trouble printing scanned photo

"Marvin" wrote in message
...
Ron Hunter wrote:
Ruthie wrote:

Hi -
I am new to this newsgroup, but I hope someone here can help.
I have tried to print photos (commercially processed) that I have
scanned, and they end up faded. The original photo has rich color, is in
focus, etc. The scanned image that I saved looks the same.
When I print the image, it looks faded. The reds are dull; the black
background is dark grey. It is in focus, has good enough resolution, but
the colors are faded. Very disappointing. My printer (HP 7210xi) does
print color well - just not with these photos.
Any ideas how I can correct this, so I can copy my photos and print
them?
Thank you in advance.




Proper adjustment of the scanner, monitor and printer.

The details of how to do htis depend on the hardware and the software,
particularly the image editor you are using. The topic of color managment
has been discussed many times on this NG, and you can find those threads
at Google Groups.

Thanks, Marvin. I print and scan with the same device - the HP 7210xi. When
I scan a photo, it opens in HP Image Zone, and is saved on my hard drive.
When I open it again, it opens in JASC Paint Shop Photo Album 4, where I can
edit and print.

I searched the group for color management, and the result was kind of
overwhelming. I will continue to read these threads, but would you care to
help me narrow it down a little bit?

You can see an example of my photos here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/64966431@N00/

Thanks for any help you care to offer.

Ruthie wrote:
"Bob Williams" wrote in message
...


Ruthie wrote:

Hi -
I am new to this newsgroup, but I hope someone here can help.
I have tried to print photos (commercially processed) that I have
scanned, and they end up faded. The original photo has rich color, is in
focus, etc. The scanned image that I saved looks the same.
When I print the image, it looks faded. The reds are dull; the black
background is dark grey. It is in focus, has good enough resolution, but
the colors are faded. Very disappointing. My printer (HP 7210xi) does
print color well - just not with these photos.
Any ideas how I can correct this, so I can copy my photos and print them?
Thank you in advance.




Can you post the picture for us to see and diagnose?
Bob Williams



I posted the scanned photo, and the printed version of the scanned photo,
here http://www.flickr.com/photos/64966431@N00/

I appreciate your thoughts on what I'm doing wrong.


It looks like a classic case of trying to get a photo quality print on
Plain Paper.......No Can Do!
When you tell your printer that you are using plain paper, it
automatically reduces the amount of ink it applies to the paper to form
the image. It also might resample the image to a low number of pixels
because it "knows" that plain paper cannot reproduce a high resolution
image.
Try printing it on Photo Quality paper.
Bob Williams

Ruthie wrote:
"Bob Williams" wrote in message
...

Ruthie wrote:
Hi -
I am new to this newsgroup, but I hope someone here can help.
I have tried to print photos (commercially processed) that I have
scanned, and they end up faded. The original photo has rich color, is in
focus, etc. The scanned image that I saved looks the same.
When I print the image, it looks faded. The reds are dull; the black
background is dark grey. It is in focus, has good enough resolution, but
the colors are faded. Very disappointing. My printer (HP 7210xi) does
print color well - just not with these photos.
Any ideas how I can correct this, so I can copy my photos and print them?
Thank you in advance.



Can you post the picture for us to see and diagnose?
Bob Williams


I posted the scanned photo, and the printed version of the scanned photo,
here http://www.flickr.com/photos/64966431@N00/

I appreciate your thoughts on what I'm doing wrong.


Most scanned photos take some adjustment before printing. A good
editor, such as Photoshop Elements can make your pictures much better
after scanning by removing 'speckles', and improving contrast (your
problem), and adjusting colors. Many scanners, for instance, introduce
a red tint, which is hard to get rid of.
This is the primary reason I switched to a digital camera!

Ruthie wrote:
"Randy Berbaum" wrote in message
...
Ruthie wrote:
: Hi -
: I am new to this newsgroup, but I hope someone here can help.
: I have tried to print photos (commercially processed) that I have
: scanned, and they end up faded. The original photo has rich color, is
: in focus, etc. The scanned image that I saved looks the same.
: When I print the image, it looks faded. The reds are dull; the black
: background is dark grey. It is in focus, has good enough resolution,
: but the colors are faded. Very disappointing. My printer (HP 7210xi)
: does print color well - just not with these photos.
: Any ideas how I can correct this, so I can copy my photos and print
: them?
: Thank you in advance.

One possible problem. What kind of paper are you printing on. If you are
printing on regular printer paper the ink soaks into the paper. This
causes the ink to fade and details to blur. Also not all printers are good
at printing photos as they may not be very good at placing small enough
ink dots precise enough. And thus the image appears blurred and/or faded.
Also since images displayed on the screen are additive colors of light
while ink is a subtractive colors of pigments. So the translation between
the two color systems have to be coordinated. There are color management
programs out there that include managing the color on the printer as well
as the monitor.

Good luck.

Randy

==========
Randy Berbaum
Champaign, IL


Thank you for your thoughts, Randy. I am printing on plain paper. While
neither image is blurry, the printed one is definitely faded. You can see an
example here http://www.flickr.com/photos/64966431@N00/

Wow. I'm trying to learn about color management. Hadn't a clue. Please bear
with me.


DON'T expect good color, and saturation from a picture printed on plain
paper. Use a paper that is 'coated', and the brand recommended by your
printer manufacturer. Also, make sure you set the printer driver to
'best' quality. It will take longer to print, but will give better
results, with the proper paper.

Ruthie wrote:
"Marvin" wrote in message
...
Ron Hunter wrote:
Ruthie wrote:

Hi -
I am new to this newsgroup, but I hope someone here can help.
I have tried to print photos (commercially processed) that I have
scanned, and they end up faded. The original photo has rich color, is in
focus, etc. The scanned image that I saved looks the same.
When I print the image, it looks faded. The reds are dull; the black
background is dark grey. It is in focus, has good enough resolution, but
the colors are faded. Very disappointing. My printer (HP 7210xi) does
print color well - just not with these photos.
Any ideas how I can correct this, so I can copy my photos and print
them?
Thank you in advance.



Proper adjustment of the scanner, monitor and printer.
The details of how to do htis depend on the hardware and the software,
particularly the image editor you are using. The topic of color managment
has been discussed many times on this NG, and you can find those threads
at Google Groups.

Thanks, Marvin. I print and scan with the same device - the HP 7210xi. When
I scan a photo, it opens in HP Image Zone, and is saved on my hard drive.
When I open it again, it opens in JASC Paint Shop Photo Album 4, where I can
edit and print.

I searched the group for color management, and the result was kind of
overwhelming. I will continue to read these threads, but would you care to
help me narrow it down a little bit?

You can see an example of my photos here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/64966431@N00/

Thanks for any help you care to offer.



From looking at your pictures, I suspect that just using a good quality
photo paper, with the 'best' setting from your print setup, you should
solve your problem.