Poster size printing suggestions

wilson2009

Hi

I’m hoping you guys could help with where to go for good printing, would also like poster size printing too.  It’s for black and white prints that I want.  The last time we had some printing done they came out a little dark.  Now I’m sure our photography skills are not the best but when uploading and checking photos before ordering they looked ok but when we got them they were darker than when they were on the screen.  

Would really appreciate your help.  The biggest size I need is 50x70cm

Thank you

AMc

To get back prints that match your screen you need to properly calibrate the monitor with reference to the print process.
Most of us have our screens brighter than a printer can represent - there is no bright light behind the print
That involves screen calibration hardware and is more than I’ve ever felt worth my while.

The best large print experience I’ve had was with an A0 canvas printed at Snappy Snaps. I was able to take the image in and talk to the operator who printed a small “proof” of part of the image at 100% so I could see the output and they could adjust the image before we committed to the full image.

I’d suggest your best bet is to find a similar local print shop and take your image in on a memory card or whatever.
It’ll probably cost a bit more but you’ll get what you want first time.

wilson2009

Thanks very much for your reply.  Thanks for the advice re brightness it makes sense now Will have a look what printing services we have near us and pop in I think.  Thanks again.

wongataa

This tells you that your screen was too bright.  Get a smaller test print done first to check things like this.

12harry

You now know the problem, but the solution may be harder ( without expensive calibration gear ).
It is possible to get a colour-chart which you photograph . . .this has different depths of CMYK so the printer can adjust their side of the process - (=making sure the inks are flowing correctly).
You may see these on the edges of large prints.... but for yr purposes they can be made using Photoshop, or Paint Shop Pro, etc.
1) Print "TEST-1"  at home on an Inkjet, so you know it's reasonably OK
A4 should be enough, but you could print smaller multiple files at slightly different levels too. If the final includes a face/skin, then it may be better to include a face, as this rendition might be more important to the Client.
[ BTW be careful with Commercial colours - e.g. Logos - These should be a defined Pantone colour which your print-shop should be able to match - under suitable light ].

Take the "TEST-1" file-copy to yr printer and get a straight print - this should match the original inkjet.... if not then you can adjust the Monitor, so any subsequent file is closer....
2) Print "TEST-2" at home on an Inkjet, so you know it's reasonably OK
----go round again until it's corrected enough.

Getting a Test-Clip print from yr friendly print-shop is usually OK, but far better to use this facility only to make fine adjustments.  Your (home ) inkjet may change over time ( ink changes, wear, etc.), so it might be a good idea to put the date on the back of the Shop TEST-prints,  so you can compare again in a few weeks' time. You need to have a "standardised" Viewing light-source too. CF bulbs are not really up to the job for accurate assessment - and ColorLux ( specialised) tubes will be expensive.  Modern (expensive Pro-style) LED lights are usually "better" than other photo-LED lights - but maybe your friendly print-shop can suggest how best to match the Client's need - as it's in their interest, too.

Good Luck    Let us know how this pans out...

AMc

Genuinely baffled by the post above ?

This is what the OP asked...
The idea of trying to manually colour calibrate a monitor, a home inkjet and a commercial printer to match colour profiles sounds like a fools errand to me.  I can't see any reason to do it for a black and white print.

wysinawyg

Probably not helped by it being complete nonsense. The bit about printing on your own inkjet is clearly irrelevant. You could print a test chart with the commercial printer and then try to adjust your monitor to match (and subsequently your photo once you’re happy that the monitor is looking like the final print).

The intermediate bits about printing on your own printer and then comparing that to the professional printer which will be used is just wrong. If your home print doesn’t match the commercial print it isn’t going to matter how much you fiddle with your monitor - you can only fix that by calibrating your printer which is 1) a waste of time if your main aim from the process is getting a commercial print you’re happy with and 2) AFAIAA not possible without a proper hardware calibrator.

rancidpunk

I always am with them!

razer1

The only true way is with a decent IPS screen and calibration kit.

Trying to do by eye is near impossible to calibrate precisely enough.

For most print suppliers you can download their ICC profiles for their setups. But this relies on your own monitors being calibrated aswell. Using their profiles you can have a good match to what would come out of their equipment and inksets ( if inkjet based not C-type prints )

The only way to fix it properly is with calibration but would suggest turning your brightness down. Its surprising how low you can actually go with brightness when calibrating equipment. Or so I have seen with my particular setups.

If you go down the lines of calibration equipment, you dont need to spend fortunes. A half decent spectrometer can be picked up for less than £100 nowadays and is straightforward to calibrate.

Some monitors though are easier and better than others though I will warn you! IPS is the best going but can be anywhere of a couple hundred into thousands for commercial kit. Can highly recommend the Dell ultrasharp range though as a nice entry monitors.



I would post a link to my own site but as this is against the rules I will refrain from doing so.

It would have been something I could do as I run a small photographic print studio myself so have a bit of experience doing canvas and even vinyl prints but how this stands with the forum rules Im not sure but I wont post anything else relating to my own business!!. And sorry if what Ive already put is against but just offering the OP a suggested fix.

Astaroth

As above, getting the printer profile and using it really important - our screens are calibrated using the Spyder device (just the most basic software which was something like £80 from Amazon in the black friday sales) and it was suprising how much difference the colour profile made.

The other consideration is what stock you are having it printed on. As stated, unless your printing it on a lightbox it'll always look different to a backlite monitor however the material can impact the overall impression of the print well beyond the ICCC colour profile.

We had some large prints done for the Mrs' display stand at a fair and the company sent samples of the 6 or so different stocks they had with the same image printed on each and it was really useful to see the impact the different materials had on the image