i was wondering if anyone had this problem and if there was some fix or something i am doing wrong.  If  you take a look at this photo i took a while back (which i tried to make into a print) it basically came out with the buttercup loosing ALL definition; the veins went, and you could barely make out the drops of water on it - obviously i was annoyed as that is the whole point of the photo!!   It was just a blur of yellow.  Is this a generic problem with printing digital photos taken in a small gamut (i beleive it was - as it was only taken on my A95)?  Or can i do something to combat it like saving the file sent to the press as CMYK? Or is this something to do with the problem i hear of properly reproducing orange in print? Or should i simply go to another print service? ;)

Thanks for any input

say me the mark of your printing...

if by "mark" you mean "make" then it is from one of those kodak booths you get in the processor shops - i dont print them myself.

Probably due to the auto fixing those booths do. I gave up cheap ass prints and just deliver them to my local camerashop. They've got a similar system, but there a real person looks at the photo and when I tell em to not touch the pictures they will print them as-is.

I suspect it was the printing process. 

I'd try another print place. You can proof your images in PS to make sure no colours are outside the gamut of colours you are able to reproduce.

Yep, sounds like the printshop. Find another, better one. Gee, I've added so much to this dialogue, lol...

Right - as i suspected.  Thing is, "local camerashop" is kinda corporate these days - read "automatic machine".  Jessops will just use their imaging machines... and that is all auto i imagine and Boots use the Kodak machines and the staff know nothing but how to work their machines (and as i have found out pretty much nothing about photography and colour reproduction / resolutions / aspect ratios etc.)

Maybe i will ask at jessops to see how they set up their equipment and if it will accept my colour profile and leave it as is... if there is anyone in there who talks my language ;)

Thanks for input, kinda confirmed at least i was doing nothing wrong :)

Not quite sure what you mean by accept your colour profile ?

I use Photobox on line printers and have always been happy.  They accept sRGB Jpeg images.

You could go to Peak Imaging if you want to upload Tiff I am not sure what printers they use and if they are able to supply a profile for it. Or there are smaller print shops who will supply a profile for their printers and accept aRGB if that is what you are looking for. Personally I wouldn't consider it unless there was a specific need.

sRGB Jpeg will show the image well enough for most people and certainly as good if not better than what you are looking at on the web. If you can see the detail here then you should see the detail in print !

Ran into the same problem a little while ago....took some shots to the place I've been going to for a few years....shots came back bluish.  Then did a little test with the same shots...tried the Kodak machine and also tried another local vendor's overnight service.

Results....NONE of them matched what I saw on my monitor.

Kodak Machine:...they obviously run a set routine that sharpens (read OVER sharpens, esp if you've already sharpened it))...they also came out with a yellow tinge and oversaturated.

Overnight service: sharpening was Ok, but also came out a bit yellowish.

So, I went back to my original place...the ones that came back bluish.....got the long song and dance about how digital cams can't capture all the colors as we see them, how I should adjust my monitor ( my monitor IS calibrated!), but when push came to shove, I found out that the person adjusted my images to his/her taste!!!!  I politely asked them to re-print them with NO adjustments.  Everything came back perfect!

My feeling is that most of these shops/machines are set-up for the "point and shoot" family vacation shots straight out of the cam. They are not designed for those of us who have done our own adjustments to the digital images..and Inshaala is correct with his assessment...When asked, the staff barely know how to operate the machines, most know very little about color profiles/printer profiles/resolutions/even general digital photography or digital cams!

Anyway, after all this....I now go to my original shop and specifically tell them to PRINT AS IS...DO NOT TOUCH!  Prints come back the way I want them.

Agree with Onslow about the printer profiles....lots of trouble for little gain.  Best bet is to ensure that your monitor is calibrated, then ask to print as is.

Do a little test in your city...take the same image to a few different print shops, just let them print with no advice from you.  It would be interesting to hear your results.

Good points - As above you must make sure the processing does not involve altering your images unless that is what you want.

I added some names because Inshaala had only mentioned places that do auto processing. I avoided at first because obviously these are only applicable to the UK.

Photobox - print with no alteration what you send them.

Peak Imaging - You must request a service where they do not alter your images.

I was also having the same problem....getting my photos cropped and color corrected. I couldn't find a place locally so I now use an online service. www.printroom.com I have been very happy with the results and don't mind waiting a week for them.

Hello: I have a question. I've never had one of my photos printed before. I'm asuming you burn them onto a disk first??? Although I only have one Quick lab here where I live online might be best I just wondered how it works..

Drag, You can easily upload your photos on their website....choose your options and sizes....simple as that.

@drag;

Methods;

1)upload online to online print shops

2)Burn to CD or DVD and take to print Kiosk/print shop

3)Copy to USB thumb drive and take to print Kiosk/print shop

4)Take cameras memory card to print Kiosk/print shop

5)Print at home

Thanks Gradient... I've got a little Dell photo printer but would like bigger prints of some of my better photos. Thanks for all the info.

i'll give it a go over the weekend when i have time - hopefully jessops will leave my shots alone if i tell them to.

I generally use an online service. The offer the option of "enhanced" or "no effects". No effects mean they leave it as uploaded.  I do that and all is well.

At a local durgstore printing kiosk,  I got very good results from their Fuji printers. I did ask that no enhancements be done and all came back quite well.  Another store of the same chain name was tried and the images were a bit washed out.  I learned their equipment was not so up to date as at the other store branch and the people there did not know how to calibrate things in the first place. The store will good results had reasonably knowledgeable personnel doing the printing.

This is often a live and learn thing when using printing services. Ask for no adjustments or enhancements in your printing, if that is what you want.   At one online service, I asked how to make certain I got the best from what I uploaded. They suggested a few trials on things such as bightness and contrast levels and sharpness on my end, then to use my settings producing the best results.  I do that and again am quite satisfied with the prints being true to what I want.  Actually, close to the very same of every adjustment I use is the same as for web...except image size(largest files to printer) and sometimes sharpness adjustment.        Tom