When it comes to printing I'm a complete novice. If I want a print I usually just send my files to Mpix and have been quite pleased mostly with the results, usually on 8x10. I have a local camera store that has an Epson Stylus Pro 9800 printer and I thought I would try a few largish prints say 16x20 for a start. How can I get the best prints? What is a good procedure? I use Pixel Genius Photokit Sharpener add on to CS5 and they have Output Sharpeners for Contone, Inkjet and Halftone printers. Any help in that area would be useful too.

Thanks

The first thing you need to do is calibrate your monitor. After calibration, soft proofing in Photoshop should show you pretty close to what you need to see.

There are webinars on the XRite site that will detail calibration with their hardware and software.

I'm sure someone will jump in with detailed instructions, but you can Google these and be well on the way.

Good luck.

jn

You will also need to get instructions from the printer company for what profile they need, dpi, file size etc. They may also want to do their own sharpening.