Rendering for print or for screen/web

[Three D]

Hi.

 

I'm not sure if this is the correct forum to post this on but here goes.

 

I'm using 3ds Max+Vray and I rarely do post work in Photshop on my images. I use LWF and my monitor is calibrated. My workflow produces images which look good on screen but when it comes to printing them I have to go into Photoshop and do a whole load of work to try and get them to print correctly on our HP5500DN LaserJet, or any printer. Unedited they print out way too dark and very dull.

 

Would anybody like to share their workflow on how they get their rendered images to print correctly and get the same vibrant images from print that they have on screen.

 

Any help would be very much appreciated.

 

Thanks.

[Thablanch]

My monitor is calibrated to my main photo printer..

Your printer is a laser printer. These printers are made for printing massive color pie charts. I never had any good color match printing experiences with laser printers, and the 2 (laser printers) we have here are huge expensive machines.

For your color prints, I suggest you buy a small photo printer, most bubble jet will achieve better results than lasers.

My monitor is calibrated and I print my renders on a Epson stylus R1800 ( just a normal/good bubble jet printer, not too expensive, and for sure way cheaper than a laser printers) and I would say that what I have on screen and what I see printed is 95% to 98% similar.

[Three D]

My monitor is calibrated to my main photo printer..

Your printer is a laser printer. These printers are made for printing massive color pie charts. I never had any good color match printing experiences with laser printers, and the 2 (laser printers) we have here are huge expensive machines.

For your color prints, I suggest you buy a small photo printer, most bubble jet will achieve better results than lasers.

My monitor is calibrated and I print my renders on a Epson stylus R1800 ( just a normal/good bubble jet printer, not too expensive, and for sure way cheaper than a laser printers) and I would say that what I have on screen and what I see printed is 95% to 98% similar.

 

thanks for your reply thablanch. its very annoying that a €5k/€6k laserjet cannot reproduce quality photos/renders. in our office they are mostly used for high output autocad drawing and reports but really it should still be able to output quality photos. thanks for your advice.

[Thablanch]

They are made for production of mass documents...

If you have something like 500$ (+/- €400) you can get something really decent....

The difference is like the delivery truck and the sports car, they both roll, but do not accomplish the same task.

[Jeff Mottle]

It really depends if your color laser is also calibrated and linearized. The more expensive lasers can achieve closer and even good color, but certainly not of the same accuracy as an inkjet. In order to get very accurate color, when printing, you're going to need to do a lot more than just calibrate your monitor, that is only one step. All of the following have to be done in order to get your prints to match your screen as closely as possible:

 

1. Your monitor needs to be calibrated and profiled.

2. Your printer (if possible) needs to be calibrated and linearized.

3. You need to work with color management in Photoshop and use the ICC profile created for your printer.

4. You need viewing conditions where you compare the physical print to screen needs to be under controlled D50 lighting (or something closely approximating natural sunlight and not overhead fluorescent office lights).

 

If you want step by step instructions, I'd recommend buying the Advanced 3DATS book as I wrote a nearly 60 page chapter on color management. (http://shop.cgarchitect.com/books-and-magazines/3ds-max-2010-architectural-visualization-advanced-to-expert.html). Perhaps some others can vouch for its usefulness.

 

In brief though, Set your working space to AdobeRGB, When you import your image into Photoshop, you should assign AdobeRGB as the image's profile if you are working on a high gamut display, or sRGB if you are not. When you are printing from Photoshop you need to define the printer profile (which is a file containing among other things the characteristics of the printer's ink and paper). The printer manufacturer or the guy who hopefully comes into your office to routinely maintain the printer should be able to provide you an ICC profile for each paper type you use in the printer. Make sure that Photoshop is set to handle the color management. There are a ton of other factors and steps I've not mentioned here as I can't retype the entire chapter here, but those are the very basics.

 

You mentioned the images being dull. I would attribute that to the paper type and the lack of capability of the printer to print really saturated colors in the gamut you are expecting. Overly dark images, while in your case are in part due to to working in a non-color managed environment, are also very often a symptom of a display that is too bright. LCD's are notorious for being too bright, even after they are calibrated. I would try to get your monitor in the 100-110 cd/m2 range. Also, the lighting conditions (luminance) needs to be comparable. You can't compare an image on a bright screen to a dimly lit office. (Not sure your conditions, but it can be a factor).

Edited May 13, 2010 by Jeff Mottle

[Tommy L]

and I rarely do post work in Photshop on my images.

 

Thanks.

 

Why not? A couple of curve changes could be all you need to get 90% of the way there.

[Three D]

Thanks for that Jeff. I'll certainly take a look at the Advanced 3DATS book. Apologies for posting in the wrong forums.

[Three D]

Why not? A couple of curve changes could be all you need to get 90% of the way there.

 

Thanks Tommy L. I'm sure it would help but the printed output is so far removed from the screen output that it would take a lot more than just that. I need to adopt much of Jeff's advice and then I'm sure I would see the benefits of post work in Photoshop. At present I occassionally edit the image in Photoshop all the while knowing the printed output will still not look the same.