Should I use an inkjet?

 Remember, ink jets = low cost, dye sub = high
quality.

Where can I get better prints?

Werner's Camera, 1641 California, Ph: ( 303) 534.5487
prints excellent 8" x 10" dye sublimation Kodak prints
for $10. The tips below assume a computer and Photoshop are
being used for digital imaging instead of a camera connected to a printer bypassing the computer.
 
 

PROBLEM	TIP	REASON
Poor Quality Print	Are you printing on a printer not designed for photographs?  Change printers to a Photo quality Ink jet printer.	Laser printers and all in one fax machine printers are often not designed for the small ink dots and high quality necessary to print digital photographs.
Jaggies or Pixelization	Change the dots per inch setting in Photoshop  Image > Image Size	While you cannot use Photoshop to put in image pixels that were not there in the scan or digital photo, you can settle for a smaller print size that will give you a better quality picture. But remember, for ink jets, the size of small ink drops is more important than the dots per inch. Some of the best printers use only 300 dpi but increase the # of drops from 25 to 36 dots per pixel.
Banding or Lines	a) Clean the Print Head Nozzles using the printer software. b) Change the ink jet cartridge.	Ink jet cartridges can run out of solely one ink color, making bands or lines. Look for printers that let you replace the individual colors, or be aware of which ink colors run out faster.
Partial Color Cast to the Print	To remove a color cast, In Photoshop click  Image > Adjust > Levels. In the levels dialogue box, there are 3 eyedroppers. Click the gray one, and click on an area in your picture that should be a neutral gray tone on the monitor.	The gray eyedropper is a fast and flexible partial color cast corrector. Watch the histogram. You are using the eyedropper to redistribute the color balance.
"It doesn't look like it does on screen" i.e. a poor relationship between the monitor and the printer.	Use Photoshop's built in color management wizard to manage color. For a definition of the RGB color spaces, see Color Management, Customizing your working color space.	Read the Photoshop > Help > Color Management section of the help menu. Since the same image can look very different on 2 different monitors, the wizard allows you to pick a color space, a "working" RGB color space that is different from the monitor space.
The print is too dark.	Use Photoshop's Image > Adjust > Levels.	Levels changes improve contrast and tones in color and bw images.
Text or other pictures show up in the background of a scanned magazine picture.	Always use black paper behind of on top of the page you are trying to scan. Then Correct the highlights using curves.	For technique on using black paper as an over lay to the photo you are scanning, See Michael's' Scanning TIPS at http://vandar.simplenet.com/Scan.html

 MORE:

    Check out Denis Curtin's book at
http://www.shortcourses.com/book01/09-05.htm
to see photos of examples of types of  ink jet and dye sub printers.

 

All images are protected by copyright (c) 2000, Jimages Photography. All images are stock and for sale at $200 for use. Other than sale, these images may not be duplicated, scanned, published, reproduced, or distributed in any way, including but not limited to print or electronic and/or digital media, or linked or otherwise referenced on the internet or other digital information networks without written consent.