subscribe 0330 333 1113 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I 16 May 2020 47
Calibrate for
correctness
Naturally, if you’re hoping for integrity between
what you see on screen and on paper, you
need your computer monitor and printer to
be on the same page, so to speak. Many
top-end monitors for computers come with
preset display modes for alternative sRGB and
Adobe RGB colour spaces. Similarly, printers
often have options in their drivers for sRGB
and Adobe RGB, with the latter having an
extended colour space.
You might be lucky and have a good degree
of success with sRGB and Adobe RGB presets,
but it usually pays to calibrate your monitor
yourself. Factory settings might not be
particularly accurate and, even if they were
bang on at the time of manufacture, colour
accuracy can drift over time. Calibration tools
such as the Datacolor Spyder5Pro and the
X-Rite ColorMunki Smile start at around £100
and can make a massive difference to the
accuracy of your monitor.a good range of photo media is generally
available from the printer manufacturer
itself, such as glossy, semi-gloss, lustre and
matte, along with fi ne-art media including
canvas, ‘photo rag’ and more.
Get set
Most printer drivers for computers come
with automatic ‘photo enhancement’ or
‘auto correction’ facilities. They’re usually
switched on by default, and are designed
to boost the visual appeal of prints for
portraits, landscapes and other genres of
image. They can work well up to a point,
especially if you’re printing photos direct
from a camera that tends to be ‘faithful’
or neutral rather than vibrant in its image
processing. However, these enhancements
have a tendency to go over the top,
resulting in prints that lack subtlety
for skin tones in portraits, and lurid,
overly saturated colour rendition for
landscapes with fake-looking greenery
and impossibly inky-blue skies.
If you’re editing your images on a
computer, it’s best to apply colour-
correction, and adjust brightness, contrast
and other image attributes on screen, then
create prints with corrections switched off.
For some subject matter, especially when
viewed under typical artifi cial room
lighting, the diff erence in print quality
when using normal and high-quality print
modes might seem marginal at best.
However, the greater resolution used in
top-quality modes enables smoother
graduations and better defi nition
throughout highlights, mid-tones and
lowlights. Prints will take a little longer
to create, but it’s worth the wait.
As well as selecting quality and speedmodes, it’s also important to select
the right paper type in the printer
driver before creating a print. This goes
beyond simply choosing between glossy
and matte options. You need to pick
exactly the right stock that you’re using,
for example Canon Pro Platinum or Epson
Premium Glossy. Doing so will help to
maximise colour accuracy and ensure
your prints look their best.Select the right
paper stock in the
printer dialogue box;
this ensures the
correct amount of
ink is applied and
optimum colour
accuracy is achievedCalibration tools such as the
X-Rite ColorMunki Smile can
help ensure consistency
between screen and paper