Dark prints, loss of colour ...(Lightroom)Nikon D80

Please help, this prob is driving me nuts. every time i send off my photos to be printed (@photobox) what looks a perfect image comes back really dark and with a loss of colour/contrast. i know a bit about monitor alteration and have set the brightness of the screen to .0. still it looks brighter than what comes back. ive tweaked the contrast of the monitor and if i print at home the pics all come out with a pink hint but brightness at home is fine....please someone what am i doing wrong !!!

Also before I forget it is absolutely necessary to calibrate your monitor with a hardware tool to get good color. On a Mac you can get away with
software calibration if you're not too critical but also there hardware calibration is essential.

Similar Messages

Correcting Colour Balance and Density with Nikon D80

When uploading files to iPhoto6 created with a Nikon D80, I am noticing the colour balance and overall density of the files has changed from the thumbnails that appear on the camera. I find I have to make adjustments on many of the uploaded files as they invariably appear too dark on iPhoto.
Is there an incompatibility issue with Nikon's settings as recognised by iPhoto?
Any suggestions on how to tweak the settings on iPhoto to try to match
colour balance and density from the camera?
Macintosh eMac Mac OS X (10.4.9)

I'll look into this with Nikon and get back to you.
I wonder if this color sync issue would also affect the density of the files.
I notice they are about 25% darker than the originals.
When you have two devices there is always the
possibility that they will have a different
definition of what 'red' or 'yellow' is. To overcome
this apple developed ColorSync, a series of color
profiles, used to negotiate that issue. iPhoto
typically uses the sRGB profile. What does your
camera use?
Regards
TD

[FIX] Darker prints and color shifts when printing from Lightroom 2

Hi,
The problem :
When printing RAW or TIFF files from LR2, you get a printer output that
is much darker than it should be and that presents various color shifts.
I'm using an Epson Stylus Pro 3800 with the latest Windows driver
(6.50 - which is rather old by the way). The workaround described below
works for me under Windows XP SP3. It should also probably work with
other systems/printers/drivers. Use at your own (minor) risk.
The "official" procedure for printing from LR is as follows:
1. Do not let the printer manage colors and select "Other..." from the
profile dropdown list and select the ICC/ICM paper/printer profile that
you want to use.
2. Click on Print... in LR which opens the Print Settings dialog.
3. Select the options you need and the paper you're using.
4. **Disable the color management from the driver's side** (in Epson's
drivers, "Mode | Custom | No Color Adjustments").
5. Print
Unfortunately, **this doesn't work** for many of us and this produces a
print that is dark and has color shifts as mentioned above. Note that
the same image prints correctly from QImage or Photoshop CS3 (that is,
the printer output corresponds to what you see on your calibrated
display).
Apparently, although color management has been (allegedly) disabled in
the driver, there's something wrong between LR and the driver which
makes that *both* LR and the driver are still trying to manage colors.
In other words, the "No Color Adjustements" option of the driver doesn't
seem to work with LR.
The workaround (found after hours of hair pulling and paper and
expensive ink wasting):
In step #4,
1. Instead of selecting "No Color Adjustments", set Mode to "Custom |
ICM
2. Click Advanced...
3. Check "Show all profiles".
4. Select Driver ICM (Advanced)"
5. Set **both** the "Input profile" and the "Printer profile" fields to
the very same profile that you specified in LR.
That is, if you specified Pro38 PGPP (Premium Glossy Photo Paper) in LR,
then also select Pro38 PGPP in both "Input Profile" and "Printer
Profile". This has actually the same effect has disabling color
management in the driver (what "No Color Adjustements" should normally
take care of).
That's it. When printing, you'll get exactly the same color results as
when printing from QImage or Photoshop. No more dark prints. No more
color shifts.
One might think that the bug is in the Epson driver but in that case,
QImage would have the very same problem. So I tend to think that the bug
is on the Lightroom side.
Note: Although Photoshop CS3 produces a correct printer output, it
demonstrates the same problem as LR when using the "Match Print Color"
option for soft proofing. But in that case, only the preview colors are
wrong. The printer output is ok. Which also tends to demonstrate that
Adobe has the problem, not Epson. Or maybe both... :-) .
Don't ask me why some users have the problem and other don't.
Hope this helps.
Patrick Philippot
MainSoft Consulting Services
www.mainsoft.fr

