Bad print results

[smash]

Hi I'm hoping someone has had similar experience and/or knowledge of the following.

Short version: I had prints made of my artwork. Prints looked completely different from my artwork. I contacted printer and complained and was chastised for not having a "color management system".

So I have been researching what little information they shared with me regarding the topic and have learned that I need to soft proof images. I'm wondering if any one knows of any resources on this topic.

Thanks in advance.

[theoart]

What area did you find your prints were off the most? Were they too dark or were the colors just off. If too dark, check to see if your monitor is too bright. That can be a killer since it makes your images appear brighter than they really are.

Soft proofing can save a lot of time and trouble if you are having problems with your prints in either being too dark or color issues. I had problems with inaccurate colors when I started with prints a few years back but once I discovered how to soft proof before sending my images to be printed, I very rarely had to send any prints back.

Here is a good tutorial on soft proofing from the company I use for my prints:

http://finerworks-com/tips/soft-proo...photoshop.aspx

I have seen a few people here use their services as well so you might want to try them instead as an alternative to the company you used. If you decide to try another company and don't soft proof you might be stuck with the same results.

[Elainepsq]

Hi, I tried to follow the that theoart provided, but my browser didn't find anything. I did look up finerworks.com. The prices look great- comparable to costco photo printing. Thank you for mentioning them.
IMHO using any printer might take some trial and error to get good results. Did the printer mention sending you a color profile to save to? Costco photo printing has an "auto correct" setting. If it is checked, the prints come out extremely dark. Also, they have different printer profiles for the different printers at the different locations, that can be downloaded from their website and loaded into photoshop, so that you are saving to that printer's specifications. I have found that one Costco location near me seems to produce more vivid colors than the other.
It seems to me that the printer should have "educated" you in color management and soft proofing NOT chastised you.

Elaine

[smash]

Thanks for the feedback, Theoart! I actually spoke with someone this morning over there and, yes, they were much more helpful. The main problem I'm having seems to be with them appearing much darker than they should. My image was by no means bright, but the details were only evident in the foreground. The background darkens towards the edges to black - but the details in between were completely blacked out.

Elainepsq, the first printer did not offer me any profiles. I was able to find them on FW's website. Thanks! And that link doesn't work for me either, but I the guy I spoke with on the phone referred me to the softproof tut here:
http://finerworks.com/tips/soft-proo...photoshop.aspx

[theoart]

Sorry about the link. I see I put in a dash instead of a dot. Yeah, they are very helpful, especially if you can get someone on the phone that works in their printing department. They have a lot of good info on their website too.

One thing that was really stressed to me was the importance of calibrating your monitor, otherwise you are not soft proofing to true color standards. You are only softproofing to what you monitor's color settings are.

You need to purchase a device which will do this for you. I chose to go with the Spyder 3. Its about $120 but well worth the investment. I found just that alone helps quite a bit. Initially I did not have Adobe Photoshop to softproof with but simply having a calibrated monitor will help prevent prints being too dark. Most monitors today are way too bright but once it is calibrated, it will likely lower the brightness level. That will let you see if your images are actually darker than you thought.