Photo Printing - Top Tips for Getting the Colour Right

If it is surely that easy to furnish prints at home at low cost, more people would do so. As it is, people all suffer from the not insignificant cost of consumables, and this is made worse by the number of waste involved in trying several times to get a decent result.

What is the cause?

A very base intuit for poor results is an incorrect colour-management setup - or the perfect lack of one. Of course, this is in the realms of something "technical", and so many users will plainly avoid getting involved in ideas of "colour management" because it seems difficult to set up.

But sadly, without a colour administration theory the chances of creating standard colour prints are small. Fortunately these days, it is relatively straightforward to assign Icc profiles to a monitor and other devices in Windows Xp and Vista, and what's more, an ever greater number of photo-editing applications have colour administration suites included.

Here is some definite guidance to generate good capability prints with a minimum of waste.

Colour administration

Icc profiles installed for at least the monitor and printer/paper combination. These profiles are supplied with the device, or they can be downloaded from the manufacturer's website. Windows Xp and Vista profiles are in Windows\System32\spool\drivers\color.

To install a monitor profile, open the Display Properties control Panel, click the developed button on the Settings tab and agree the Colour administration tab.

Monitor calibration

Specific profiles are produced from an personel monitor, but personel monitors can and do vary in their colour characteristics. Such differences can be controlled by using the installation default settings for brightness, contrast, colour climatic characteristic and any other ready adjustable settings.

However, if the monitor profile seems to be the source of colour problems, it is worth considering the buy of a hardware profiler. These devices consist of a spectrophotometer, which attaches to the screen, and software which analyses the screen output to furnish an Icc profile for your definite display. Some monitor calibration devices surely measure the ambient light in the room and adjust the monitor settings accordingly, as well as the monitor screen output.

Soft Proofing

There is no point in getting a printer to reproduce exactly what appears on the screen because this is a corporal impossibility: the two devices use separate systems to display colour - and what's more, a monitor can display many more colours than a printer can surely print.

The respond to this conundrum is soft proofing. This involves using colour administration to make the monitor emulate the colour characteristics of the printer. Thus the monitor shows what the printer is able to do, not the other way around. The best photo-editing software, including Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro Photo X2, can show you a soft proof before you commit to ink and paper.

Ambient light

The presence of strong lighting or colours close to your monitor - room lighting, even clothing is called "ambient light". This affects the way on-screen colours look. The fact is, that due to ambient light, a print viewed under artificial room lighting will look very separate from face in the daylight.

Best therefore to choose a neutral desktop colour (white, black, or grey) for viewing photos. If you have a multi-coloured desktop, it is best to use the photo editor's full screen or sideshow mode.

Get the exact ink

Experimenting with unbranded third-party inks is all very well, but if consistent high capability results are needed from a printer, it surely is best to use the manufacturer's ink cartridges unless these are replaced with bespoke high-quality specialist inks fit for purpose, rather than inks designed to save costs.

Choosing the exact paper

As with ink it is always best to use paper produced by the printer constructor for most purposes. It is surely foremost to understand that there is no such thing as an "absolute" printer profile - the profile supplied any printer constructor is for a printer model using a definite paper and ink combination.

If any other paper is used, the profile won't be exact and the results will be unpredictable. It used to be difficult to get hold of profiles for whatever other than the manufacturer's recommended ink/ paper aggregate but, as time goes on, paper manufacturers are starting to contribute profiles for their products on a range of printers.

Keep the printer clean

A very base cause of inkjet printer problems is blocked jets. This is not surely a problem if the printer is turned off after use. Some printers achieve a cleaning cycle on power up. But if the printer is left on all the time, the waste is clearly not good for the environment on two fronts: wasted power and wasted paper when rejecting low capability prints.

Photo Printing - Top Tips for Getting the Colour Right

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My Lounge Made Me Fat - How Colour Can change Your Life

Colour isn't just cosmetic - research into the physiological effects of colour shows that distinct colours have a very real ensue on mood and behaviour, together with stimulating appetite, encouraging creativity and even alleviating pain.

According to Angela Wright, author of the The Beginners Guide to Colour science of mind (Colour Affects, 12.99), 'There are four psychological original colours - red, which relates to the body, blue to the mind, yellow to the emotions, and green, which provides a balance between the three. Shades and tints of these rule how they influence us.'

Chromatherapy (the use of colour as a condition treatment), has been used in the western world since the early 20th century. But long before then, old Indian and Egyptian cultures used colour to treat ailments, and feng shui practitioners have always used colour as a means of helping create harmonious living spaces. June McLeod, author of Colours of the Soul (O Books, 7.99), says 'Colour is the most prominent notice for any space, it's transformational.' So use it wisely.

Blue: good for bedrooms, bathrooms and dieters

Sitting room

Do use green, orange and brown. Green refreshes, restores and brings harmony to our environment. Orange and yellow are optimistic and welcoming, encouraging group interaction and fun. Used well, black and grey impart clarity and sophistication. Misused, they can be menacing. Black's friendlier cousin, brown, can convey the same drive and glamour but with warmth that comes from the addition of red and yellow.

Don't use red or dark blue. Unless you want a pure party room filled with frenetic energy, don't use sharp red, which is simply too stimulating for a living space. Conversely, dark blue is cold and formal - save it for the boardroom.

Hallway

Do use roughly anything. As the hallway is where you spend the least time, it's the one space in your home where you can go bold and use colours which may be overpowering elsewhere. If fuschia's your passion, indulge it here.

Don't use mustard yellow. 'Whether you want to create a light and airy feeling to the entrance of your home, or a vibrant, passionate mix of colour, the choice is yours,' says June McLeod. 'The one no-no in the hallway is mustard yellow - a colour traditionally related with things going missing.' Not so handy when you're seeing for your keys.

Kitchen/Dining room

Do use white, yellow and orange. White represents cleanliness and hygiene, but too much can strain the eyes, effectively reflecting the full spectrum into them - think interrogation techniques! Add accents with crockery and appliances. Yellow is uplifting and encourages sociability, while orange speaks of the corporeal comforts of food and warmth, as well as stimulating the appetite - notice how many restaurants are painted in warm, orangey tones.

Don't use blue and black (especially if you are a foodie). Dieting? Try serving food in a blue room off blue plates - scientists even recommend fixing a blue light in the fridge. The lack of blue food in nature means we don't have an self-operating appetite response to the colour, instinctively rejecting it in case it's poisonous.

Got the blues? Read our Ten step guide to getting a good mood home. It honestly does work, we promise.

My Lounge Made Me Fat - How Colour Can change Your Life

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