Images from my Pixma Pro 100 are much darker than my monitor screen

[RobRut]

The images from my Pixma Pro 100 are quite a bit darker than the images from my monitor.  So: 1) it's an inexpensive (cheap!) monitor.  Do I solve this by breaking the bank and getting something like a Dell Ultrasharp?  or 2) should I buy one of those devices like a colormunki that calibrates the monitor for me?  I'm told that they actually affect the graphics card, not the monitor itself.  But if the monitor is of such poor quality that it will never get it right, that's a waste.  I don't use my computer for any kind of gaming, but is it possible I need a better graphics card?  That seems unlikely, but I never know with this stuff.  The answer often turns out to be, "maybe any of the above", and the solution inevitably the most expensive one!

(P.S., I have tried manually calibrating my monitor, but it hasn't worked.)

Thanks for any suggestions,

Rob.

[jrhoffman75]

Read and try here:

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

If this doesn't help come back on and I will work with you.

[RobRut]

Further confusion!  I followed your link, and from there, a link to the new printer evaluation image from Outback Printing.  I downloaded that and printed it through Photoshop.  The image that came off my printer is darker than what's on my screen.  Photoshop simply passes me image over to the Canon software where I'm using Color Mode: "Use ICC Profile" and Printer Profile "Auto."  Do these settings need adjustment? 

Thanks again for your assistance,

Rob

[jrhoffman75]

Forgetting about comparison to screen, does the print look good under your normal viewing conditions.

Don't make any exposure adjustments.

[RobRut]

Well, yes, the prints do look decent as a rule, but I did one from a trip to Arizona that, on my monitor, has a vivid blue sky, but coming off the printer looked seriously overdone. I'm fussing about this in part because I'm preparing a photobook for some friends and of course tweak images so I think they're at their best. The book will get sent to a very good Canadian company called Pikto, and they're expensive, so I'm trying to avoiud disappointment.
However, your point is well taken; for the most part, the prints are satisfactory even if they don't match the screen images.

[jrhoffman75]

Since you have Photoshop download and install Canon Print Studio Pro. If you need help there let me know.

[RobRut]

Thanks. I have the software already. I'm currently trying to make some manual adjustments to the monitor again.

[jrhoffman75]

Monitor too bright. Adjust brightness following guidance of the article. In particular be sure you get distinct differences between the 11 ( I think) black and white squares.

What adjustments does your monitor have?

[RobRut]

My monitor has the usual sort of adjustments; brightness, contrast, and "Neutral", "Reddish", "Bluish" and sRGB colour settings.I have the colour set to sRGB, which stops me from being able to adjust the brightness. For all of your willingness to help here John, you might just be chasing your tail unless you are actually sitting & observing the situation. I may have to learn to simply adapt by eye. The colours are off. If you look at the images here, http://www.outbackphoto.com/printinginsights/pi049/essay.html the fall leaves are, on my screen, very much yellow; my print has more of an orange/yellow cast to it. The strawberries are a much "wetter" red on screen, the greys lighter and more suddenly graded in the large image at centre, etc.. Adjustments to colours on my monitor are hopeless: they simply produce various versions of ghastly as soon as they are fiddled with. Crummy monitor? I've tweaked just about everything and can't get it to closely resemble what comes out of the printer. Am I simply expecting too much?

Thanks...again!

Rob

[jrhoffman75]

That sounds like a Photoshop-monitor communication problem. Unless your monitor is defective I haven't seen any that were way off in colors.

What monitor profile is Photshop using? You can cechk via Edit->Color Setting and select Monitor Color in the dropdown menu.

Are you using a Windows or Mac computer?