Where to print with great accuracy to actual picture?

[mogza]

I am having a hard time in getting my print to look good in retail stores like target, walmart, etc. I like what I see in my computer but it never came out the way I wanted when my pictures are getting printed. Can somebody help me on where to take my pictures printed??

http://www.pbase.com/mogza/sunset_photo

Here is the link of the picture that I wanted to print for my mom. For your information I am not printing the smaller file that I paste in pbase, I actually use the original, so there should be no excuse. What do you think about the pictures? Are they dark? Is it my monitor?

Thank you so much for your help(s)!

[mogza]

Anyone know where to print?

[fenilyn]

You can visit this website http://catalogprintingexperts.com/ or
try searching in google... There are some print shops available online.



__________________________________
Catalog Printing - The reward of a thing well done, is to have done it.

[mogza]

Is this a website for catalog printing?

I am not sure thats what I want. I am more interested in just printing my digital images to something like a 4 by 6 as a start.

Thanks for your help though

[rickl52]

I am having a hard time in getting my print to look good in retail stores like target, walmart, etc. I like what I see in my computer but it never came out the way I wanted when my pictures are getting printed. Can somebody help me on where to take my pictures printed??

The answer may not be, probably isn't in the "where" to get a photo printed so much as to which step or steps in the process of printing are messed up. The process that leads to a good print is complicated, involves many electronic steps and if any one of those steps is off, the results simply will not be what you see on your screen. Fortunately there is a way to address each step of the process. Unfortunately this involves a good deal of time and the optimal result involves some money.

1) First, the camera has to capture the image with correct color. Digital cameras guess as to the light temperature and apply their guess to the image file. If it guesses incorrectly the color in the original file is off. Cameras are pretty good generally but to insure proper color temperature one needs to learn how to set that in the camera (custom white balance) or in the first step of processing (which a person can do in the first step of processing RAW [RAW is Canon...each company has it's own brand of unprocessed digital file] images). If you download jpegs from the camera then you can only try to correct it by 'adjust colors' and other steps in your photoprocessing software.

2) Then, and this is the step that screws up most people I think, your computer monitor has to be telling you the truth. Uncalibrated monitors are notoriously bad at expressing colors as they really are in the image file. (You can adjust the colors to look real on the monitor, but that may not be the colors as they are in the image file. You want your monitor to tell you what's in the file.) Monitor color range and temperatures come out of the factory with some variablity and over time each monitor changes in characteristic color abilities. One can do the inexpensive "eyeball" calibration or spend money on calibration equipement and software. The first is pretty good if you study the correct methods and conditions, the latter preferred for it's precision. This guy's site is a decent place to learn and he gives access to some software (Quickgamma) and test image files. http://www.normankoren.com/makingfineprints1A.html

3) Once you're sure your monitor gives you true colors, you need to address the limitations of the printers. Printers cannot express the full color or contrast range that most CRT monitors can so there is some change between what you see onscreen and the final print. This is addressed by, if you can, obtaining a profile of the printer and using that to preview the image in your software, such as photoshop. That tells you what adjustements you need to make to your image file to get the printer to give you the results you want. You can get profiles made for your own printer and some commercial photo labs will provide profiles of their printers for this purpose. For mass market printers, such as Walmart and such, this step is not available. You have to rely on their printers making the translations and adjustments. With them you have to accept that they may undo some of the effect you want in an image if it's not typical. They process images to the 'average'.

When one has addressed each of the variables you end up with a 'color managed work flow', which is another way of saying you've addressed the potential errors in each step. The cameras tend to be pretty good and the commercial printers are too, so the most effective thing you can do is concentrate on step 2. Make sure what you see on your monitor is what's really in the image file.

reading: The link above focuses on monitors but it links to all sorts of other pages where he addresses the whole concept. He's pretty geeky about it sometimes if you love the technicals.
http://www.drycreekphoto.com/Learn/color_management.htm
http://luminous-landscape.com/
http://www.digitaldog.net/tips/index.shtml
http://www.computer-darkroom.com/ps8_colour/ps8_1.htm