Brightness issue

jrd

Have had a iMac Core 2 2.4Ghz 20" (Glossy) for the last 6 months. Very happy with the OS and ease of use & will not go back to Windows. The purpose of buying it was for photo editing / processing. So I connected my Epson R1400 printer up and all the initial prints were darker than on screen. Then I brought some photos down to the local camera shop for printing and they too commented that the images were very dark on their Macs. Bought the Spyder3 calibration, and set the calibration (which includes bring brightness control to maximum). Anyway I edited more images which looked fine on screen and went to Fuji print station in a shopping centre to get prints. They commented that the images were dark. There is a clear difference between the images on other screen and the colour on-screen for my iMac. This is after calibration. Working space used was AdobeRGB. My Imac is set to 2.2 Gamma etc.

Is anyone aware of an issue with the 20" Imacs, are there any secrets about how to get the display to display like other Macs, never mind the print. Am completely frustrated as you may have noticed and any help would be greatly appreciated.

TouchingVirus

To be honest I've never printed a photo from a software or hardware calibrated screen that looked the exact same in print as it did on the screen... I'm not sure whether this is down to screens using RGB and print using CMYK or what the story is...

440Hz

The glossy screens are notoriously difficult to judge image colour from, whether they are calibrated or not. Hence, most graphic and image heads steer clear of the glossy models. I was adamant I would never own one until Apple (stupidly) stopped producing/offering the matter option on the MBP. Now I have a glossy screen, calibrated, and nothing I do is ever even close to true colour. So I rely on external monitors when I'm doing serious image work and also I have more or less gotten used to the discrepancy now and I adjust images accordingly.

jrd

Appreciate the feedback from both of you. I am not a pro photographer but do need to be able to print reliably each month. It would seem that I need to invest one way or the other. Are the new MacBook Pros any better? I think these are glossy screens too? Would the 17" screen be reliable for editing or will I end up with the same issue except on a screen 3" smaller?

Or is the solution a Mac Mini / Macbook and a Apple Cinema Display / equivalent display? If so, anyone able to say what screens they are using?

Type 17

I have a 20" iMac (glossy) as well and it is much warmer and much greener than my (non-glossy) 17" MBP (last of the pre-unibody), even though both are calibrated carefully.

For printing through a third-party printing service, I use the histogram to set it up how I like it on the screen, then lighten it a bit for printing.

You could buy an external monitor and connect it to the iMac, or sell the iMac and buy a 17" MBP (You can get a non-glossy MBP, but only in 17" and only if you pay €50 extra.).

My MBP has a high-resolution screen which actually has more pixels than the 20" iMac (1680 x 1050 vs. 1920 x 1200)

jrd

Type17, thanks for the answers, very helpful. Couple of questions if I may

Type 17 wrote: »

For printing through a third-party printing service, I use the histogram to set it up how I like it on the screen, then lighten it a bit for printing.

Does this make the printing hit and miss or have you a "slide-rule" that you use?

You could buy an external monitor and connect it to the iMac, or sell the iMac and buy a 17" MBP (You can get a non-glossy MBP, but only in 17" and only if you pay €50 extra.). My MBP has a high-resolution screen which actually has more pixels than the 20" iMac (1680 x 1050 vs. 1920 x 1200)

Have you looked at any of the new MBPs? Any thoughts?

Type 17

jolly wrote: »

Does this make the printing hit and miss or have you a "slide-rule" that you use?

I have a rough idea of how much lighter to make it on screen (nothing is blown out or anything, it's just at the lighter end of what looks ok, rather than the darker end)

jolly wrote: »

Have you looked at any of the new MBPs? Any thoughts?

I've looked at the specs online, and that part looks fine. Not sure about the screens "in the flesh" (glass?), but if you are considering any new monitor/Mac make sure it is NOT glossy.

440Hz

jolly wrote: »

Are the new MacBook Pros any better?

This is what Im using. I had always gone for the matte option before this model but with this issue I had no choice. There isnt really a significant improvement, however I am going from entirely matte usage to glossy.

akadesign

The new 17" Macbook Pro's offers a matte screen option, if your doing any print or photographic work a matte screen is a must. Reckon apple will have to offer the matte screen option eventually, currently the only matte options are on the 30" cinema display and 17" Macbook pro.

440Hz

akadesign wrote: »

Reckon apple will have to offer the matte screen option eventually, currently the only matte options are on the 30" cinema display and 17" Macbook pro.

It was an option right up until the last release of MB and MBPs. Perhaps they are being forced to bring it back due to popular demand, hence the change with the 17" release.