david_barts1 Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patricklavoie Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steven_clark Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 Keep in mind alot of processors are going to sharpen everything you give them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_barts1 Posted September 21, 2006 Author Share Posted September 21, 2006 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) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patricklavoie Posted September 22, 2006 Share Posted September 22, 2006 sorry cant get the file... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patricklavoie Posted September 22, 2006 Share Posted September 22, 2006 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... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_barts1 Posted September 22, 2006 Author Share Posted September 22, 2006 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spearhead Posted September 22, 2006 Share Posted September 22, 2006 <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? Music and Portraits Blog: Life in Portugal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_barts1 Posted September 22, 2006 Author Share Posted September 22, 2006 I use a settings bundle called Parameter 1, where sharpening is boosted half way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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