A sincere thank you for your reply, Michael. Sorry about the "it just doesn't make sense" shortcut. I have been trying to solve this issue since LR 1.1, spending dozens of hours on different trials and digesting everything written on this forum and the B9180 forum about color management and double profiling. My shortcut was a summation of my experience (and my frustration) but doesn't really advance the conversation. Here are some data that should be more useful in diagnosing the problem.
I am running Windows XP SP2. I calibrate my monitor monthly with the Spyder. The reason I suspect this may be an issue of double profiling is because the results (moderately strong magenta overlay plus an increase in contrast) match what more knowledgeable people than I on this forum describe when double profiling occurs. Perhaps I shouldn't presume it is double profiling, and follow Patrick Philippot's lead in naming the problem "color shifts." Patrick does refer in post #2 of this thread, however, to obvious double profiling.
I certainly do have a successful and consistent print method. With PS CS3, and either my Epson 1280 or my HP B9180, the output is almost always dead on. Here is how I do it. In PS from the print dialog box, under color handling I always choose "Photoshop manages colors." Then under printer profile I select the profile designated by the manufacturer for a particular paper/printer combination. Then in the printer driver I disable printer control of color. With the Epson I check the box "Off (No Color Adjustment)." With the B9180 I choose the option "Application Managed Colors." While I sometimes may tweak the final output, these procedures have served me well with PS for several years.
Contrasted with my positive PS experience, my experience with LR printing has been inconsistent. I regret having to be so imprecise but truly sometimes LR produces accurate results that match the calibrated monitor, but most of the time it does not. I use standard procedures with LR that parallel the PS ones described above. In LR's printing panel, under color management, I specify the correct profile, just as I did for PS. Then in the printer driver I use the same procedures I use with PS. Most of the time the prints have the magenta overlay and too much contrast.
BTW, the inconsistent LR printing only takes place with my HP B9180. I have never had any problem with off-color LR prints with my Epson 1280. Again, I emphasize that I have standard procedures that always work with PS (no matter which printer) and LR (but only with the Epson).
Unfortunately the LR printing problems are intermittent. Some of the time (perhaps 20%) LR produces fine prints in the B9180, indistinguishable from PS prints. When LR is printing well, it will continue to print fine until "something happens" and the output shows the color shift. This means I do not get a random sequence of good-bad-good-bad prints, but rather good-good-x factor-bad-bad-bad. Ths problem is that I do not know what this "x factor" is. Once, when LR was giving me accurate output, I simply changed the default printer (Control Panel-Printers and Faxes) from the B9180 to my Samsung 1430 laser; immediately afterwards the LR output colors shifted. Did LR react to this change in default printers? Another time I had good LR printing success with version 1.2 but ran into the problems described above when I upgraded to version 1.3.
Sorry for the long post. I am hoping that someone will see something that I am missing and provide a hint. I think, though, that Patrick is correct when he states, "I tend to think that the problem is with LR. After all, similar issues (obvious double profiling) are observed only in LR but with various printers."

Can I use tethering in Lightroom by Nikon D80?

I connected Nikon D80 to the computer and failed using Lightroom tethering because the Lightroom did not find the camera at all.

That camera is not on the list of supported cameras for tethering. I'm afraid you're out of luck. There may be a Nikon program you could use, but I'm not sure.

Lightroom 5.3: Lens Profile for AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6G (Nikon D80) not in dropdown menu?

A few questions using Lightroom 5.3:
1. Under the Lens Corrections tab in the Develop module, the Lens Profile for AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6G (Nikon D80) is not in the dropdown menu. How do I download the profile or enter it manually?
2. I am using RAW, but I do have many old images taken as JPG's that I am editing. Does that make a difference as to which profile you would use?
3. If it is set to 'Default' or 'Auto' is Lightroom automatically detecting which lens I am using? I'm new at this.

