Prints too dark

I am still having my prints done by a lab, haven't got the $ to invest in a good printer yet. Currently I am using Bay Photo (through SmugMug.) I've recently had a problem with all my prints coming back much darker than what I'm seeing on my monitor, probably 2-3 stops darker. My monitor is calibrated, and I've viewed the photos on several other monitors to compare. They look great on screen, but the prints are far too dark. I'm being told by their people that prints always come out 1-2 stops darker and I have to brighten my files to compensate. Is this correct? If I brighten them enough to look good in print they look terrible on screen. Anyone have any suggestions? I'm thinking about switching to a local print lab so I can have more input in the process until I can get my own printer. Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Ryan,

You mentioned that your monitor is calibrated. What are the settings? If your luminance is above the 100 - 120 cd/m² then your monitor is too bright. If it is in that range then you will need to look a bit deeper.

Joel

I have my monitor set at 100cd/m2.

I print my own and they look the same as my monitor. For large canvases I out source them, they also come back well exposed as expected. If everything is calibrated correctly you shouldn't be getting such a drastic difference. Thats the whole point of colour management.

Are you proofing your images to the printers paper icc profiles, because that can also make a big difference?

Ryan, being told by Bay that its normal for their work to be 2 stops darker than the customers is Horse Pucky! Someone was either full of it or you didn't understand what they were trying to convey! I use Millers but have a professional account and have never had an over dense print unless I ask for competetion densities. Try thier consumer version of Mpix Pro.

As long as you are properly calibrated and submitting SRGB JPEGS you should have no issues.

I tried Bay a few times and their densities were OK but the place was off on color a touch. Some peop;e swear by them but I wasn't impressed at all. I'll try a new lab here and there but always go home to Millers.

Jim

You say your monitor is calibrated but you didn't say what you have the luminance set to. Many/most people have their monitors set way too bright and in fact they come from the mfg. set way too bright. When the monitor is set to a luminance of 100-110 cd/m² your prints will match the monitor and in fact the monitor will last longer.
If your luminance is set correctly (for prints) and the prints are that much darker then there are other problems.

The comments so far do call out the #1 reason why prints look too dark -- it's actually the monitor that's too bright. If something changed suddenly, and prints that used to match the screen now don't match, it's most likely something on your end has changed rather than the printing service is doing something.

If it's not your monitor brightness, the second most common cause is something being off in color management, such that what you're seeing on screen is not an accurate reflection of the way the image "really" looks...

Once again, thanks so much for all the input! I have been playing around with my monitor calibration, as it seems that is only variable left that could have changed things. Which leads me to my next question, what calibration packages are you using to calibrate your monitor?

I use the X-rite Eye-1 and the SpectraView software that came with my NEC monitor.

There are a number of calibration devices, and the one used might have some bearing on the situation, depending on the monitor it's paired with. I personally use the NEC-branded colorimeter designed for use with my NEC monitor.

But if your prints are coming out 2 - 3 stops darker or more, and if the issue is your monitor calibration, then it's more likely that your calibration process has some choices that need to be improved. (Or, less likely but possible, your monitor or calibration device isn't actually working correctly.) If you describe what monitor & calibration device you're using, and your exact configuration settings, etc. we can perhaps offer some more helpful comments. Just mentioning product names isn't necessarily the most useful thing...

Sorry to join the discussion, but would welcome some advice on best settings for my NEC P221w (calibrated using the supplied colorimeter and Spectraview). Reading this thread, sounds like I should drop the intensity setting to maybe 110 cd/m² (from the default for photo editing of 140 cd/m²). Any other values I should take a close look at? Advice much appreciated - thanks.

I have the same monitor and pretty much let Spectraview do its thing. I have the white balance at 6500, Intensity at 110, use the Native Color Gamut (full). I then name it "Custom Photo Editing" and save it then let Spectraview calibrate to those parameters.

Thanks for the tips.

I have had very good success for my own printing and outside printing with calibration done with an X-Rite Colormunki.