Canon Pro 100: Prints "lightly hazy" or blurry

[mfakult]

Hi all,

I have purchased the Canon Pro 100 to make art prints of my pastel work. While I generally understand paper quality and have had prints made in the past (with large format or out-sourced at a print shop), I am getting frustrated with the "hazy" or "blurry" nature of the prints on the Canon Photo Paper Pro Luster (13x19).

Is it common for the luster paper to not allow for crisp edges?

I photographed the work, edited a high quality image in photoshop, and on the screen the image looks "sharp" and great.

What type of file do you suggest sending to print?

It seems the .png was slightly crisper than the .pdf & .jpg files. Am I going crazy? Is there a standard file size and set up that will give me the "crisp-ness" I crave for my prints?

I would LOVE any opinions or file-type suggestions. In the mean time I am going to order a different paper because I am not sold on the Luster (plus chalk should be printed on matte paper anyway).

Thank you!

[jrhoffman75]

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@mfakult wrote:

Hi all,

I have purchased the Canon Pro 100 to make art prints of my pastel work. While I generally understand paper quality and have had prints made in the past (with large format or out-sourced at a print shop), I am getting frustrated with the "hazy" or "blurry" nature of the prints on the Canon Photo Paper Pro Luster (13x19).

Is it common for the luster paper to not allow for crisp edges?

Luster paper should print very sharp. Since you have Photoshop did you try printing using Canon Print Studio Pro? It doesn't do anything special, but it does make sure all the correct settings in photoshop and the driver are selected.

I photographed the work, edited a high quality image in photoshop, and on the screen the image looks "sharp" and great.

What type of file do you suggest sending to print?

You don't send a file to print, per se.. You select the image in PS and then select Print. The software handles all the background work. 

It seems the .png was slightly crisper than the .pdf & .jpg files. Am I going crazy? Is there a standard file size and set up that will give me the "crisp-ness" I crave for my prints?

I think you just need to verify the settings.

Download and print the test image from this website and see how it looks. Don't make anyadjustmenst to the image - open it and print it.

http://www.outbackphoto.com/printinginsights/pi049/essay.html

I would LOVE any opinions or file-type suggestions. In the mean time I am going to order a different paper because I am not sold on the Luster (plus chalk should be printed on matte paper anyway).

Thank you!

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[mfakult]

Hi John!

Thank you for that information! So, as you suggested I printed the test print image and it looks STUNNING. Colors are on point and it is VERY sharp. When I lean in and look closely at it, it's KILLER in detail and crispy... which is what I want. So clearly there is a disconnect on my end.

Here is the more spcific scenario: The intitial 13x19 print I made of a pastel work came out hazy, which is why I created this thread. Since then, I have taken a high-quality photo (Canon 7D) of my dog to test print making sure it is 300dpi and detailed. I have also printed the test print page (opened in preview). My dog (opened in Acrobat) still looks hazy in areas that are MUCH crisper on the computer. I am so blown because the test page is exactly what I want my work to look like.

So, some elements that seem to make a difference is the dpi and the program I use to send to print. The photos sent through Acrobat look hazy but when sent from Preview or PS they are much more clear. Even tested a photo taken on my iphone X (and printed through preview [mac]) and it was more clear than the photo I took on my Canon and printed through Acrobat.

I am going to have to keep messing with this unti I get it right. Am I on the right track?

[jrhoffman75]

Glad to see your printer is functioning as you expected.

I only use my Pro-100 for photo work, and I only print documents via Acrobat (I only have Acrobat Reader), so I am just throwing out thoughts.

Did I understand that you photographed your dog, embedded the image in an Acrobat file and then printed it? And it doesn't look as sharp as the direct-printed photo?

Maybe it has something to do with the Acrobat print engine and how it sends data to the printer driver.

Maybe you want to start a thread along the lines of "Printing Photos via Acrobat" to see if some Acrobat experts are on the forum.

John