For product specific questions you may do better in the specific product forum
If you start at the Forums Index http://forums.adobe.com/index.jspa
You will be able to select a forum for the specific Adobe product(s) you use
Click the "down arrow" symbol on the right to open the drop down list and scroll

Another "Dark Prints" with Lightroom discussion

Ok, i've read every post on the internet on this topic. I've tried EVERY combination and solution out there. I have an Epson rx580 photo printer with iBook G4. Prints great in PSE4 and other apps (iphoto, etc). When printing in Lightroom...everything is really dark. Not just a tad. I've used epson profiles, managed by printer, managed by lightroom, changd color profiles, no color management,epson vivid...you name it. The only thing that comes close is choosing colorsync. My monitor is calibrated thru color vision Spyder system. I've reformatted HD, reinstalled lightroom, epson drivers, software. eliminated all non epson drivers. Hooked directly in USB slot on laptop...cleaned heads, alighned heads....changed cartridges. What gives???? I should not have find printing anymore difficult in lightroom than PSE 4. Oh yea..I only loaded lightroom when reformatted HD (no PSE4). Did I miss anything else? Please don't reply with any obvious answers that are already all over the net. PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Abery-
I've previously posted a thread similar to yours. I use an Epson R2400 with a MacPro using OS 10.4.10. Every print came out darker than what appeared on the screen. I too tried "every" solution mentioned, which I won't repeat here. Alas, while roaming the forums I came upon a solution that appears to solve the "dark print" issue, although I'm not completely sure why. Here it is. With a photo selected from Library, select an appropriate template in Print. In the Print Job select the appropriate paper Profile in Color Management. Use Page Setup to select your printer and the appropriate paper info. Next select Print Settings to select your printer AGAIN and make sure the Preset is STANDARD. Select Print Settings, then appropriate Media Type. In the same box I've selected the Mode-Advanced, Print Quality-Best Photo, checked High Speed and Finest Detail. Under Color Management (especially important) select No Color Adjustment. All of the above has been mentioned in many previous threads. What comes next is the critical part I found recently one dark night when I was too tired to remember where, although I wrote down the procedure to try later. With all the above set up the suggestion was to then HOLD the OPTION key and select Print. This apparently bypasses the subsequent printer dialog and sends the info from LR directly to the printer. Therefore there is no double management as has been mentioned in other threads. The process results in the print being as nearly identical to the monitor as I have ever been able to produce.
David

Darker prints and sound editing in LR4

Printed pictures off of lightroom 4 to a local store. Changed format from RAW to jpeg. Pictures turned out darker than the ones on preview in the computer. Does anyone have the same experience? Also does lightroom 4 have sound editing capabilities?

Steve
Everything you indicated is correct, but it would be nice to know exactly what model and type monitor he has.
Many programs will not work with certain monitors, and certain monitors do not have the controls and or physical range to make changes that color management software will make.
He should do some reading up as well so he knows what he is up against.
Here are two of the best books out there.
http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Management-Graphic-Design-Interactive/dp/1401814476
http://www.amazon.com/World-Color-Management-Bruce-Fraser/dp/0201773406
Jim Michaelsen

Photoshop CS + Camera Raw + Nikon D80

Hello,
I'm using P'shop CS on MAC 10.4.9 and recently upgraded my camera to a Nikon D80. I discovered that P'shop CS does not support D80 RAW thru the existing RAW plug-in (2.4) --apparently, the Camera RAW plug-in is supported by P'shop CS up thru version 2.X.
And, the D80 is NOT supported by 2.X; but, I have been told the D80 IS supported by Camera RAW 3.X . However, not ready to upgrade P'shop CS quite yet.
DOES ANYONE KNOW OF A WORK AROUND TO GET THE D80 CAMERA RAW SUPPORTED BY CS?
Thanks Very Much,
John

