REALLY Dark prints on HP B9180

Whenever I print an image from Aperture to my HP Photosmart Pro B9180 the image appears really really dark. Even turning the exposure up (so the image is pretty much all white) results in a black print. Currently, when I print an image I need to export a jpg to my desktop, open it in Photoshop CS3, and print from that. Anyone know how I can fix this?

I still don't understand why Apple can't allow this in the Aperture print dialogue box - all it would need is like in Photoshop - an option to allow the printer to manage the colour.
Technically, PostScript does not support the ICC file format. PostScript has its own file format for colour matching, Color Space Arrays for device to CIE and Color Rendering Dictionaries for CIE to device.
Therefore, Apple ColorSync has the ability to do one of two things,
- keep the ICC file format for the colour matching tables and convert the colourants in the operating system, or
- convert the ICC file format for the colour matching into the PostScript file format and convert the colourants in the computer that runs the PostScript interpreter.
These commands are part of Apple ColorSync. They appear in the system as part of the printing path, File > Print > from Copies & Pages scroll down to ColorSync > Color Conversion: Standard (meaning in the system) and In Printer (meaning in the PostScript interpreter.
Adobe Photoshop has similar commands. If you choose PostScript Color Management, you are converting the ICC file format for colour matching into the PostScript file format for colour matching, and sending the PS file format plus colourants to the RIP for conversion.
The PostScript file format for colour matching was developed for PostScript language level 2, published in December 1990 in PostScript Language Reference Manual, Second Edition, and provided in October 1992 as product to Adobe OEM partners.
In 1991, Microsoft told Seybold Publications that TrueImage would not be compatible with Adobe PostScript language level 2 because PSL2 "does not support the screen." This is correct in the sense that a Color Rendering Dictionary is CIE to device data only.
A Color Rendering Dictiory is not invertible, that is, it does not support CIE to device data and device data to CIE. Therefore, unlike an ICC type PRTR Printer profile a PostScript CRD cannot support simuluation on the screen, cannot be embedded as OutputIntent in PDF/X-3, and so forth.
David Hayward on the ColorSync team described how this is fixed in the ICC architecture in 1995 when the ICC Specification was finalised for release at DRUPA Druck und Papier in Düsseldorf.
"There is much that an application can do with ColorSync that will help the user work with color. For starters, an application could do the following: Include a print preview mode that shows a "soft proof" of the matched output on the display. The application accomplishes this by building a color world with CWConcatColorWorld that matches through three profiles: from the source profile (which is embedded in the document) to the printer's profile (which you allow the user to pick from a list of installed printer profiles) and back to the screen profile (which is the current system profile)."
/hh

Similar Messages

Dark prints with B9180 printer

I've been getting dark prints using the B9180 printer. They are all darker than what I see on the monitor. I'm using PSElements 8 and Windows XP Pro.
I've tried about every combination possible using both the PSE 8 options and the HP color options [Optimize for Printing...for Computer Screen, No Color Management, PSE Manages, Printer Manages, colorSmart/sRGB, Adobe RGB (1998), Application Managed Colors, etc], and some of these just make it worse than other combinations, especially anything with Application Managed Colors. I've read many postings on various web sites and they all seem to deal with Photoshop users, not Elements. Can it be as simple as my new HP S2331 23 inch monitor is out of calibration, after about 1 month's use?
I would really appreciate some suggestions and help.
Thanks in advance.

As to my printer drivers, after installing Snow Leopard, I was unable to print using LR2.5. The print would fail generating an error. I then installed the new drivers from the Epson web site: epson13113.dmg for my Epson R2400. This "worked" in that it did not generate an error, but would just transmit to printer and then quit.
Up to that point I had done a minimum of web reading, I just had seen that Matt K. from Kelby and others had been using SN and LR2 successfully. With my two failures, I googled extensively. I deleted all my printers, downloaded the new 10/22 Apple Epson drivers, re-ran the Epson drivers, etc, etc, etc, stopping and restarting along the way until I was able to obtain CS4 prints using SL with my Epson R2400.
At that point, I returned to my initial objective, which was to obtain (re-obtain, if you will as I previously had them) quality prints from LR. The early prints were harsh and less than acceptable, and when I got the "Sun in the dark" picture that I could quantify, I knew I had a definite issue and posted to this forum.
(I am assuming that my deletion of the profiles while seeking to update driver is how I generated my initial inconsistency that was part of my original post).
I now looks like I had a color space problem. I have deleted and re-generated the psd "Edit in Photoshop" image. Again, on the screen, the edit and the original appear identical and as the CS4 print is correct, I am left, it appears to me, with a LR2.5 printing issue unless I can find some configuration issue. The two pictures are definitely different with the flesh tone pink and some of the background colors "lighter" in the LR2 print.
(As a side, I don't think this would matter, the original pics were taken as raw nef from a D700 camera using a 105mm VR2 macro lens).
Thanks for your time.

