Objects and Images Printing Much Darker When Sent to Press

So, I'm sure this has been addressed multiple times in many other threads, but for the life of me, I can't find one that addresses my specific issues.  So here goes...
When producing ads or catalog layouts with drawn objects, be it solid or gradient filled, or when adding color photos to the design, it always happens that everything turns out much darker on their end.  It's frustrating and I don't know if it's something I'm not doing, or if it's something in the offset printing process...  Advice would be appreciated.
I am currently using ID CS5.5, and am an intermediate to advanced user, but when it comes to color management...I'm lost.
It's disheartening sending out great ads and layouts when they come out so crappy on their end.  (PS...forget about asking for proofs, cause I've asked for years on projects like mass catalog printings, and they just don't do it...so I need to work around that).  Thanks guys and gals!

its one of those "how long is a piece of string" questions.
as pete said, colour calibration with your monitor may be a factor, but there are many other items to consider, such as:
* the quality of the light in the room in which the monitor is in;
* whether the images being printed are beyond the max ink weight for the paper (an uncoated stock will have a lower max ink weight than a coated stock)
* what RGB-CMYK conversion is being used. to demonstrate this, try this - take an RGB pic, make it CMYK using the SNAP newsprint profile and save it as 1.tiff. then, go back to the original RGB pic and make it CMYK using the COATED FOGRA 39 profile and save it as 2.tiff. now, place both pics into indesign and go to the seps preview and compare the picture qualities side by side.
there are also issues which may be present at the printer's end, but I won't speculate as to what they may or may not be doing. instead, it is worth having a chat to your providers. Providers interested in your work normally take the time to provide as much information as they can.
it seems to me that if images are constantly coming out darker, that the max ink weights for the stocks being printed on are being exceeded. when submitting ads/prints, are you using the ink limit preview in the seps preview panel and checking it against the max ink weight suggested by the publisher or printer?
my buck o'five.
colly

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