Printing problems with CS3- Prints dont match what is on screen

KB
Posted By
kevin_brisolara
Feb 12, 2009
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294
Replies
7
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Closed
My prints dont match what i am seeing on the screen when using CS3. I am using windows xp and printing on a epson 7800. I never had this problem before i started using CS3. I have calibrated my monitor.

I have the standard version of CS3 not the extended.
I read a arctical that CS3 prints darker then what is on your screen. The solution if you have CS3 extended is to increase lightness just before printing, but what if you dont have the extended version, what do you do?

I couldnt find this topic on the forum here. I am sure others must have had this problem too. What is my solution?

Thanks in advance

KB
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F
Freeagent
Feb 12, 2009
There was a wonderful (and never-ending) thread on exactly this in the Mac forum some months ago. I think I still have it bookmarked…let’s see…here:

<http://www.adobeforums.com/webx/.59b5c857/256>

Read and revel. Herein is everything you could possibly need to know on this very subject.

Short story is that it usually boils down to what luminance your monitor is calibrated to; vs. the ambient light you use to view the prints.

For LCD’s a luminance level of 100 – 120 cd/m³ is more or less the accepted standard. If your images look fine with that, it’s time to look at the ambient light or the printer profile.
P
pfigen
Feb 12, 2009
Kevin,

What papers are you using? How has your screen been calibrated? To what luminance? Are you using custom profiles? What is your ambient lighting? What is your viewing lighting?

All of those factors will affect how closely your prints match your screen. Of course, you’ll never match exactly, but you should be able to come very close perceptually.

This is always one of the biggest complaints for Ps users and it’s something that you have to spend some time to get all of your variables under control. Once you do that and understand all of them, it will be very easy.

Just be glad you’re not using CS4 on Leopard on the Mac, as that actually does print differently than CS3 when printing through the Epson driver, and at this point, there is no other option than to print through a RIP or use CS3.
KB
kevin_brisolara
Feb 13, 2009
Thanks for the info.

My gamma is 2.2 with white point of 6500.
I calibrated my monitor using the spider 3 pro. The colors seem to be close now but still just a little darker on the print.

After calibrating the figures i get are .312, .336, .39 Dab, Kelvin 6514 and 111.9 cd/m2 for luminance. When calibrating the gray balance was on and the ambient light was off.

Im not using custom profiles right now. Im using musea/crane silver rag for media.

Kevin

Maybe i wont upgrade to CS4 then. Thanks for the tip.
F
Freeagent
Feb 13, 2009
I’ll just add that the calibrated monitor is your fixed point of reference (and those numbers are good). Work from there.
RL
roger_leale
Feb 13, 2009
Hi Kevin,

Freeagent is right. The Spyder does a good job on the calibration, but the screen brightness very often has to be lowered to cure the dark print syndrome.
I had to lower the luminance on my LCD monitor to 90 Cd/M² to get my prints to match the screen.

Roger
RL
Richard Lynch
Feb 13, 2009
There are a bunch of things that can affect the difference between what you see on screen and what you get in print. It is not enough to just look at calibration. Calibration is a starting point. Here are some things that may affect your result:

* Your monitor type
* Your PC type (laptops may not be best for image correction) * Your calibration device
* The lighting in the area you work in
* Choices made while calibrating
* Proper setup for using the ICC profile (e.g., you aren’t running conflicting software) * Proper color management setup
* Smart choice in color space / working space selection
* Sensible choices for any other color management changes (if any) * Careful use of on screen proofing settings
* Sensible choice for color management in capture (on camera or with scanner) * Smart use of color profiling
* Good choice of printing materials / inks (as applicable) * Good choice of equipment for printing
* Proper maintenance of printing equipment

I’m probably missing a few there, but I’ll work on it. The best scheme I think is to keep things as simple as possible. Especially if you are having trouble, eliminate variables. When you get things working as you expect, then you can try to get a little more fancy. However, every variable you add will come with drawbacks in one form or another. Freeagent seems to make some sense here…

Richard Lynch
KB
kevin_brisolara
Feb 13, 2009
Thanks everyone.

I will use the calibration as a starting point as you say. Lowering the luminance to see if that corrects my problem.

Richard, when you say proper color management setup, are you referring from capture to print, making sure RGB’s are the same throughout?

Kevin

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