Elements 10, windows 8, 64 bit, epson artisan 835 printer: prints are really dark even after using enhancements like adjusting lighting. Prints are darker than photoshop edit screen. Prints are acceptable using paint, windows photo viewer, or gallery.

Elements 10, Windows 8, 64 bit, Epson Artisan 835 printer: Prints are really dark even after applying enhancements, like adjusting lighting. Prints are darker than Photoshop Edit Screen. Prints are acceptable using Paint, Windows Photoviewer, or Photo Gallery.

In general theory, one now has the Edit button for their posts, until someone/anyone Replies to it. I've had Edit available for weeks, as opposed to the old forum's ~ 30 mins.
That, however, is in theory. I've posted, and immediately seen something that needed editing, only to find NO Replies, yet the Edit button is no longer available, only seconds later. Still, in that same thread, I'd have the Edit button from older posts, to which there had also been no Replies even after several days/weeks. Found one that had to be over a month old, and Edit was still there.
Do not know the why/how of this behavior. At first, I thought that maybe there WAS a Reply, that "ate" my Edit button, but had not Refreshed on my screen. Refresh still showed no Replies, just no Edit either. In those cases, I just Reply and mention the [Edit].
Also, it seems that the buttons get very scrambled at times, and Refresh does not always clear that up. I end up clicking where I "think" the right button should be and hope for the best. Seems that when the buttons do bunch up they can appear at random around the page, often three atop one another, and maybe one way the heck out in left-field.
While I'm on a role, it would be nice to be able to switch between Flattened and Threaded Views on the fly. Each has a use, and having to go to Options and then come back down to the thread is a very slow process. Jive is probably incapable of this, but I can dream.
Hunt

[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."

Dark prints using CS5 & Epson R2400 ongoing problem, now new PC and magenta cast

Have tried every combination of set up in trying to solve problem. Had One Eye (now defunct lamp) various experts etc etc but compensated for dark prints by having screen lightened to bizarre point. Now having a new PC am faced with massive magenta cast. I really don't want to buy a new printer but have had the dark print problem since I got it. Have spoken to Adobe and Epson at length but eventually washed their hands. I feel it is something to do within the computer set up or Photoshop - don't think its printer problem. All drivers updated regularly. Thought it could be monitor problem but don't really think this is the case.
Any ideas welcome as I think I have tried everything. Use Windows 7.
Am retired and not very technically minded! Serious amateur photographer.

I have an Epson 1280 printer, and I have the same problem with prints. Part of the problem are the different color profiles in the monitor and the printer. The other problem to deal with is the type of photo paper used. While looking at web sites, I found that the ICC Color Profiles for the printer are on the install disc and are not automatically installed. One of the links describes which folder to install the profiles on both Mac & Windows computers.
As station_two wrote, calibrate your monitor first.
Below is a link about calibrating.
http://dpexperience.com/2009/12/18/calibrating-your-monitor-to-your-printer/
The next link is for printer tips
http://www.normankoren.com/printers.html#Printer_tips
And some more here
http://www.digitaldog.net/tips/
I do not have an exact answer for you because I have not figured it out myself, but here is what I have been doing on my prints. I might recommend that you work on a copy of the original.
In the Layer floating window, create a New Adjustment Layer by clicking on the half black/half white circle, and choose Hue/Saturation or Color Balance or Selective Color. Because the prints come out too red, you want to increase the green sliders, which is the opposite of red, and/or decrease the red. (Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Color Balance) is another way to do it.
Under the menu item Image>Adjust Levels. Move the center triangle at the bottom to lighten the mid-range, or use the center dialog box and change it to 1.20 or 1.30, for example.
Now press Print with Preview (but you really are not going to print).
When the dialog box comes up, make sure the Print Space: dropdown is set to Epson Paper or whatever you are using.
I have been using Relative Colorimetric. Press Print. Another dialog box will come up. At the bottom will be a button for Preview, which will generate a preview of what the photo will look like if printed.
Keep going back to the original and double click on the Adjustment Layer and adjusting it until the Print Preview looks ok.
Be sure when you actually print that the paper and color settings in the Epson dialog box match your settings in Photoshop. There is a dropdown that has Print Settings or Color. Often they don't match unless you print several photos in a row. I have found printing at the lower settings (less than 360 dpi) also messes up the color.
It is not an excellent solution, but until I can figure out more, I am in the same boat as you.
I'd suggest saving the lightening and color adjustments as two different Actions.

