Prints on MacOS to Canon Pro-200 too dark

dspoel · Aug 27, 2023

I am trying to print photos to my Canon Pro-200 printer but all my prints come out too dark. I installed an icc profile for a fine art paper (Canson Infinity, https://www.canson-infinity.com/en) and registered it on the printer using Canons Media configurator. Then I printed the test image from Keith Coopers site. Top is Canon Glossy paper, bottom is the fine art paper

The colours are quite similar but the fine art version is a tad more yellowish, which maybe can be expected. However, both are too dark (sorry for poor iPhone image). Any suggestions?

On a side note, Canons Professional Print and Layout software does not seem to work on my M2 mac, it does work on my old Intel iMac though. This means I printed the test image straight from Apple Preview, which however does not know about the fine art paper...

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David.

Philip Eihuyar · Aug 27, 2023

dspoel said:
I am trying to print photos to my Canon Pro-200 printer but all my prints come out too dark. I installed an icc profile for a fine art paper (Canson Infinity, https://www.canson-infinity.com/en) and registered it on the printer using Canons Media configurator. Then I printed the test image from Keith Coopers site. Top is Canon Glossy paper, bottom is the fine art paper

The colours are quite similar but the fine art version is a tad more yellowish, which maybe can be expected. However, both are too dark (sorry for poor iPhone image). Any suggestions?

On a side note, Canons Professional Print and Layout software does not seem to work on my M2 mac, it does work on my old Intel iMac though. This means I printed the test image straight from Apple Preview, which however does not know about the fine art paper...

When I was starting out printing , that was my experience. The prints were too dark. I know a little more now and I can give you some advice. The image you see on the monitor looks good and bright with perfect color and you expect that will automatically be what comes out of the printer. But the print is too warm and not as bright as your screen.

You need to calibrate your screen with a device such as 'Calibrite'

https://calibrite.com/us/?noredirect=en-US

In the meantime. another way to address getting -generally - the correct brightness in a print is to use the histogram and move the curve to the center. Just as a start.

https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/how-to-color-calibrate-your-monitor-to-your-printer

NAwlins Contrarian · Aug 27, 2023

dspoel said:
I am trying to print photos to my Canon Pro-200 printer but all my prints come out too dark. I installed an icc profile for a fine art paper (Canson Infinity, https://www.canson-infinity.com/en) and registered it on the printer using Canons Media configurator. Then I printed the test image from Keith Coopers site. Top is Canon Glossy paper, bottom is the fine art paper

The colours are quite similar but the fine art version is a tad more yellowish, which maybe can be expected. However, both are too dark (sorry for poor iPhone image). Any suggestions?

On a side note, Canons Professional Print and Layout software does not seem to work on my M2 mac, it does work on my old Intel iMac though. This means I printed the test image straight from Apple Preview, which however does not know about the fine art paper...

As an initial matter, by what standard are these prints too dark? I'm trying to evaluate them by your phone photo, which is certainly a less-than-ideal approach, but they don't look obviously too dark to me.

First, most people who find prints too dark come to that impression by comparing them with images on a monitor that's too bright. Most modern monitors are by default quite bright, and in my experience need to be reduced to somewhere roughly around 25% of maximum brightness to be used to predict how printed photos will look. Unless and until your monitor is calibrated (which requires hardware like a colorimeter) to somewhere around 100 cd/m^2, images will look brighter on it than in a properly-made print. Maybe as an exercise, take the prints outside on a sunny day. In full natural sunlight, do they still look too dark?

Second, you report, "I printed the test image straight from Apple Preview, which however does not know about the fine art paper." I'm not familiar with the modern Apple ecosystem, but if the software doesn't have someway to inform about and adjust for the paper loaded into the printer, then it's not fully color-managed and cannot be depended on to give accurate results.

As for yellow, the answer is as you seem to suspect, and relatively obvious: the paper is visibly more yellow. The large unprinted areas show that.

Gesture · Aug 27, 2023

If you use a test image and the correct ICC profile for the paper and ink set (including that essentially supplied internally by printer manages color), it makes no difference what the image looks like on the monitor. The paper, ink and printer have no idea what the monitor shows. It only matters when you edit an image

I get good results with Preview. Go back and use an unedited test image, chose the Canon paper being used and let printer manage colors for starters.

But I would also try and print through other apps in case Preview is the issue.

You have Apple Photos and you can download a trial version of GraphicConverter.

https://www.lemkesoft.de/en/products/graphicconverter/

I recommend any one working on the Mac to invest in GraphicConverter. Swiss Army Knife of Mac image editors and more, including extremely reasonable cost. $40-best software value I know of. VueScan is close. For years, I've used Adobe Photoshop Elements with Elements+, but with Monterey, I just use GraphicConverter.

Also, despite "conventional wisdom," it doesn't hurt to run the Display calibration under System Preferences. I also, as just suggested, like to just step outside and evaluate prints in natural light.

