D200 - colors look so much different between print and monitor

[patertech]

I just got my D200 with 18-200VR lens shooting landscape. My initial set up was

based on recommendations from kenrockwell.com --> color mode: III,

saturation:enhanced, Optimizing: VI+, WB: auto

photographs looks good on my monitor but when I take them to a printer - colors

looks much different from the original, greens are dayglo, fluorescent and skin

color is almost orange. In general too much green, even shadows are green.

Any suggestions? What are your settings? Thank you.

[wogears]

Tell your printer to get it right.

[Ed_Ingold]

Calibration!

 

You need to calibrate your monitor if you are to make any changes. You need to use a print profile specifically for the printer, paper, inkset and printer settings you are using.

 

Personally, I would shoot in RAW mode, so that any settings are reversible in post processing. Secondly, I would select normal saturation and Color Mode II - these are less exaggerated and more "main line" among photographers, for better results "out of the box".

[ShunCheung]

You need to learn how to calibrate your monitor and printer. Those are the first topics a lot of beginner PhotoShop classes teach. A Google search on those topics should help.

[bigbill128]

Color mode III is NOT for people, its for landscape. I or II for people.

 

I shoot Color mode III for everything but people, with Auto WB and Sat+ and thats it. For people I shoot Color mode I and Auto WB.

 

Try that out to test.

 

Get your monitor calibrated, with something like Adobe Gamma. And Print some test shots out, so when it counts you can get the result you want.

[hique]

"colors look so much different between print and monitor"

 

To start, that's because prints and monitor are...different! :)

 

You have to understand the caracteristics and limitations of prints and monitors. Even a calibrated monitor MAY not reproduce the colors the same way of a print.

 

Matching monitor to prints requires: A good monitor, a good ambient light, a good calibration solution (hardware and software), a profile solution (provided by the printer company or constructed by you) and a great amount of knowledge about color management :)

 

Good luck

[david_h._hartman]

Jesse,<br>

<br>

I recommend that you install a single 48 fluorescent

fixture directly above your keyboard and between your monitor and

yourself. You can also use a twin 48 fluorescent fixture if

you install two single lamp ballasts and a pull switch to turn

off one lamp when desired.<br>

<br>

Setup your display desktop (Windows/MAC) with black, white and

shades of gray. A neutral gray wall behind the display is good.

If you cant paint put a full sheet of gray matte board up.

In short remove all color pollution from your line of

sight.<br>

<br>

Very important get the best quality daylight balanced, continuous

spectrum fluorescent 48 lamps you can buy and exclude

daylight. While working at your digital darkroom you want the

light level low.<br>

<br>

Calibrating you display is very important but many forget that

the surrounding work area can have a significant effect on your

color perception.<br>

<br>

Best,<br>

<br>

Dave Hartman.

[chris hughes]

Wow David. That's some serious overkill. I've been a graphic designer for over 15 years and

even I don't have as obsessive a monitor space as you outline. Sure, it would be fantastic to

set up a work area like that but she's not necessarily looking for something like that, just

some harmony between her monitor and her printer (she needs calibration as everyone else

in the thread has said).

[david_h._hartman]

<em>Wow David. That's some serious overkill. I've been a

graphic designer for over 15 years and even I don't have as

obsessive a monitor space as you outline. --Chris Hughes<br>

</em><br>

No, its not over-kill and its cheap and easy to do. There

is nothing obsessive about this. This is basic to quality

photography and grapic design.<br>

<br>

Things like setting up a monochrome computer desktop takes all of

two minutes and is free.<br>

<br>

A gray background, a full sheet of matte board, can be fastened

to drywall with common staples from a common manual stapler and

leaves no holes to fill. The matte board only cost a few dollars.

Installation time is about one minute.<br>

<br>

A single 48 fluorescent lamp fixture costs about $14.95 to

$19.95. Installation take about 30 minutes to 1 hour and is well

worth the trouble. The basic tools are a cordless driver drill, a

tape measure, a stud finder and a pencil. A grounded power cord

is required, about $5.00 to $7.00 or free when cut from a

discarded appliance. A few "gold" bugle head screws are required, perhaps three.<br>

<br>

A continuos spectrum fluorescent tube cost about $10.00. Youll

pay about $2.00 for a cheap shop quality 48 tube and more

for a couple of 100 watt incandescent lamp bulbs. Im

talking about the same type of tubes that go into a proper light

table for slide sorting. As a graphic designer and photographer

didnt you use a continuous spectrum, daylight balanced,

slide sorter or light table? This is the same principle.<br>

<br>

<em>she needs calibration as everyone else in the thread

has said --Chris Hughes<br>

</em><br>

Before one can calibrate their computer display and printer they

have to calibrate their brain. If you understood human color

perception you would understand that my suggestions are simple

and basic to photographic quality. Even the instruction found in

the wizards for setting up Adobe Gamma recommend a dim or

darkened room to eliminate color poltion. Did you ever lay in the

sun at a beach or pool side with your eyes closed. When you opened

them did everything look a bit cyan?<br>

<br>

I suggest that you read Johannes Iten's <u>The Elements of Color</u>.

Iten's <u>The Elements of Color</u> is a standard text for design

101.<br>

<br>

Regards,<br>

<br>

Dave Hartman.