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Monitor Calibration = Dark Prints
NikonLover
Registered Users Posts: 11 Big grins
I'm struggling horribly to get the proper calibration for my monitor. Whenever I have my prints made up they are at least 20% darker than what I am seeing on my monitor. How can I fix this problem? I have run my calibrator I can't say how many times but it never seems to fix the issue. Is there a trick to this? I would love to be able to view my photos how they will look when they are printed. Any advice would be greatly appretiated. Should I put my monitor in sRGB mode rather than normal for the proper darkness level?
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The color mode should have no effect on darkness issues other than that some modes remove the ability to adjust RGB levels which can affect overall brightness a bit but this is really not a consideration.
It could be your monitor is too bright in relation to the room's ambient lighting or you have a printer paper/ink profile issue.
Do un-edited images with a proper exposure (check the histogram) print nicely?
Is it only edited images that print too dark?
If Yes and Yes then it is likely a monitor brightness issue.
What monitor?
Some monitors lack the ability to reduce the brightness low enough which means you have to increase the room's lighting to compensate and provide a perceptive balance for your eyes while editing.
What calibrator?
I ask because some do not make any adjustment at all to brightness and contrast and others, while using the puck sensor to adjust the RGB for gamma and white point to calibrate the monitor and create an ICC profile to be used by your OS's color management, still rely on your eye to adjust the monitor's brightness and contrast which is somewhat ludicrous when you think about it.
And some that can use the puck to measure white luminance come in a default "Visual" mode where that feature is disabled - you have to configure the software to a "Measured" mode to have the software put up screens walking you through a puck measured brightness adjustment.
Do you calibrate in a dark room?
Does your editing room have controlled lighting? i.e. curtains/blinds for daytime
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I'm sorry I guess I should have gotten more detailed. I'm not 100% sure what the monitor is exactly will have to get exact specs for you when get home. But what I can tell you is that it is a ASUS LED.
As far as the calibrator it is the x-rite I2.
The computer sits in the one and only spot we have a place for it which is in a small closet in my daughters nursery. So while the rest of the room can be lit up it is usually relatively dark where the computer sits. Is there a light that I could get that give proper light temperature that could work?
And yes it does tend to be my edited photos that appear to be darker when printed than viewing on screen. And if it helps I usually print with MPix or BayPhoto (unedited by them). I don't have a printer of my own.
When you get the monitor model info, also check your Brightness and Contrast setting and post it here.
I2 = i1 Display 2 , right?
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