Pictures darker in book than on computer

[nls22030]

I just did my first book which had several high contrast pictures and some that were dark but with lots of visible detail in the shadows. These pictures seem to have printed about 1/2 stop to a full stop of exposure darker than they appear on my screen. The camera is 6MP and I used the deluxe book.

I like your product, but I need to know how to control for this as I was really disappointed when I saw those pictures. Is this a function of file compression? Do I need to calibrate my monitor, which I have never done? How do I keep this from happening again?

[cprout]

Ok this is coming from someone else who had this issue.

First off yes you should allways calibrate your moniter! Its the second most important thing about working with color photos, the first being taking good photos.

Although that is not your problem, there software and or printing system prints and drys extremley dark and seemingly from a few comments around here it is even worst on high contrast. Sadly the moniter calibration wont help on that score, it will only help make sure your moniter is giving you good accurate color.

The only reall suggestion that I have heard that might work is to tweek your moniter after calibration to give the same look on screen as the book gives you.
Then of course once your done I suggest recalibrate your moniter for working on other things becuase you will not want to keep these settings.


But we as a loyal custemers must ask that they upload to the website and give out freely a PROFILE for there printer!

[Jack]

This is a classic problem in the printing industry. the customer sees a proof on the computer screen and expects it to look the same once it is printed. Although I have my issues with MyPublisher, color printing is not one of them. It is the only reason I stick with them, actually. As a professional, I work with a color calibrated monitor, using a product called gretagmacbeth eye one. Or, you can also use Adobe gamma if you have Photoshop or Photoshop elements. Otherwise, it's a guessing game. You can get some idea of how to adjust your monitor by looking at the print output.

As a starting point, you should probably turn down the brightness somewhat on your monitor. Most people run them too bright, anyway.

[mypublisher]

Hi Everyone -

Thank you for your posts on this topic. I'd like to second a few of the suggestions posted below, which is calibrating your monitor. Photos on screen will always appear a bit "brighter" than printed because your screen has a great backlight of sorts. My recommendation to ensure your photos print with MyPublisher with the highest possible contrast is to use our "Enhance Photo" tool. When in the Make Book step, click on the Enhance Photo icon. Once in Enhance Photo, use the "Auto Adjust" tool. This tool delicately optimizes the contrast in your photo for printing. MyPublisher receives a lot of positive feedback from that feature, and I can tell you as an avid PhotoBook publisher myself, it's worked wonders for even my bright beach photos!

Sincerely,
MyPublisher

[cprout]

What exactly is this option doing to my images...the auto correct...
Does it only affect the contrast of a image or does it effect also the color and or hue of an image?
In what was is it adjusting the contrast, making it less or more contrasty?

[mypublisher]

Hi Cprout -

The auto-adjust feature is designed for those images that may benefit from slight adjustments in tone, brightness, or contrast, such as:
> Images that are slightly washed-out or over-exposed
> Images where the subject is underexposed and appears too dark because of a bright background
> Images where the picture may appear "flat" and may look better with a little more contrast. All in all it brightenes the images, and makes the dark images show the features a bit better and the light images display brightly.

The Auto Adjust feature will not correct out-of-focus images, images that have a color caste, or images that resulted from "special" settings on your digital camera (e.g. sunsets or non-flash night/party scenes) nor will it make small image files larger, or improve the resolution of low-resolution image.

If you want to revert your adjusted image back to its original state, click on the Undo button.

Sincerely,
MyPublisher

[cprout]

I did not ask for what it does not do.
I asked exactly what it does.
How does it determine what is over or underexposed?
Is this a general test or a test that is calibrated towards your CYMK printing press.
Does it at all adjust color ballance and or color shift?
PLEASE BE TECHNICAL!

[magicia9]

Cprout,

You are an idiot.

One, you are asking for help and then you are being rude to the guy. Read that post again - he did answer what it does and followed that with what it doesn't to give you a complete answer.

Now you may want more technical info then he gave out - ask for that. He isn't a mindreader and don't expect him to figure out what you wanted. You asked a general question - what does it do - and he gave you an answer. If he had quoted technical - you would have said don't get technical on me.

Ask nicely, have some decency.

[LKJcreative]

The color match has been almost perfect with the 2 books I've made so far and the result has been excellent. Having a background as a professional artist and an avid photographer for many years, I initially edit briefly with Photoshop, then select only the best photos to use for the album. Personally the auto-adjust feature has worked very well to enhance the images. Quite often the color is even better than the original. Also the resolution has been right on. In no instance was a photo ever below desired resolution in the book. The software was right on for indicating the resolution.

[mypublisher]

Hi Cprout -

I will do my best to give you a bit more of a technical answer.

The auto-adjust feature is all based on algorithms determined in the software code. It does not look specifically for over/underexposed images, but it takes a look at each pixel on the screen, and the surrounding pixels and then makes a decision about what it feels is happening in the photo at that point. What the outcome is typically that it an tell if a photo appears to be overexposed or underexposed and it looks like it corrects it.

It does not adjust the color balance or color shift, as those are rather complex and some users may make photos a specific way so we don't touch that.

It does do an edge detection enhancement algorithm that focuses on the transition of one color to another color and as it sees that change, and determines the difference is great enough that it's probably an edge, it sharpens that edge ever so slightly.

It can change the saturation of colors too in an effort to improve the contrast.

I can't really be any more specific because the algorithms it uses changes based on each photo and the photo's attributes.

I hope this is the type of answer you were looking for!

Sincerely,
MyPublisher

[JerryNY]

My Photobook also has photos which are darker than what was shown in the preview. I sent some of the photos to be printed out individually and they came out great ; that is, much better than what was printed in the Photobook.

I strongly recommend that you have a warning or some step in the process which routes the user to use auto-adjust or at least gives a warning that certain photos may print darker than what the preview shows.

There's enough folks that have commented on this .. you certainly should address this in a more global fashion (in other words, fix the process) ..other than in this forum.

Overall, your Photobooks are the best ! I've tried 2 other services. The jackets are fantastic .. I hope they wear well.

[mypublisher]

Hi JerryNY -

Thank you for your feedback. We monitor print quality daily and are constantly tweaking to ensure the photos are true to print. Please note, our PhotoBooks are printed on semi-glossy paper, however 4x6 inch prints you'd print out at the drug store or a photo center are usually on silver halide paper, which has a different effect. We are working to improve the print quality as we speak.

One interesting bit of information (a little factiod for the day) is that the color and clarity of the print can vary based on the level of humidity, moisture, and temperature of the air! We keep our press room at a constant climate.

Sincerely,
MyPublisher