PictureMate

[david_barts1]

I've just printed the first pictures on my new PictureMate. (I've searched for

Picturemate on this forum and have found only favorable opinions.) However,

putting the new prints side by side with the 4x6s that I'd got from A&I film

processing, I am unimpressed. The new prints clearly lack 'bite'. It seems the

colors are OK but sharpness is nowhere near.

 

I'm using the Digital Rebel XT with the same lenses I used on my film Rebel

(primes plus my new 17-40). I'm cropping with res=300ppi and I do see some

detail in Photoshop at 100% that doesn't get to the print. I haven't been able

to find the ppi for the PictureMate, only the dpi which is 5760x1440 (what does

that mean?)

 

In general, does the print ppi have to be set to exactly that of the printer?

 

Finally, this may sound like a silly question but how much effort is required to

even match the quality of 35mm - e.g. do I necessarily have to shoot RAW? So

far, I've been shooting jpeg with sRGB color space (I'll try Adobe RGB as well)

and not do much in PS other than crop and adjust the overall levels. Is the

weakest link the printer or my (lack of) workflow?

 

Thanks!

[patricklavoie]

no offense...but the answer is lack of workflow. I send stuff to a epson 4800 and to a

commercial press and to be honest i dont see much of a difference between those print

and the print i make with my picturemate...meaning they all look pretty good : ) Of course

you have to shoot a nice, well expose shot with your camera first, in RAW if you can and

know how to process it later, but at this size, even up to a 8x10 for a non professional

JPEG will be enough, i mean im not sure you will be able to spot the difference between a

JPEG and a RAW if you print a 4x6 size. For sure it could help to shoot in Adobe RGB, for

sure it could help too to process your file a bit more in Photoshop, some level, curve,

sharpen are definilty the basic stuff to do. As for the quality between a regular 35mm and

a digital shot, let say to keep a long story short that, whit the same experience you should

be able to get higher quality with your digital. send us a shot or two too see if the problem

are maybe your picture and not your printer.

[steven_clark]

Keep in mind alot of processors are going to sharpen everything you give them.

[david_barts1]

Patrick, <a href="http://www.ljplus.ru/img/g/l/gladiolux/IMG_0501.jpg">here's one</a>. This one I actually had to correct in PS (overall Levels for each channel) as the colors were off - fortunately there's a white sill that I just made look white (why is it that color is so often wrong? I always used daylight film, no filters; while sometimes things might've looked moody never were they 'ghastly yellow' or 'sickly green' that I see these days)

[patricklavoie]

sorry cant get the file...

[patricklavoie]

in the mean time maybe you can tell us a bit more about your processing...do you add

sharpen in your workflow? if not well here is your problem, every file that come out of your

computer need sharpen for sure. I dont think you will see any ppi info on a inkjet printer, but

300ppi is more than enough. As for the DPI let say to keep it simple that this is the number

of droplet the printer put in a inch, in your case 1440. Also the way you crop could be

damagin g for your image, for exemple, if you crop a small part of your image, pixel as to be

create even if at your screen everything look good at 100% (a screen is only 72 ppi) it good

look bad and pixelate on print...

[david_barts1]

The server could've been down, can you try again?

 

http://www.ljplus.ru/img/g/l/gladiolux/IMG_0501.jpg

 

I can't upload it to photo.net due to the size limit.

 

How do you sharpen - via Unsharp Mask? I know 300%/0.3pix/0 is supposed to be good for landscapes, what about portraits?

[Spearhead]

<i>a screen is only 72 ppi</i><p>

 

Screens display in pixels, not inches. 72ppi is completely irrelevant - there is a lot of information on the web about this.<p>

 

Regarding the problem with the Picturemate, it's a bit hard to understand exactly what you're doing that isn't working. I have had the PictureMate produce excellent prints right off the card, and you don't have to set the ppi. There is the capability to sharpen when you do this. If you use the Picturemate driver, it should work, and gives you adjustment options. Once you get that working, try using Phooshop.<p>

 

What in-camera sharpening settings are you using?

[david_barts1]

I use a settings bundle called Parameter 1, where sharpening is boosted half way.