Better photography, by learning to print your photos
Вставка
- Опубліковано 27 сер 2024
- Keith Cooper looks at why learning to print your photos can help improve all aspects of your photography, not just the technical side.
Covers some common problems and why starting with the basics gives you the skills to get more from your printing. The video complements a comprehensive article about the subject, with lots more details, examples and advice.
www.northlight-...
and
www.northlight-...
There is more about choosing the best papers at:
• Choosing the best pape...
and
www.northlight-...
Keith has written many hundreds of printing related articles and reviews, all freely available on the Northlight Images web site:
www.northlight-...
-----------------
If you'd like to make a small donation, I have a Kofi page:
"Buy me a coffee" ko-fi.com/keit...
-----------------
My articles and videos are always free to access.
Any help with running this channel is gratefully received.
-----------------
I also have some affiliate links which earn me a commission if used.
US Amazon photo/print gear: amzn.to/3l9vJC6
B&H Photo: www.bhphotovid...
Adorama: www.adorama.co...
Thank you for this.
I've really enjoyed your videos and articles as I've been considering the purchase of a modern photo printer after my HP Photosmart 7960 finally died this year after more than a decade and a half of faithful service. They stopped making the grey carts that made it good for black and white a number of years back, and I was on my last spare when it finally bit the dust.
My budget is modest, so I'll probably a stretch to a Canon PIXMA Pro 200 when they're on sale, but in the meantime I just want to say thank you for revitalising my love of printing photos. I'm going to use my Epson 4-ink A3+ for a while to get my hands dirty again, and a lot of it is due to watching your videos and reading your articles getting me excited again about the printing itself, rather than the equipment. So many writers and video presenters focus on the gear rather than the art, and you're great at reminding us why we love physical photographs in the first place.
Thanks very much for taking the time to comment - this is much appreciated.
Marvellous channel. Thanks a lot for your videos Keith!
Thanks - much appreciated.
Do check the articles as well though, I've been writing articles a lot longer than making videos ;-)
@@KeithCooper I will! Thanks!
Thank you very much Keith for this report !
Thanks - do check the articles on the Northlight site as well, since the videos are produced to complement the more detailed articles.
Just found your channel please keep on the good work!
Thanks - glad it's of interest
It was someone from Canon who convinced me to start doing some videos last August - after I'd just done the written ones for many years. Do check the linked articles as well, since there are over 1200 on the Northlight site...
@@KeithCooper i am a photographer myself this is how i found your channel. Photography is such a complex task, and your print videos shines some light on the printing part of it. Your Videos are much more informative then some of the mainstream youtuber. Most of them are just jumping around and screaming about a Canon Nikon and Sony camera war. Here i feel that i learn something. I am not a native english speaker but i can understand your videos very well! keep on going!
Thanks - I'm glad my Suffolk accent isn't too strong ;-) ;-)
🙏🙏🙏🙏
Keith, if all one has is a laptop will the calibrator still make a difference? Thank you. Steve
Yes - possibly more
Laptop screen have improved a lot at the higher end, but you still ideally need to use them at the right settings
Hi Keith, have you done an article on what resolution camera and Image is required to print Larger Images?
This is an interesting question, which I've come back to several times over the years.
Most recently here
www.northlight-images.co.uk/upsizing-and-sharpening-for-making-a-print/ There are other articles linked from that one which go into different aspects
As software and megapixels have risen, what was never a simple answer has become even less clear ;-)
If I had to give a more general answer it would be that the quality of the lens was a big factor.
Thanks for asking - I'll see if I can come up with a video looking at some aspects of this.
Hello Keith, thanks for sharing your experience and of course the colour test sheets. I have recently bought an Epson SC-700 Printer. When I did the first two prints, I was a little disappointed that the colours were rather soft and not as vivid as I had expected. With the help of you sample sheets, I was able to get a result that met my expectations far better. What I am still wondering is: is it better to leave the Colour Management to the printer or am I better off using the Photoshop Colour Management? Any views ? Thank you again for sharing. Hans
With very few exceptions I always set the profile in the PS dialog or if using the Epson print software, there. [NB This is on a Mac - I assume it's similar on PCs, but I've not used one for many years]
There are two occasions I would 'leave it to the printer' :
One is when using the ABW mode for B&W
The second is rare times where strong blue/violet (artificial) colours are just not printing right with a profile and the printer driver just manages to get it closer - there may be other situations, but there are very few times I've ever printed a photographic colour image and not used a profile. It may be a valid choice for some graphics, but that's not something I've experimented with.
