Pictures appear dark in prints, why?

Recently, I have started printing portfolio books of my images and notice that most images in the printed book are darker (under-exposed) compared to how they appear on my MBP screen. Is there a reason for this and is there a way to ensure that the printed images come out as great as how they appear on screen?

Hi hibhaven -- do you use a hardware calibrator?  The only way to get prints to match your images on screen to ensure that you have a completely color-calibrated workflow.  This is a common and very much discussed -- and highly technical -- concern.  Google will turn up much.  The following article is as good a place to start as I know.
Why Are My Prints Too Dark?
I use pretty much the least expensive tools that do the job: an X-Rite ColorMunki Photo spectrophotometer for calibrating screens and building all printer/paper profiles, and NEC monitors and NEC's SpectraViewII software.
Message was edited by: Kirby Krieger

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