Prints dark on HP pro matte canvas and others

[Natermo]

I am printing from either PSCS3 or Qimage and using the Application manage color settings in the z3100 driver and using the appropriate profile.  I have seen dark prints on both the HP pro matte canvas and Epson Luster roll 250 and others, so it seems to be a global thing.  I have a calibrated monitor and color seems to be really close.  The problem I am having is the prints are too dark.  What I have done that seems to work so far is to go into the advanced color settings in the driver and increase the brightness to +10.  I'm not sure if this is the best way to do it but would like to know if anyone else has experienced this.  

Nathaniel

[rdonson]

I am printing from either PSCS3 or Qimage and using the Application manage color settings in the z3100 driver and using the appropriate profile.  I have seen dark prints on both the HP pro matte canvas and Epson Luster roll 250 and others, so it seems to be a global thing.  I have a calibrated monitor and color seems to be really close.  The problem I am having is the prints are too dark.  What I have done that seems to work so far is to go into the advanced color settings in the driver and increase the brightness to +10.  I'm not sure if this is the best way to do it but would like to know if anyone else has experienced this. 

Nathaniel
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What luminosity did you calibrate your monitor to?

What does the image look like when you softproof in CS3 with the appropriate printer profile?

[Lisa Nikodym]

Are you sure you're viewing your "too dark" prints under a good enough light?  If you're looking at them under your overall room lighting, then it's no surprise that they appear too dark.  Put them under gallery-type display lighting, or in direct bright sunlight, or any other bright light, and see if they still appear too dark.

(I speak from experience - I could have written exactly your post a couple of years ago before I happened to look at a "too dark" print of mine under better lighting, and found that it suddenly matched the monitor muuuuch better.)

The printer profiles assume that the print will be viewed under optimal display lighting, not whatever lighting happens to be near your computer.

Lisa