What John says is right. Digital cameras do not shoot at higher resolution in the raw mode. If we use 6 MP as a "general" reference, the camera is taking a picture that is 2000 pixels high and 3000 pixels wide. The resolution (72 PPI or 240 PPI or whatever) is simply used as a reference to help you understand how big the image would be at any given resolution. Generally speaking, JPEG images are usually reported at 72 PPI because (generally) JPEG images are often used for viewing on a computer screen whereas raw images will be used more commonly for printing as individual images or as part of a group of images for a magazine, for instance. Again, the 72 PPI or the 240 PPI are simply references to tell you that if those six megapixels are "squeezed" so that they are that close together, that is how big the image would be. But as far as the image is concerned, it is the same image regardless of what the resolution reports.

Help me solve color and dark print issue with a new monitor recommendation!

I know, I hate "surveys" too. I'm thinking of attacking my color and dark printing issues w\LR and CS4, by investing in a new monitor. I currently have an 20' early edition Apple Cinema Display. The monitor is the last hardware (software) item in my current upgrade cycle. From those folks who are NOT having color or print problems, what displays are you using (or would recommend)? Ah, and price is an issue. Apologies in advance to those who think this is not appropriate use of the Forum.

Monitor calibration is the first port of call. Sometimes changing one item in a system is enough to show up a colour management issue. You suggest that the monitor is the last item in your upgrade cycle, what all have you changed? Computer, printer? There may also be a setting you have failed to set when you installed the new software, eg. have you remembered to set relative colorimetric with the black point compensation box ticked, disable colour management in your printer driver and put an appropriate colour profile for your monitor onto the new computer? You also need the correct profile for your printer/paper combination set up in Photoshop.
If you haven't calibrated your monitor, that on its own will give you poor prints, but all the other bits are needed also.
Jo

Loss of colour and nuances in scan

Hp Deskjet F2180
Mac OS X 10.9.3
Lately I've suddenly experienced loss of colour and nuances in my scans. It's still possible to scan in colour, but the colours are dull and brownish, but also in high contrast, which results in lighter colours disappearing altogheter. The preview looks good, and I can make colourcorrections in preview mode, but the final scan turns out the same disappointing way regardless of what settings I choose.
I can't think of anything that has changed between my previously successfull scans and when the problems started.

Welcome to the forums elinhjulstrom,
I saw your post about the scan quality issue you are having with your Deskjet F2180 on Mavericks. I would like to share my ideas with you that might help.
Try:
Mac OS X: How to reset the printing system (This will delete all printers)
Repair disk permissions
Re-add the printer (not the AirPrint driver)
Try the scan again
If there is still an issue, check out this link and use another method to scan:
OS X v10.9 Mavericks: Installing and Using the Printer on a Mac
Enjoy your day
R a i n b o w 7000I work on behalf of HP
Click the “Kudos Thumbs Up" at the bottom of this post to say
“Thanks” for helping!
Click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution!

Dark prints with PSE 10

My prints look fine on my screen but print too dark. I've spent time lowering the brightness on my iMac monitor, calibrating the monitor, tried every combination of Photoshop managing the print, the printer (Epson1900) managing printing, Adobe 1998, sRGB, Relative Rendering, Perceptual, ad nauseum.
The only improvement has occurred when I switched having PSE manage color management to having the R1900 manage it, which is the opposite from all the conventional wisdom I've read on the web. I use Epson paper and Epson print cartridges and the appropriate paper handling/profiles.
The only acceptable workaround I've used is increase the brightness in PSE editor and then print letting the R1900 manage things. The prints are acceptable even though they are too bright on the display. Very frustrating.