Good luck.

NAwlins Contrarian · Aug 27, 2023

Gesture said:
If you use a test image and the correct ICC profile for the paper and ink set (including that essentially supplied internally by printer manages color), it makes no difference what the image looks like on the monitor.

That's true (as you qualified, as long as you don't edit the image). However, my question was, "Too dark ... by what standard?" I.e., if the OP is judging that the print looks too dark based on how the image looks on the OP's monitor, then that may be the problem. Bright or dark has to be relative to something.

I also suggested viewing the print outdoors in full sun because indoor lighting is often poor, for a variety of reasons. So unless you have something like a print viewing station, that the print looks dark or discolored under indoor lights is not definitive.

BobKnDP · Aug 28, 2023

I'm an unskilled photog with a Pro 200.

I use a profiled (i1Display Pro Plus) monitor (Philips 27E1N8900 OLED) at about 120 nits.

When I print from Photoshop using the icc profile for the Canon paper (Glossy IIa), the prints look dark under normal room light. They need to be viewed under a bright light of the proper color temperature to look correct.

I'm unaware of any canned settings to make what I'd call drugstore prints, that look "good" under dim lighting.

It's all about ART, I guess.

Bob Petruzzelli · Sep 2, 2023

NAwlins Contrarian said:
NAwlins Contrarian said:

I am trying to print photos to my Canon Pro-200 printer but all my prints come out too dark. I installed an icc profile for a fine art paper (Canson Infinity, https://www.canson-infinity.com/en) and registered it on the printer using Canons Media configurator. Then I printed the test image from Keith Coopers site. Top is Canon Glossy paper, bottom is the fine art paper

The colours are quite similar but the fine art version is a tad more yellowish, which maybe can be expected. However, both are too dark (sorry for poor iPhone image). Any suggestions?

On a side note, Canons Professional Print and Layout software does not seem to work on my M2 mac, it does work on my old Intel iMac though. This means I printed the test image straight from Apple Preview, which however does not know about the fine art paper...

Click to expand...

As an initial matter, by what standard are these prints too dark? I'm trying to evaluate them by your phone photo, which is certainly a less-than-ideal approach, but they don't look obviously too dark to me.

First, most people who find prints too dark come to that impression by comparing them with images on a monitor that's too bright. Most modern monitors are by default quite bright, and in my experience need to be reduced to somewhere roughly around 25% of maximum brightness to be used to predict how printed photos will look. Unless and until your monitor is calibrated (which requires hardware like a colorimeter) to somewhere around 100 cd/m^2, images will look brighter on it than in a properly-made print. Maybe as an exercise, take the prints outside on a sunny day. In full natural sunlight, do they still look too dark?

Second, you report, "I printed the test image straight from Apple Preview, which however does not know about the fine art paper." I'm not familiar with the modern Apple ecosystem, but if the software doesn't have someway to inform about and adjust for the paper loaded into the printer, then it's not fully color-managed and cannot be depended on to give accurate results.

As for yellow, the answer is as you seem to suspect, and relatively obvious: the paper is visibly more yellow. The large unprinted areas show that.

I'd have to agree with NAwlins and BobKnDP that you need to adjust the brightness of your monitor. I have the Canon Pro-200. I also had the problem with my prints being darker than my expectations.

The advice I got about the monitor being too bright was true for me. Monitors project light (they produce light), but paper only reflects light. Paper will always be dimmer than your normal monitor. I used calibration software/hardware to calibrate my monitor to 80 cd and the results were much better. I lowered it even more to 60 cd and my prints now match my monitor.

You don't have to use calibration software / hardware to test this. Just lower your monitor's brightness to what you see as "dim". Adjust the image to your taste with your software with monitor down low and you'll see the print match what you see much better. If that works you can consider a calibration solution later.

Gesture · Sep 2, 2023

I can argue with the color management, profile monitor, inks, paper and printer.

But, interestingly, I have taken the opposite approach and am happy with my prints.

I use Apple system calibration, but make no effort to dim the monitor. Personally, I think it is silly, but I don't have sophisticated enough monitor to keep switching calibrations.

Instead, I look at my prints in reasonably, not excessively, bright light.

Selling prints wouldn't be simple not knowing under what light they would be displayed. But when I've given away a print no one has ever said, thanks but it's too dark for me to see it.

Also, I don't mind being flamed by saying, in my experience, everyday Apple color management is outstanding.

dspoel · Sep 3, 2023

Thanks all for the suggestions and feedback! I did get a calibrator (Calibrite) and a tunable Philips Hue light bulb which I can set the color temperature on (somewhat approximate though). After turning down the brightness on the monitor and calibration using ~5000K lighting, my prints are quite a bit more similar to the screen. So there is progress but I do need to experiment a bit more.

By the way, this person on YT found a way to set the exact color temperature on those light bulbs. Warning for nerdy content:

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Prints on MacOS to Canon Pro-200 too dark

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