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Updated: Monday 22 May, 2006 21:42 (Webpage updated but not content)

ADJUSTMENT OF MONITOR TO MATCH PRINT OUTPUT

(NOTE: This has been extensively updated & totally revised, with recommendation to an inexpensive utility (see note below) and available to members, with a wide range of other technical information leaflets, on the Members Only Forum. Articles will not be updated any more on this website, so will only be available to members)

For many keen workers, frustration can occur when prints bear little relationship to the on-screen appearance of the image. Of course, it is unlikely that any monitor will exactly match the printer's output but most major differences can be eliminated to at least get a very close comparison of print to on-screen image. Whilst there are several commercial products available, all cost a considerable amount to purchase

One very effective way to set about eliminating such differences is to follow this procedure:-

  • Switch on the computer, start Photoshop (or whatever digital imaging programme you use) and OPEN one of the supplied images, such as the Fruit one that is in the GOODIES/SAMPLES sub-directory or any image of your own that is typical of your work
  • Do nothing other than perhaps adjust the monitor's contrast/brightness until it looks OK on-screen
  • Print without altering the image in any form OTHER than, if necessary, adjusting the IMAGE SIZE to fit on to an A5 page. Obviously, set the printer's PROPERTIES to match the paper type that you would expect this specific image to print well on to A5 size. Whatever your printer, ensure you set for Highest Quality
  • Let the printing complete, then in normal room lighting, compare the print to the on-screen image
  • Adjust the contrast/brightness to have the on-screen image look as like the printed image as possible
  • If the image now compares reasonably well but the colours are not quite right, you can use the Adobe Gamma programme (comes with Photoshop - find it in MY COMPUTER/CONTROL PANEL) to adjust the colour of the screen image. It allows for only a limited range of adjustments
  • For TOTAL control of the monitor, go to http://www.entechtaiwan.com and download and install PowerStrip, which comes in a trial form; registration to get the Product Key is not expensive and well worthwhile. This superb utility can adjust any type of monitor to exactly what you require, using its Color Profiles facility. The Members-Only FORUM has a detailed TIL - Technical Information Leaflet - covering "how tos"

I have found with my own monitor, which is fortunately not with digital controls, that I need different brightness/contrast setting for colour and black+white work. The settings I need for working with high-quality monochrome images put the brightness and contrast controls almost at maximum. With these set high, the on-screen image can be matched almost perfectly to the output from the Epson 1200 printer. This is when using watercolour papers and the black-only ink.

SPECIFIC LAST UPDATE - made July 2005: PowerStrip is a vastly superior method of matching any monitor to the actual unadjusted printed output and highly recommended. Once this matching is done, SAVE that profile with a name related to the paper being used. Obviously, repeat this for all types of paper used for your photographic printing and save under appropriate names for future recall as required. From then on you can, with confidence, ensure you get WYSIWYG. This means if the paper type is selected, to alter the screen image, yoiu can then make adjustments using your digital imaging programme and rely on getting what you see. As said, this will no longer be updated other than this note to help. For ALL updated information on ALL topics, you will need to become a member! Much of what appears on this page has been greatly updated over the six years since it first appeared

To get the output exactly right, I simply make a final adjustment in Photoshop by increasing the CONTRAST setting under, IMAGE/ADJUST menu item, by +13. This takes care of the characteristics of the watercolour paper. For making test pieces, I simply select a 5"x3" portion using the selector tool - top left in the tool menu in Photoshop - and print on to an A6 piece of Coated Inkjet Paper (i.e. a quarter of an A4 sheet). I do not need the Photoshop contrast adjustment for this paper as it matches the on-screen image pretty well.

Printing on to other papers requires an adjustment to the contrast/brightness monitor controls. As previously mentioned, as I have turn wheels for such adjustments on my monitor, it was an easy matter to make appropriate marks around the wheel for different materials using a permanent pen. As an example, I have an almost "normal" monitor setting of contrast/brightness for the Epson Photo Paper as the image prints darker on that compared to the watercolour and coated materials.

For colour output, I have more "normal" on-screen contrast/brightness settings. By the way, "normal" means what I have the monitor set to for all other programmes!

I have found, whatever I do to adjust the on-screen colour balance for colour printing, I have to make an adjustment by adding 5 Cyan to Highlights, Midtones and Shadows respectively before printing, as the Epson always seems to print with about a +5 Red cast. In other words, I cannot match the screen and printed images closer than that.

Compatible colour inks seem to need an adjustment of +10 Cyan (= -10 Red of course) to match reasonably the output using the Epson colour inks, so that has become the routine before making the final print. If it looks right on the screen for colour, I adjust by these amounts to get the print right. Seems to work fine!

To make these adjustments, use the IMAGE/ADJUST/COLOUR BALANCE menu items. Select Highlights, Midtones and Shadows in turn and for each, slide the pointer to the left for Cyan only until you get -5 each time. This effectively reduces the print by -5 Red.

As a simple tip, especially useful for anyone with a 14"/15" monitor (which is all I use) if you press the TAB key on your keyboard, all the TOOLS and other menus disappear off screen. They can be instantly returned by pressing the TAB key again. How does this help? Well, especially if working on a horizontal image, if you hide the boxes first via the TAB key, then use the VIEW/FIT ON SCREEN menu item, the image fills the screen, whereas if you used the Fit On Screen command with the tool boxes showing, the image only fits between the boxes. You can recall the boxes to select as required, then hide again to see the whole image!

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