I rarely ever print photos (or anything else) on my photo printer, but today decided to print some of my seascape images in order to hang on one of the walls.
Unfortunately, the colours in the prints look very different to the colours on the screen.
I understand it's a common problem, but I honestly don't know how to get around it, or at least get within the ballpark.
Some basic details:
- I'm printing from Photoshop CS4.
- Computer is a MacBook Pro.
- Printer is an Epson Stylus Photo R210 (old but good).
- I don't have a calibration tool.
In the 'Color Handling' section of the print dialogue:
- When I choose 'Photoshop Manages Colors', the print looks great, but the colours are noticeably different what's on the screen.
- When I choose 'Printer Manges Colors', I get the same result as above.
- When I choose 'No Color Management', the print is excessively dark and the colours are different, but still wrong.
When I send my images to my print lab, the prints look like what I see on my screen.
What am I missing?
I understand that a printer will never 100% replicate what a screen can display, but how can I get my prints 'close enough' to what I see on my screen?
What is my print lab doing that I'm not doing, when given the same digital image?