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Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Printer Test Strip


Here's the printer test strip I made to compare different printer and program settings. Numbering from left to right:
1. No Color Management (ICM setting) This one is over-saturated and too dark. Doesn't look like her. Oddly, several people liked this one best.
2. Photoshop Elements control (Adobe RGB Gamma 2.2) This has a much better skin tone, my favorite.
3. Printer Control (Adobe Vivid) This is pretty, but has a slight bluish cast.
4. Printer Control (Auto Enhance) This is slightly darker than #2, but acceptable.
5. Monitor adjusted to match #4. Too washed out.

PSEs color management tools were helpful, but I had to do a lot of cross-referencing to understand the terminology. Little by little it's beginning to sink in.

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Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Digital Photo Printing for Amateurs


I've learned so much from the Photoshop Elements class I'm taking at Hithergreen, but it bugs me that I have to work so darn hard to get good prints. I've been studying books and online and now I know enough to be dangerous, but still struggling with consistency. I shared what I've learned yesterday with the Digital Photography Forum at the Center. Here's a chart I made. The prints are 10.5 x 8. The top row shows what happens when you use cheap paper and the wrong print setting--you waste a lot of ink that soaks into the paper. The middle row shows printer control on better paper. I oversaturated the one on the right to see what would happen. Eeek! On the bottom row I used Photoshop Elements color controls on Office Depot Laser/injet Presentation Paper and Epson Ultra Premium Luster Paper, my favorites. The last print is the best and shows more detail than any of the others.

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