My printer is just not cooperating. I dont know what Im doing wrong! I have an HP 8450. I wonder if Im using the wrong settings. Also, what if I dont want the photo to be 4 by 6, or 8 by 10, etc.? How do I choose for instance, 8 by 6? Why are the printed photos not detailed at all like the one I see on the computer?
2006-09-21 12:07:29 · 14 answers · asked by maisie24 3 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Visual Arts ➔ Photography
Could be a number of things...calibration, the paper your using, the printer's settings, or the color mangement setting for your editing software. As far as size, you can set custom sizes under the printer's "properties". Check this guy out...he's got lots of good info:
http://www.normankoren.com/makingfineprints.html
2006-09-21 12:17:26 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
OK, I am not fond of HP to begin with, but here are some factors that will hopefully help you.
You fail to mention the size of the files you are printing. The larger the file the better the quality.
You do not mention if the images were taken with a digital or film camera, but I am assuming digital.. if you set it to hold the most pictures, you have the least quality. (the inverse is also true) AND if your mega pixels on your camera are below 5 or 6 your images will not be as sharp.
Your computer screen and the web use low resolution and that works fine, but when you print you need a much higher resolution.
You do not say what photo processing program you are using. They are all different, I like acdsee pro, but it is a bit pricy. The adobe line of photo programs is not bad for most things.
There is also the paper you use, the color matching capabilities of your program vs your printer.. The settings need to all match and use the same base colors for your prints or they will be off.
Back to sharpness for a bit.. at low resolution your pictures may appear crystal sharp, but when printed they are fuzzy.. this actually can also be something called camera shake.. so if everything is fuzzy, then try expelling the air from your lungs and holding your breath as you snap your picture, get a tripod or monopod. (monopods can take a bit of getting used to, but double as a walking staff which can come in handy.)
This blog might be of interest to you.
http://photographmuse.blogspot.com/
2006-09-22 00:56:58 · answer #2 · answered by Silvatungfox 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A lot of good answers here but I would make a guess that your camera's default "color space" is miss matched with there printer's color profile. If you get really muted skin tones and low contrast prints this is probably the problem. There have been attempts at simplifying this with pic-bridge and Print-Image Matching. Look at the owner's manuals for the computer and printer and look at ICC profiles or "color management". This would be a good place to start. This is the real bane of at home color photo printing. You need to get the DPI up to 300 for the kind of detail that you want. Make sure that you are shooting in a high quality mode in the camera. The file size should be around 7 megs at output. If it is 500K the photo will look soft and lack detail in the highlights and shadows. Calibrating the monitor to your printer is key to success. It can be done by eye but it will take a lot of paper and ink to get it just right. There are several programs and machines that perform this task but they are expensive...real expensive.
2006-09-21 21:10:10 · answer #3 · answered by John S 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You need to use the 'best' setting on your printer. You also need to use photo paper. When the print dialog box comes up, be sure and select photo paper that is the best match for the paper you are using. Selecting photo paper usually also sets the printer in the 'best' mode. If this doesn't work, select advanced features from the print dialog box and see if it has a 'photo print mode on' entry and turn it on. Also, you need about 300 dpi to print a decent 4x6. Check your HP printer software to see if you can select other sizes of prints or if it allows you to make a custom size (older software would let you do this) Some photo editing software has print size options also.
2006-09-21 20:29:22 · answer #4 · answered by curious george 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You should be able to get help from Hewlett Packard at least by email, but sometimes if we don't like the quality of our pictures we need to buy a printer that is specified as a "photo printer". I have a printer from HP and it has worked fine, but if you see one thing on the screen and another in the printed photo you may have some type of problem that should be able to be handled.
2006-09-21 19:47:50 · answer #5 · answered by Ilovechristjesustheking 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i had the same problems when i bought my printer .... if its an ink jet printer then the problem its the cheap standard paper you need to buy glossy photo paper for printers and you will need to set your printer on the best resolution before printing you can do this by choosing printer preferences and there you must set the paper you use and the print quality (if you want the best then choose custom at print quality and there it will appear a bar wich can be set from fast to finest printing quality set it on finest) i dont know about hp printers i have a cannon so i dont know if these things r simmilar to a hp
2006-09-21 19:12:46 · answer #6 · answered by RaT 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your screen (monitor) is calibrated for high resolution, that's why you see 'awesome' photos.
The screen will show you perfect pictures, however the resolution of the picture itself is to low and the printer deliver the signal it is receiving (which is low).
The paper is not the wright one, or the ink is a substitute, no the recommended by the manufacturer.
Look also into the resolution your camera is snapping the pix; if for instance with 250MB card you take more than 50 pictures, then you are in low resolution, can you switch to RAW? in your camera??
2006-09-22 22:52:11 · answer #7 · answered by bigonegrande 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
To get high quality photos from an inkjet you need to use photo cartridges and set the printer on best mode (I don't know if the 8450 accepts photo cartridges). If you have pictures that you really really want a certain size, go to any store that has a photo kiosk and do it yourself.
2006-09-21 19:10:58 · answer #8 · answered by smgray99 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
go to hp online and download the manual.
also, do a search to see if there is a faq seciton for that printer.
i have not seen a small printer that has the quality of a photo lab. it has to do w/ the ink cartridges used to print it.
real photo labs use a combination of chemicals, that are calibrated every morning to ensure correct color balance. the paper used is different, as well. if i were you, i'd save it to cd, upload it to walgreens for 19 cents each and stop messing w/ the home printer.
2006-09-21 21:49:10 · answer #9 · answered by Becky 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
All the answers you've been given so far are pretty good. But if you are a casual user or a beginner, not all of them are very practical.
I suggest you just buy ACDSee fotoSlate (about $29 US currency) It will handle all that stuff for you. The ACDSee website has a 30 day free trial.
2006-09-24 19:10:25 · answer #10 · answered by glenbarrington 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