Local Lab and Printer Profile - Help

Aaron Jors

So I went to a local photo lab and asked for a printer profile and his answer was

"No we don't have printer profiles, I mean I guess I could get one if you really wanted but..." He proceeded to tell me that he has never found them useful and as long as my monitor is calibrated I should get good results.

I'll be the first to admit that I am very much a beginner in regards to printing but I though the printer profile was used in soft proofing to try and match prints to what you see on screen.

Any input or thoughts on this would be appreciated.

David_S85

thread bump

dadwtwins

obviously the person at that lab does not understand good customer service. I am so sorry to hear that since nothing is more frustarting then paying for a printed picture that comes out way different then what you wanted or expected.

All commercial printhouses that are good will have print profiles for you. If it is a place like wolf/ritz, costco or longs, they usually do not have the staff that cares enough or enough knowledge to help you.

Calibration of your monitor is a must even if you have the correct profiles in hand. If the monitor is not calibrated, then all your profiles will be off.

Each printer and paper combo have different profiles. This is why it is so important, if you care about your picture looking like the way you processed it, to go to a reputable print lab.

Check out this link for more details to help answer your question

http://www.drycreekphoto.com/icc/using_printer_profiles.htm

Mr. 2H2O

I calibrated by eye using a print against my monitor. I found that I just needed deeper contrast and a small bump in saturation. I use Wolf Camera for larger than 4x6 and the only difference is highlights - dynamic range in prints in less than my lcd monitor. I can judge it using the historgram now.

- Mike