Photo Printing Problem

[GazR33]

Hi guys,

I don't know if anyone is able to shed any light on this, but basically here's my problem.....

I've got a Canon EOS 40D with Canon 24-105mm F4 L series and Canon 70-200mm F2.8 L IS and a 2x teleconverter - for my printing needs I have a Canon Pixma IX4000.

So far i've had no problems with any of the equipment and am very pleased with it all - until a couple of weekends ago anyway.

Up until recently I have been taking photo's using the sRGB colour space option on my camera and these photo's have always printed off ok - but after speaking to one of my mates (that is more clued up on the technical side of things than I am) he suggested I try using the Adobe RGB setting - so when my brothers wedding came up I decided to give that a go.....now, while the photo's look really good on my laptop (using the Canon DPP software and the shots taken in RAW format), when I print them out, the colours are so different - flesh tones come out too red and there seems to be less definition than normal. Is this because I switched to Adobe RGB?

I'm getting so frustrated and have wasted so much paper and ink trying to get these to print right - if anyone's got any suggestions, I would be very appreciative......at the moment, all I can think of is getting some sort of colour calibration kit, are there any that you would recommend?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions

[Simpo Two]

This is a good example of 'it it works, leave it'

Adobe RGB is intended for images that will be further processed/edited. sRGB is better for prints. In other words, if you intend to twiddle/prod images before printing, shoot in Adobe RGB and then save as sRGB.

I presume you're not printing a RAW file?

[GazR33]

Simpo Two said:

This is a good example of 'it it works, leave it'

Adobe RGB is intended for images that will be further processed/edited. sRGB is better for prints. In other words, if you intend to twiddle/prod images before printing, shoot in Adobe RGB and then save as sRGB.

I presume you're not printing a RAW file?

Hi - yes, in hindsight I wish I had left it in sRGB - i've switched it back now, but obviously I really want to try and "rescue" this particular set of photo's lol.

The image is still in RAW format - i've tried saving it as a JPEG to see if that makes any difference, but the result is the same.

The most editing I tend to do is alter brightness, i'm not into modifying a photo in photoshop, I normally just do light modifications in the Canon DPP software and then print.

So, am I able to transfer these into sRGB even if they've been shot in Adobe? Would that go towards solving my problem?

[Simpo Two]

GazR33 said:

The image is still in RAW format - i've tried saving it as a JPEG to see if that makes any difference, but the result is the same.So, am I able to transfer these into sRGB even if they've been shot in Adobe? Would that go towards solving my problem?

RAW/JPG and colour space are two different things. First you need to process from RAW to JPG, and then (assuming you use Photoshop) use Edit > Colour settings to choose the colour space. Hence you can make a JPG in Adobe RGB, and the same JPG in sRGB - you need the latter.

Sending the Adobe version to your printer has given it 'chromatic indigestion' (I just thought of that!) because it's designed to work with sRGB files.

[GazR33]

Simpo Two said:

GazR33 said:

The image is still in RAW format - i've tried saving it as a JPEG to see if that makes any difference, but the result is the same.So, am I able to transfer these into sRGB even if they've been shot in Adobe? Would that go towards solving my problem?

RAW/JPG and colour space are two different things. First you need to process from RAW to JPG, and then (assuming you use Photoshop) use Edit > Colour settings to choose the colour space. Hence you can make a JPG in Adobe RGB, and the same JPG in sRGB - you need the latter.

Sending the Adobe version to your printer has given it 'chromatic indigestion' (I just thought of that!) because it's designed to work with sRGB files.

So I can save as JPG, then go to Photoshop and save it back to sRGB then....that's handy to know - i'll give that a try and see what happens.

Thanks for the tip

[Simpo Two]

Hope it works! Depending on what you use to process RAW files, you may be able to set it up to spit out sRGB JPGs directly and so save a stage.

[GazR33]

Just a quick update, i've exported some of the pics as JPEG via Canon DPP software that came with the camera - then saved them using Adobe Photoshop Elements and noticed that they are already saved as sRGB.

I've copied the photo's to a dvd and took it round to my brothers last nite, but the colours look even more different on his pc (although he has screen set up quite dark anyway).

Do you think i'd benefit from getting a colour calibrator? Something like Color Munki? Has anyone got any experience using this sort of product? Any recommendations?

Thanks

[Simpo Two]

GazR33 said:

I've copied the photo's to a dvd and took it round to my brothers last nite, but the colours look even more different on his pc (although he has screen set up quite dark anyway).

Only change one variable at a time - otherwise you'll end up more confused and get nowhere.

GazR33 said:

Do you think i'd benefit from getting a colour calibrator? Something like Color Munki? Has anyone got any experience using this sort of product? Any recommendations?

Adobe Gamma works for me - but then you have to make sure your screen is the correct brightness otherwise they'll all come out too light or too dark.

I think there are two ways to do it. Either take a degree in colour calibration and become an industry expert, or use a pragmatic approach and experiment your way towards a result you're happy with.

Edited by Simpo Two on Tuesday 11th August 13:03