Re: Print stills question



Cathy wrote: 
"Bob Williams" <mytbob@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:GpOff.5150$xu.624@xxxxxxxxxxxxx


Cathy wrote:

I printed about 15 stills of indoor flash shots for the first time 

and

it took me hours. So I would like to ask a few things from any of 

you. I

am just learning about print stills from a digital camera.
Do most people here print their own stills (I don't mean


professional

photographers). Just casual picture takers of their families, 

relatives,

etc.

I don't have too many problems printing outdoor pictures as what I 

see

on the screen is much the same as what I print, though the print is
usually lighter in color than the screen. But I have a lot of


problems

printing indoor pictures with flash photos especially the group that 

I

just printed recently all taken on the same night. They usually 

print

too dark, then if I lighten them in Irfanview gamma correction,which
looks fine on the screen, they print either too dark or too light. I


can

never get it right. I have a Canon IP1500 which is not the best 

photo

printer, so maybe thats why I have so much trouble getting the 

photos

printed to look "right". Maybe a better printer would do a better 

job,

but I won't be buying one as I got this one not that long ago.
I think also I should have put on some more lights as it was after


dark

outside. At the same time, I took some film camera shots, and they 

all

turned out fine without me having to adjust darkness/lightness, etc. 

It

seems to me that digital cameras are great for emailing, and you can 

do

a lot with your creativity but my film camera takes better indoor
pictures.

I wanted to get some experience printing my own photos, but I am not
sure I want to do that again unless its just one or two and not the


15 I

printed which took up a whole color and a black cartridge and a 

whole

package of photopaper. Too expensive.

Do most of you have your stills printed at online places? or do you 

take

them to Walmart on a CDR or memory card and use them on Kodak 

Picture

Maker (thats what they call them here).
But wouldn't you have to edit the original jpg if you had redeye or


if

the picture was too dark before you print the edited version at 

Walmart

or wherever?

Cathy




A few points to remember.
Make sure your images are at LEAST 240 pixels/inch.


Where do I set that?

Irfanview should have a command to do that.
In Photoshop, you click on IMAGE > IMAGE SIZE > and then set the size, to 4x6, for instance, and the resolution to 240-300 pixels/inch.
I don't use Irfanview but it should have a procedure similar to PS.


Use Photo Quality inkjet paper, not just regular inkjet paper. 


Yes, that is what I use. Does it matter what kind of photo paper? I have
been using the semi gloss as I like the look of it better. Is high gloss
any better or just personal preference? I see mostly high gloss paper in
stores.

Mostly a matter of taste 


Calibrate your monitor with some Gamma adjustment tool.
If Irfanview does not have one, Google on Adjusting Monitor Gamma to
find one. There are several out there.



My monitor and/or video card would have that, wouldn't it? Actually its
not the colour in the pictures thats the problem. its dark and light.

No! Every monitor is a little different in the way it displays color.
Brightness, Hue, Contrast, etc.
Among other things, the Gamma adjustment utility displays a standard Gray color and then you adjust the response of your monitor to match the standard gray color. It actually modifies the output of your video card to get the colors right.



Have a  few pictures printed by WalMart or Costco (less than 20 cents
for a 4x6).



I am going to do that. I am in Toronto and the two Walmarts near me are
always so busy that you can never get on the machine. And I am not a
member of Costco. I think the prints are about 29 cents, so thats much
the same as you if you are in the US.

Hey! You are going to have to make a few experiments for diagnostic purposes or you will never discover the cause of your problem.
You can upload your images to Walmart's Website and pick it up at your convenience or you can have it delivered to your house by mail.
If the pics are OK, the problem is with the printer.
If it is not ok, the problem is with the way you edit it in Irfanview. 

If they are ok, print the same images on your iP 1500 and compare the
quality.
If your prints are lighter, darker, or have a color hue, you can


usually

correct these differences by adjusting the necessary parameters in 

your

printer driver's options. 


I don't usually adjust darkness/lightness or color in the printer
properties page, though maybe it would help. I usually adjust dark/light
in gamma correction in Irfanview.

Irfanview will just change lightness/darkness of the image so it looks right on YOUR monitor. But if your monitor is not calibrated to some color standard, it may send incorrectly adjusted colors to your printer.
That is why printer drivers can be tweaked.....to make your print look like your screen.
I really STRONGLY suggest that you get a copy of Photoshop Elements. You don't need the latest version (V.4). An earlier version will serve your needs just fine. I'll bet you can buy V.3 or even V.2 for a song.
A major advantage of using Photoshop Elements is because soooo many people are familiar with it, you can get very detailed instructions to solve almost any problem you have.

Bob Williams

.

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