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Printing

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brightncheerful
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Printing

#97856

Postby brightncheerful » November 22nd, 2017, 3:50 pm

Went along as a visitor to another camera club last night - my first also as a visitor was to a different camera club about a month ago: event was a talk by a fashion photographer and make-up artist which I found fascinating. Last night was an informal event, mostly discussing photos that had been in the club's recent competition.

Of the photos passed around the gathering for any comments, all printed and mounted, my personal likes ranged from 7 to 10 but frankly I have difficulty knowing what to say when looking at other people's photos so i just focus on the sort of subjects and compositions that resonate with me. I'm not into criticising as such. However, what struck me was just how un-complementary was the quality of the printing. Mostly, it seemed people email or send their images to print shops, rather than do their own printing. I didn't say this to anyone there but I'd feel let down if any of my photos were printed by someone whose task presumably is to do a better job than myself. One club member whose photos are in the top league of its competition told us that all he does before sending his image to the print shop (a professional outfit as well) is to brighten them up slightly, otherwise they come out too dark on paper. Someone asked if he used print profiles, he doesn't and actually I wasn't certain whether he understood the question.

I don't calibrate my monitor and printer, I had a go but the scree looked too dark for my liking, so I just rely on my inkjet to produce the printed result. But whether that result is as good as it could be I've no idea. What I do know however is that different papers and finishes affect the end result; and that without a thorough understanding of the differences can result in disappointment. Last night for example there was one particular photo that was considered very good but I suspect 'good' referred to the subject matter and the composition, rather than the printing which I thought too garish. Others were on a sort of satin finish which personally I thought ruined the appearance: I suspect some others did too.

When discussion turned to printing and mounting, someone suggested that would be an event for the club's programme: there was a lot of support for the idea.

I suppose it very much depends upon what you want and are going to do with your photos. I tend to print my better ones on A4 gloss or matt depending. With club competitions, where presumably the cost of having images printed by a print shop (pro or instant?) and mounting can mount up, I guess it's easier to skimp wherever possible than aim to achieve exhibition standard.

What do you think?

colin
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Re: Printing

#107387

Postby colin » January 2nd, 2018, 2:44 pm

I would agree with the club member who just lightens up his images from what he sees on the monitor. I find that if i colour calibrate my monitor using Spider Pro and send the files to a print shop who also keeps their equipment calibrated then the colour match seems perfect to my eye at least, the difficult bit is getting the density or brightness correct , a monitor screen will always look brighter than a print viewed in reflective light and only trial and error has taught me to turn the brightness level of my monitor right down when editing files for printing. I never use print profiles and don't see the need, I think such such profiles are are probably more useful to the print shop when calibrating their own equipment, neither can I see why files should be altered to match different paper surfaces, its only the texture of the paper that changes, if the colour balance changes then something has gone wrong in the calibration system.


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