Dark Prints with Photoshop CS3 and CS4 but not Lightroom

Hi, To start,I have calibrated my dell monitor with eye-one pro as well as my epson 7800. i am running vista 64 bit on my PC...
When i use photoshop (CS3 or CS4) the images look fine on the screen and come out really dark on the printer. When i use lightroom, the images look fine on the screen and fine on the printer.
Any guidance on how to "fix" photoshop would be appreciated. By the way, in photoshop print dialogue, i color manage the document, photoshop manages the color, the printer profile is set to the I-1 custom printer profile, rendering is perceptual, and black point compensation is checked.
Thanks,
Joe

I manage color and service bureau printing at the college I work for, and we've been fighting the upgrade to CS4 for some time. Here's what we have so far.
Apple dual G5 machine with 10.5.8
Adobe PS CS3
Adobe PS CS4
3 x Epson 4800 Pro printers using an IP connection and using Driver version #6.11
We manage color with custom created profiles in eyeOne with eyeOne pro hardware.
When moving to CS4 for printing prints have gond dark and the color has taken an odd shift.
When printing with CS3, we get consistent color and density
All things being equal in the print settings for each version of PS.
I have heard that CS4 addresses the printing system differently (using an updated printing api from Apple) is this true?
When running prints from within another app (any app really) that prints directly through the OS, we get similar results as CS4.
The best explaination that we've been able to get is that the (epson) print driver is operating on the older api calls, and that when the OS (or CS4) is operating on the newer calls, the color and density issues arise.
Can anyone verify this?

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

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.

When I connect my MBP to another screen, all fonts turn dark and my VLC screen is really dark!

Hey.
Hope anybody can help me.
I have a Macbook Pro with Lion installed.
But... When I connect my MBP to my Samsung 32" screen.
* My fonts (Only on my Samsung, not on my MBP screen) turn dark, from a light greey to a really dark greey.
* When my VLC screen is on my MBP its normal, but when I put it on my other screen then it becomes really dark so its impossile to see whats on the screen.
Its the same on every screen i have tried (an LG aswell).
I have had this a couple of weeks now, ever since I borrowed a HDMI adapter from a friend and connected it with my MBP.
Its really becoming a problem. Since I can't watch anything on my screen anymore.
Does anybody have a solution?

Try:
- Going to NF support site/contacting them
- Try a different adopter
- Reset the iOS device. Nothing will be lost
Reset iOS device: Hold down the On/Off button and the Home button at the same time for at
least ten seconds, until the Apple logo appears.
- Reset all settings
Go to Settings > General > Reset and tap Reset All Settings.
All your preferences and settings are reset. Information (such as contacts and calendars) and media (such as songs and videos) aren’t affected.
- Restore from backup. See:
iOS: How to back up
- Restore to factory settings/new iOS device.

Have a HP C6180 all-in-one and I can never really do printing on bot sides of paper, even when it is selected in my i Mac all in one

Have a HP C6180 all-in-one and I can never really do printing on bot sides of paper, even when it is selected in my i Mac all in one

HI,
You should be able to just leave it on, it should have a sleep mode which it will enter after a while.
Say "Thanks" by clicking the Kudos Star in the post that helped you.
Although I work for HP my posts and replies are my own
Please mark the post that solves your problem as "Accepted Solution"

Photoshop, Epson 7880 and Dark Prints

I use Photoshop exclusively for printing to my Epson 7880. Recently upgraded to Snow Leopard ( 10.6.6 ) which has resulted in my 7880 prints being too dark. Printed beautifully under 10.5x. Looking for discussions on possible solutions or approaches. Anybody out there in the same boat? I have the latest drivers - at least according to Epson - and would be happy to upgrade to CS5 ( currently CS3 ) but only if there is good evidence it would help. Sorta desperate here, have orders unfulfilled.
24" 2.8 Ghz iMac, OS 10.6.6, Psd. 10.0.1

I have the Epson 7880 setup under 10.6.6 and Photoshop 12.0.2 and it seems to be working under this "Photoshop Manages Colors" Off (no color management) work flow:
http://www.gballard.net/photoshop/epson/cs5/
You may aso want to review Adobe's spin on the Dark print issue
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/875/cpsid_87512.html
but it was also written for CS5...

Images saved from photoshop showing really dark in windows

Hey! So i'm having some problems with creating images in photoshop and then exporting them into windows. So when I have an image in Photoshop, it's normal colour, but wen when I save it into windows it shows up as really dark and you can't see any details at all. I'm using the Photoshop CC 2014 version and running Windows 8.1. Anyone know how to fix this problem so the images show up normal colour in windows? Here is an example of what I mean
Photoshop Render
Windows Render

My colors look different outside Photoshop. | Mylenium's Error Code Database
Mylenium

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

CS4 and Epson 11880 dark prints

I read about some issues with dark prints and CS4. I am able to print correctly to an Epson 9800 and 3800 but the 11880 prints dark when using CS4 (color or b&w). I use OS X 10.5.5 and have the latest drivers and firmware. Is this the same issue others are having? Any ideas for a fix?
Settings:
Photoshop dialog = Photoshop manages color
Epson driver = No color management
Print = dark output
P.S. The soft proof on the screen looks like it should (similar to CS3 soft proof) but the print does not match the soft proof, like I said too dark.
Thanks in advance for any help or info...
Jeff

Here we go again.
The first thing I would do is try the ColorSync workaround to determined if double profiling is going on here.
You could also try convert to profile (paper/printer) and then choose Printer Manages Color in the PS dialog and then turn off CM in the driver. See if it makes any difference.

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.

REALLY Dark prints on HP B9180

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