Printing photos

Maverick500

I shoot in RAW/Manual Mode with Nikon D3200. After post processing, when I am satisfied with what is on my monitor, I print. What I receive from the printer is not what I see on the monitor.
I have an HP 3505 color laser, which prints too dark. I have made every adjustment in the printer settings that I can, with no results.
I also have a Canon Multi-Function ink jet photo printer which prints too light.
With both printers I have to return to software and through trial and error, make adjustments.
What printers actually print what you see on monitor? Does anyone else have this issue?

bruto

I think truly getting a print to match the monitor is a complicated exercise, and often includes calibrating the monitor, and finding printer settings to match. Real aficionados spend enormous amounts of time and energy and money getting it just so.

I wish I could recommend something. I've had pretty poor luck with printers. My current HP ink jet "all in one" makes a nice looking print, but is terribly temperamental and thirsty. Before that I had an HP that made decent prints, and was economical of ink, but required special paper or the prints would fade in a week. It died anyway. Before that I had an Epson that made decent prints but clogged. It ran an "ink dance" every time it started up and dumped ink by the barrel. When it got older, it could take 6 or 8 cleaning cycles to unclog completely, and go through half a cartridge before it made a picture. Then it clogged for good and out it went.

The last time I shopped for printers, I noticed, as you have, that the Canons seemed to print lighter. I imagine there's a way to correct that, but I don't know what it is.

I would be interested in hearing how the newer Epsons do. They have a model that now allows you to buy ink in larger quantities. I don't know if they've gotten on top of the clogging issue. A lot of the professional labs use Epsons.

Maverick500

Thank You for your quick reply. I'm going to tinker with the Canon inkjet settings and experiment with different papers. If I can straighten out the issue, I'm going to install a CIS. They're available on Ebay for $27. I'll never have to purchase cartridges again!!
If I'm successful in resolving the print issue, I'll let you know what I discovered and also how I made out with the CIS.
Just purchased your "Cheat Sheets". As I'm very new to photography and shooting manual/RAW, I get a confused on what settings I used previously for a particular shoot. Thank you again, your site is AWESOME (and continue involving your family, it's great!).

bruto

Just to keep it straight, I post frequently but I'm also just a guest here. For the cheat sheets you should thank @moose.

Maverick500

My apologies. With the number of your posts helping all of us out here, I thought you were "Moose". Thank you from all of us for your guidance!!

Moose

Hey @Maverick500, isn't @bruto awesome! He's always super helpful. I'll be honest, I used to tinker with prints at home back in the day, but all the variables had me pulling my hair out. Nowadays, I just send my photos to AdoramaPix and they always do an amazing job.

Maverick500

Moose & Bruto, as soon as I arrived home from work, I calibrated the monitor. Then I found the deep settings for my Canon. I adjusted brightness, sharpness, & RGB, then set that as my profile.
I'm getting very close to what I see on monitor. A few more tweaks in the profile and I'll have her nailed! Then it's on to a Continuous Ink System. I'm a DIY'r, and if I can print for 35 cents a copy, then that's the road I'm taking!
Thank you gentleman, and by the way I don't have to worry about pulling my hair out, there's none there. :)
And Moose, I ordered the Cheat Sheets. I'm starting to get good at this, but can never remember the settings I used in a similar environment LOL
Paul