Really? I need to soft proof to print my art?

[smash]

I am in the process of making prints of some of my works. The first set were absolutely nothing like the originals, and I'm really discouraged. All of my work is digital, so I assumed it would translate perfectly onto print. When I contacted the print shop they told me I probably need to soft proof my images if my colors weren't true.
I'm wondering whether they were passing blame or if this would really help.
Does anyone know of a tutorial for this type of thing?

Thanks in advance.

[Jeremy Bryant]

Not entirely. I would say that it may be more of their fault than yours, but you have to understand that some of the blame goes to you as well. But it takes a bit of practice to get it right, and you'll get there.

[smash]

Thanks I - I just has some lab prints done (cheaply) to see if I had the same results with colors and tones being way off. They are still off, but more yellow than my giclee prints, so I'm definitely going to have to do some research.
Found a tutorial, but now I've got to invest in calibration it seems before I can do anything...

I'm still going to use a different printer, the guys I went to were not interested in helping me get good results - even though I was originally willing to pay for a whole new set.

[Printmakerguy]

You might want to try posting this in Digital art You'll probably get more response there. We deal with 'Fine Art' printmaking here, not reproductions, for the most part. There are MANY that are far more knowledgable about the processes involved over there!

-Andrew

[smash]

I'll try that, and thanks for the feedback.