EZ Prints color issue, anyone ran into this?

circlemgraphics

First off, I have emailed support on this. Just testing the waters here if anyone else has ran into this issue.

So I ordered some prints to test before a customer starts ordering them (ok, I admit it. I'm a color freak.). When I received the prints, the colors were not up to par (magenta/yellowish cast). For example, the picture was a small girl with dirty blonde hair holding a football. She looks like a red head in the picture and the football is a little reddish. Plus the contrast looks like it has been pushed up.

My setup:
*Under pricing, EZ prints is selected lab with color correction turned off.
*Calibrated monitor
*EZ Prints ICC profiles installed for soft-proofing in Photoshop.
*Pro 9500 mkII printer. Yes I know color gamuts between this printer & lab photos are not the same.

What I see:
*Monitor vs. inkjet print is spot on.
*Softproofing in PS with EZP ICC profile vs. print is VERY close with EVER SO SLIGHT gamut difference.
*Theoretically, ez prints should be close to inkjet, not dead on though. This is not the case.

I've ordered another batch, but from Bay Photo this time. Anyone had better luck with them compared to EZ? Am I missing something?

Thanks in advance

Andy

Can I have your order# please?

circlemgraphics

Andy wrote:

Can I have your order# please?

1137944

Andy

Double checking- this photo?
http://photos.circlemgraphics.com/Clients/Abby-08-22-09/9369924_MEabC#630333643_CADaY

circlemgraphics

Andy wrote:

Double checking- this photo?
http://photos.circlemgraphics.com/Clients/Abby-08-22-09/9369924_MEabC#630333643_CADaY

Real prominent in this photo

http://photos.circlemgraphics.com/Clients/Abby-08-22-09/9369924_MEabC#630319884_j2BuJ

Andy

circlemgraphics wrote:

Real prominent in this photo

http://photos.circlemgraphics.com/Clients/Abby-08-22-09/9369924_MEabC#630319884_j2BuJ

These prints printed TRUE COLOR which means the lab does nothing to them. Nor us.

So, they printed accurately. I review the photo in photoshop and measured the skin tones - you're way higher in magenta than yellow, a sure bet for red prints.

http://www.smugmug.com/help/skin-tone
http://www.smugmug.com/help/red-skin-tones

have a look here and fire questions back at me.

circlemgraphics

Update
******UPDATE********
....and the plot thickens. Ok, as I said before my monitor is calibrated and my prints off of my pro9500mkII are matching the screen where as the EZprints (TRUE COLOR) are reddish. I have since ordered a better monitor (was using laptop screen) and calibrated it also. There is a slight difference in new monitor, but still closely resembles my other monitor and my personal prints, not EZ's. So now I'm getting frustrated and try Bay Photo WITHOUT color correction also. Order #1145487.

I have yet to see them because I am stuck at the fire station, but my wife says they look much better than EZ prints and closely resemble my personal prints. This says a lot because my wife does not have an eye for these slight color issues, where as it drives me crazy. I'll report more tomorrow morning when I see them personally, but I'd like to get the ball rolling on the issue.

On a side note, I was a little irritated at USPS for taking 9 days to get my 3-5 day shipping.

Pupator

You should try ordering from EZ-Prints with auto color as well. Just for the sake of comparison.

circlemgraphics

Final Update

Pupator wrote:

You should try ordering from EZ-Prints with auto color as well. Just for the sake of comparison.

Don't take offense to this, but that makes absolutely no sense. I want to control my colors from start to finish so I know a client is going to get what I am looking at and not what a computer thinks it should be.

Lastly the verdict is in. I have compared the images myself and Bay Photo has blown EZ out of the water. Bay Photo prints match my monitor when I soft proof them in Photoshop with their ICC profile. Both were ordered with color correction turned OFF.

Pupator

circlemgraphics wrote:

Don't take offense to this, but that makes absolutely no sense. I want to control my colors from start to finish so I know a client is going to get what I am looking at and not what a computer thinks it should be.

You might be quite good at color management. Most people are not. Andy says he looked at your skin tones in PS and the magenta was too high. It's not unreasonable, with that set of information, for me to suggest that you use auto-color.

I'm glad Bay photo got the job done for you, but don't think this is a conclusive case against EZP. I've ordered more than a thousand prints from EZ-prints with both auto- and true- color and have had color problems on only 3 prints that I can remember.