Imagine that you have taken a stunning photograph and edited it carefully before printing it. When you see the final product, the dynamic range, colors, and detail are not what you had expected. This sounds familiar. I’ve had this happen to me many times. This blog is written to complement an video that I have posted on AdoramaTV. It will help you achieve accurate color and detail prints of all your photos. I’ll cover four basic principles of photo-printing to help you get as close to your monitor as possible to the print you receive.
Realistic Expectations
I’ll save you some heartache by telling you that there will never be a 100% match between what you see in your monitor and the photo you print. It is impossible to achieve an “exact match”, because reflected light will never be the same as transmitted. What you see in your monitor is transmitted and what you can see on a printed image is reflected. It’s just physics.
The temperature of the light that hits a photo can also affect its perceived color accuracy. The print will appear bluer (cooler) when lit by daylight. The final consideration is how the print will be displayed. You will need to decide whether you want the print behind an acrylic or glass frame.
For more information about color correction in post-processing check out this article by 42West, Basics of Colour Correction.
Discussions With Printique.com
As I prepared this article, i reached out to the masters of print at Printique for their perspectives. Printique produces hundreds of prints every day, so I knew that they could give me useful information. Following their advice and my own experience, I developed the four principles below to help you get started with accurate prints.
Principle 1: Monitor Calibration-How Important is it?
I asked Printiqueif any monitor calibration software was recommended. They replied, “We use XRite, but generally we find calibration to not be accurate. We recommend ordering small proofs so you can get a feel for where your printing is in relation to the image that you see and adjust accordingly.”
This advice is so simple and straightforward, but I have found it to be 100% true. It’s easy to calibrate my monitor with a Colour Checker. It gets me 90% of the way. Test prints are my go-to for that last percent.
Principle # 2: Upload a well-edited file
If you want to get maximum detail from your photo prints, ensure that the files uploaded are 300ppi. You may have to “up-rez your file” if you are making a large printing. When I printed a 20″x30″ print, for example, I needed to ensure that the dimensions were 6000 x 900 pixels. This is equivalent to 54 megapixels.
This is done to maximize the detail. Uploading a file with fewer megapixels may not result in a noticeable loss of detail. It depends on the type of media, distance from the screen, and your personal tolerance. Printique, and other print services, recommend 300 ppi to maximize detail.
What about soft-proofing your file prior to uploading? Soft proofing is essentially pre-visualizing your file digitally on your monitor before printing. Several online printers publish their International Color Consortium profiles (ICC). This profile can be downloaded by users to soft-proof their digital image. An ICC profile is a description of the color characteristics, limitations and capabilities of a specific device or medium. Soft proofing is helpful but I think Printique’s original advice is more valuable. Order small proofs so you can see how the printed output compares with what you’ve seen on screen. Then adjust your design accordingly.
Principle 3: Pay attention to the Imbedded color profile
What color space should you embed in your digital files? Most online services accept any color space. However, I do recommend Adobe RGB or P3, which both have a larger color range than the sRGB.
Uploading the correct file format
What file format should I use to save this file? Printique states that there is no difference between high quality/low-compression JPEGs and uncompressed TIFFs in terms of print quality. This corresponds with Level 10 of Photoshop’s Save feature. TIFF files are larger than JPEGs, and some services limit the size of uploaded files. JPEGs of high quality will print just as well. You will upload files much faster and avoid uploading errors due to file size restrictions.
Some of the Most Frequently Asked Question
You’ll get better prints if you consider the four principles we discussed before printing. Now let me go over some other questions Printique gets asked frequently:
Can I use a print medium (e.g. canvas) to hide imperfections in a file with a low resolution? Canvas is better for hiding imperfections.
Any media with texture would conceal some imperfections. Dye-sublimation printing can also soften and hide some imperfections, because it involves heat transfer, which is very organic, from a solid phase to a gaseous one without passing through a first liquid phase.
Is there a software that you would recommend to me if I wanted to “up-res my file”? Photoshop or Gigapixel, perhaps?
If you decide to use a different process, make sure you check the final result on your screen after you have finished increasing the file’s resolution. Prints will show any compression artifacts or haloing in high contrast areas. The imperfections may not matter when you are making large prints, where the audience won’t be looking closely.
Does a particular print medium (e.g. canvas, metal or paper) reproduce colors more accurately?
Individual preference is the key. Personal, I believe that actual paper prints with semi-gloss textures are the most accurate.
Is Printique able to accept Adobe Wide Gamut RGB files that are then converted into a printer profile by Printique?
Printique accepts any color space, but prefers P3.
Should the user include a specific color profile in the files they upload for printing with Printique? Which one, e.g. Adobe RGB 1998 or sRGB?
Printique recommends P3 as a color profile.
Does Printique offer ICC profiles to download soft proof images?
Printique will publish their profiles before the end of 2022. They still recommend small proofs in order to see what the final printing will look.
I f required, is it best for the user “up-res files” to the PPI appropriate? Should they let Printique take care of it?
The customer should do it. Please be cautious not to oversharpen your image, as this can result in strange grid patterns when printed.
Conclusion
You will need to understand photo printing with fotolibro and put in some effort if you want high-quality, accurate color prints. Due to the inherent differences in transmitted and reflected lights, you also need to manage expectations. If you have been having trouble with print quality, I suggest you follow the four principles outlined above. Printing on high-quality paper and using inks is important. It is also important to choose the right online printing service. Only trust your photos to a company that has a long history of excellent customer service, and is dedicated to the art and scientific side of printing. Such as Printique.
