Need help with EZ Prints soft proofing

jashan

Hi,

I tried posting my issue in the forum Finishing School, but I did not get a response. I'll try posting here and I have now included an image.

I'm looking forward to getting started with a pro account, but I first want to do some test prints. I am on a PC and use Photoshop CS2. I calibrated my monitor and installed the EZ Prints ICC profile to soft proof my images.

My general workflow: open RAW image in ACR (Adobe RGB) and color correct, open into Photoshop, crop, sharpen, convert to sRGB, proof with EZ Prints profile.

When I "Proof Colors" using the EZ Prints profile, the image looks much brighter. The animated gif below show my original image and how it looks when soft proofing. Should there be a very noticeable difference between the image with and without soft proofing? If it is normal, how can I upload one image to my SmugMug account that will look identical on the screen and in print?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Jeff

Andy

Sorry your last post was missed

Have you looked here?

http://dgrin.smugmug.com/gallery/1123524

If, after viewing that tute, you have questions, holler.

jashan

Hi Andy,

Thanks for your response.

I did read that helpful tutorial before. Since I calibrate my monitor using an eye-one display, would there be a benefit to ordering a calibration print?

Previously, I would "Convert to Profile" in Photoshop using a printer profile I received from a local pro lab when preparing an image to send off to them. This is the first time I am using soft proofing. Should the image normally look very different when soft proofing?

jashan

Andy or anyone,

Are you seeing a big color difference when soft proofing for EZ Prints? My main reason for caring is that I would like to be able to upload one file and be confident that the photo the users see on their screen will be very close to the look of the actual print.

Thanks,

Jeff

Andy

jashan wrote:

Andy or anyone,

Are you seeing a big color difference when soft proofing for EZ Prints? My main reason for caring is that I would like to be able to upload one file and be confident that the photo the users see on their screen will be very close to the look of the actual print.

Thanks,

Jeff

Not really, I don't see a big difference - and yes you should get a calibration print - email our help desk and ask, we'll send you one

Scott_Quier

jashan wrote:

Andy or anyone,

Are you seeing a big color difference when soft proofing for EZ Prints? My main reason for caring is that I would like to be able to upload one file and be confident that the photo the users see on their screen will be very close to the look of the actual print.

Thanks,

Jeff

There's one problem I see with this assumption - you have no control over the calibration of your client's monitors. This being the case, I believe there is no way you can know that what your client sees is what he/she will get from EZ Prints (of course, I'm probably wrong abou this as well ).

jashan

Hi Scott,

I agree that a photo I see on my screen will not look exactly the same on someone else's monitor. I was hoping that at least on my calibrated monitor that there would not be such a big difference between the original and the EZ Prints soft proof. I will order a calibration print and see how it compares to my screen.

Have you printed through SmugMug? If so, how close were the prints to what you saw on your screen?

Scott_Quier

jashan wrote:

Hi Scott,

I agree that a photo I see on my screen will not look exactly the same on someone else's monitor. I was hoping that at least on my calibrated monitor that there would not be such a big difference between the original and the EZ Prints soft proof. I will order a calibration print and see how it compares to my screen.

Have you printed through SmugMug? If so, how close were the prints to what you saw on your screen?

Andy will probably weigh in with his expertise here and I have no doubt he knows exactly what he is talking about. If he does and if what he says contridicts me, I think you would be better served if you followed any advice Andy may offer. He has loads more experience in photography, with printing, and with the whole SmugMug and EZ Prints service.

With all that being said, the following is my experience - YMMV!

I have ordered some prints of various sizes and I have had customers also order prints, again in various sizes. All my prints and those ordered by my customers have had the "color" attribute set to "True" rather than "Auto". I have not yet ordered comparison sets of prints (one set to True and the other to Auto). This is something I probably need to do in the very near future and I will probably do this sometime this weekend.

Now, to answer you question. Within the limits of my visual perception the prints I have ordered have been a nearly perfect replication of what I see on the monitor. I get confirmation when checking my wife (who's is much better than mine) and son (24 years old, so his opinion is not trivial).

I've really liked what I have received. I've gotten nothing but compliments from my clients. But, I must also say that my clients are not nearly as critical as those of us in this industry - they are experts in their field but don't have the training/experience to properly/critically evaluate an image for color/resolution/contrast/etc. But, I would like to think I come close and I like what I see in the prints I have ordered.

jashan

Thanks for your sharing your experience Scott. I'm glad to see that you are getting some accurate prints.

I'm going to order the calibration print and will compare it to what I see on my monitor. While I am waiting for it to arrive, I will investigate things further. I'm seeing a big enough difference when soft proofing that maybe there's a problem in my workflow.