@@KeithCooper Thank you, appreciate your quick reply. Hans
Hi Keith ...
I have a question about soft proofing in Photoshop. My printer is the Pixma Pro-200 and I have ICC profiles of my papers. Which settings come closest to the print result? I mean simulating the setting of the black point compensation and printing color. Somehow I find it difficult to find the right one.
Sorry - it depends ;-)
Soft proofing only gives a broad indication of how an image may change when it gets printed. It can be helpful, but is not something I'd regularly rely on.
See my full review for more of this, but a lot depends on what software you are printing from. So for Photoshop printing I'd always select BPC for matte media. Choice of rendering intent depends a bit on the image - I use rel-col a lot since I make my own profiles. If you were using the Canon PPL print software BPC can be left on, the changes between rendering intents is less obvious.
A lot depends on the profiles and how they were made. This is one reason I always test profiles with a known good test image - it lets me get a feel for how the profile will interpret an image. This understanding is far more reliable (IMHO) than trusting too much to soft proofing (YMMV)
Wonder how the printer would handle 300gsm if the corners had a slight curve to them from humidity ? Since it doesnt how the paper vac like the Pro1000, I would think it would ruin the printer like it did to my Pro-10 as they are very similar, use same print head and inks.
Yes, curved paper is not good. I've been very careful to us flat paper.
@@KeithCooper Sucks that such a "pro" level and priced printer cannot handle papers better. The issue I mention is due to a raise in humidity, and the paper gets an ever so slight yet strong enough bow to the edges..But imagine if you were expecting to cut sheets from a roll...Nightmare.
Do you find that certain types of papers lend themselves to different genres of photography?
Definitely - but it is a matter of personal taste as to which.
See here for more info:
www.northlight-images.co.uk/choosing-the-best-paper-for-your-photo-prints/
Hi Keith, these videos and also your written reviews are so helpful. Thanks for your personal investment of time and attention to detail. I have a question/scenario, if I may please. My print needs are sporadic. I may print a dozen or more photos in a weekend and then nothing for months at a time. Which Canon Pro printers and/or cleaning methods are best for such a sporadic requirement? The default cleaning cycles sound too frequent considering how little I'd print at home, so I'd like to be able to power the printer down with confidence that I'd not upset/clog the print head, and also to reduce wasted leccy, ink and paper. Andrew
Thanks - This is the trickiest usage scenario - no inkjet printer likes being left unused for months. It's also the best way of maximising the proportion of ink used for maintenance vs print.
It is simply a cost of using the printer - they are not 'too frequent' I'm afraid, since ink use is a vital part of keeping the printer running.
The PRO-200 is probably the best in this respect, but even then I'd want to print off a nozzle check or the like, on plain paper every 2-3 weeks at least.
Personally I'd have a 1000, for size and print quality, but that I'd do a test image of some type every couple of weeks - yes, it will use up ink, but that is part of the true cost of ownership. This is familiar to users of large format printers, but less so to user of small ones...
@@KeithCooper Thanks Keith. Most helpful. A further thought if I may please, and I think this isn't viable or you'd've said, but... is there a safe way to remove the cartridges and flush things through allowing a safe power down for weeks/months? E.g. using a chemical cleaner/similar, and then re-installing the same cartridges.
@@andrewgifford7740 Absolutely not.
The printers are shipped with an inert protective fluid in the heads, and in the ink lines in some printers - this is not available.
Installed inks would all need flushing from the heads and then for use, the replacement fluid fully flushed out with ink again.
Nope, a complete non starter - almost as expensive as buying a new printer every year ;-)
If you're curious - see this I wrote about ink use...
www.northlight-images.co.uk/printer-ink-use-and-waste/
@@KeithCooper Thanks once again Keith, that's filled in some aspects for me. Coffee bought!
@@andrewgifford7740 Thanks! - this is something I've discussed with people at both Canon and Epson, but there are limits on what they can publicly say about it - not for me, I don't sell printers or ink ;-)
Sir nobody give my question answer please give me answers sir I have dell monitor and I am use calibration tool for calibrate monitor but when I send to lab color not match with screen so sir required 100%adobergb 100%srgb monitor for image editing
I'm afraid the full answer is far too long to fit in a reply here ;-)
Basically you need to make sure the screen isn't too bright and learn about soft proofing.
See here for some of my info on the subject
www.northlight-images.co.uk/better-photography-by-printing-your-work/
Printing your own files is the best addiction you can have.
Yes! - It's partly why I'm really happy that Epson and Canon send me new printers - doing the articles/reviews means that a lot more of my images get a life as a print.