Thansk Colin for the feedback. Most of the advice on the web indicates to use Adobe as the color space. I've also used the paper specific color profile for the Epson R1900, no change.
This is from Adobe Tech support, January 2010 re: PSE 8. I copied and pasted this from Elements Village website. The workaround was to let the printer manage color.
Thank you for contacting Adobe Technical Support.
After consulting with my colleagues about the issue you raised, I can let you know the following:
The issue is both on our as well as the driver software side and the workaround we have given is the best available at this time. This issue is affecting all printers, not just Epson or Canon.
The soft proofing effect that you are seeing in the print preview is indeed an attempt at soft proofing. However since Photoshop Elements managed prints are incorrectly double colour managed it is not as useful as it was initially designed.
As to the exact details o f why this occurred, we have no official information.
We believe that this will resolve the issues you are experiencing, however, should the reply not help solve the problem, please contact us again, quoting the case number given above, and we will re-open the case.
Answer # 2
Subject: Re: Adobe TS #180107025 / Mario / PSE6 oversaturated Print (KMM3793441I51L0KM)
Dear Mr. Laugesen,
We have had word back from our engineers regarding your issue.
The Photoshop Elements team are aware of the problem and are working with Apple and the printer manufacturers to get this to work correctly. In the meantime, the only workaround is to switch off colour management in Photoshop Elements and let the printer handle the colour management.
Unfortunately we can not make an estimation as to when a fix will be provided. We will close the case for the time being as there really is nothing more we can do about this issue besides offering the suggested workaround. Closing this case does not mean that the research will stop however and the engineers are working on a solution to this.

Dark Prints from Epson R1900 w/ Colormunki

I use the Epson R1900 and Colormunki and still get dark prints. Here is my setup.
GEForce 8600 GT video card
Sceptre DCLCD20 monitor
Epson Stylus R1900 printer
In the calibration process, I have to turn my monitor Brightness control all the way to 0 to get to come close to what Colormunki wants.
I have to turn off the Enbale DDC Calibration function in the preferences or Colormunki sets my monitor so dark, I can barely see it.
I've tried printing in both Lightroom 2.4 and PS CS4 using the Colormunki generated profile and both prints come out dark - the same but dark
In LR, my color management settings are Profile: Epson ... (my profile) and Rendering intent: perceptual.
In PS CS4, my Color Handling settings are Photoshop Manages Color; Printer Prilfe is my colormunki generated profile, Rendering intent is perceptual.
Both print previews look fine.
Both prints come out dark
Any suggestions would be appreciated?

I don't use a Colormunki..but what you say here
kentmcpherson wrote:
In the calibration process, I have to turn my monitor Brightness control all the way to 0 to get to come close to what Colormunki wants.
I have to turn off the Enbale DDC Calibration function in the preferences or Colormunki sets my monitor so dark, I can barely see it.
sounds very strange. Usually when profiling a monitor and setting the luminance value (which is either called the brightness or backlight) control, you start from the brightest point the monitor will go to and then the device measures this and sets a recommended luminance value measured in cm2 (that is candles to the square meter) and you reset your monitor brightness until it matches the required value. Are you reading the instructions carefully as what you say here just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Setting the monitor to 0 (o what?) and saying the calibration device sets your monitor brightness (this will be done on the monitor controls not by a calibration device)
If you are also using the colomunki to make printer profiles I have heard of several serious problems with the device regarding this. I understand it makes icc v4 profiles and your printer drivers may use icc v 2...this will cause difficulties. You will usually be better using the canned profiles supplied by any paper manufacturer than attempting to make your own profiles with these cheaper end of the market devices in my experience.

DARK PRINTS on Epson R2400

I know this has been discussed in other threads. What I did not find posted elsewhere was "the" solution to my problem of dark prints with Lightroom on an Intel Mac, that was provided by Epson Tech Support this morning. First, I've tried all the other suggestions including-
1. direct USB connection
2. Not color managed
3. calibrate monitor
4. update drivers
5. select correct ICC profile
etc., etc., etc!!!
What did it for me-
DUH!
Nozzle Check - to indicate that there was a problem, and
Head Cleaning - to correct the problem.
Now, printed photos look like previews on screen.
Hope this helps someone else.
Thank you Epson!
Dave

