post all replies on this subject to this thread

Just checked out the iP4300 driver:

On the printer properties page:
* Color/Intensity - set to "MANUAL".
* Click the "Set" button next to that
- Choose "ICM (Windows Image Color Management"

* Make sure you choose the correct "Media Type" - because the printer driver chooses the ICM color profile based on your selection.

That should get you 90% there (assuming you are using original Canon ink cartridges - you'll be very fortunate to get a colour match using third party cheap inks).

Matt

Printer calibration is always fun

Here is a link to a calibration chart that I use,
since I've been using this I have few (if any) print issues provided you keep to the rules in this and other threads.




or download directly from

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/rfphotos/images/calibrate.jpg

Rodger,
This is the same print as shipped by Photobox (link above)
Matt