I have to chime in and say that:
1. I used to have the same problem with dark prints from LR to my Epson R1800.
2. I'm quite convinced that the problem is due to either a combination of the following, or just one of the following:
2.a. A "faulty" driver installation. Wrong driver ppc driver instead of macintel driver. Multiple drivers installed with different version numbers. It is possible to end up with two drivers for one epson printer. I know. I have.
2b. Not setting up LR AND the Mac OS print dialog options correctly when printing.
2c. Not installing the printer correctly in the System Preferences.
2d. An ink problem in the printer. Clogging etc.
Possible solutions:
Check in Computer:Library:Printers: to see if you have more than one driver installed.
Or just trash anything Epson in this folder and reinstall the driver. (Keep a backup if you don't know what you are doing, and don't blame me if you mess things up ;-) .
Make sure you install the correct driver, don't use the ppc-driver on an intel-mac.
When you add your printer in the system preferences make sure to click on the "More Printers" button and choose either Epson-USB or Epson-Firewire (Depends on how you connect it obviously). DON'T install it in the first dialog window that appears after you click the +button in the Printers and Fax window in system preferences.
In LR you have to set up correctly with the correct icc-profile for your paper.
In LR press Page Setup and choose the correct printer and paper format in that os dialog.
In LR press the Printer Settings button and in that os dialog window you have to choose no color management - as stated many times before :-)
And of course you have to select the correct paper here as well and other settings like "best photo" and so on.
Make sure you have Standard selected as the Preset in the Print Settings dialog and then Option-click on the Save button to save your settings.
Now you can make a template in LR with your settings.
You shall always use Standard as the preset even when you make a new print template in LR with different settings. Somehow they stick when you use Standard, but they don't stick if you choose a different name for the preset in the os print settings dialog.
I hope you can understand all of the above let me know if not and I will try to explain.
/Andreas

CS3, Epson 2880 - Dark Prints

Hopefully some one might be able to help as I am a tad stumped with a problem of dark prints from CS3 on an Epson 2880.
Macbook Pro with 10.4 Tiger
I have a calibrated monitor
CS3 setup with American Prepress colour settings
Raw picture imported into CS3 with Adobe RGB profile
So I edit the picture as required and then open the print window where I tell photoshop to manage the colours and select the correct ICC profile for my printer and paper. I then go to the Epson print driver and select the correct media type and turn off colour management.
The picture that is printed is 1 to 2 stops darker than what is should be.
Now the strange thing is if I use the Epson Print Plug-in the picture that it displays is generally dark like the print output.
If I didnt know better I would say that another ICC profile is being applied to the picture as it moves either to the print driver or to the Epson Plug-in.
If I check the picture in CS3 with proofing then I get a small colour change as expected but not the dark print that comes out.
Any suggestions much appreciated as this is doing my head in.

Please do a forum search. There are already at least two other threads on the subject of dark prints.
Here are examples:
Eric Chan, "PS3 prints fine, PS4 prints too dark, same Mac" #12, 12 Dec 2008 6:07 am
Eric Chan, "Printer Dialog Box in CS4 - Printing Grayscale Images" #26, 4 Dec 2008 8:57 pm

Where to find color profile for Nikon D80? Then how do I apply it?

I've tried googling and found a few places that claim to have ICC profiles for my Nikon D80. I've seen people say, "oh use program X or Y to apply it" but I want to do everything in Photoshop (CS6, on my Mac running Yosemite). Can someone point me at a place to find an ICC profile so I can get my Nikon NEF raw images into CS6?
Can you further tell me how to install the profile? I've tried all three locations described at Introduction to Icc Profiles and I've rebooted many times. No luck! The ICC files I've got look find but maybe they aren't?

Lightroom doesn’t use ICC profiles, it uses .dcp files, DNG Color Profiles. The profiles come with Photoshop and updates to the Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) plug-in.
If you really mean the D80, then that has been supported since PS-CS2/ACR 3.4.
If D80 is a typo and you meant D800, then that has been supported since PS-CS5/ACR6.7.
If D80 is a typo and you meant D810, then that has been supported since PS-CS6-or-CC/ACR 8.6.
Do About Plug-ins / Camera Raw and see what precise version you have, and verify which camera model you have.

Dark prints, loss of colour ...(Lightroom)Nikon D80

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