Scanned files coming out dark

[Kanvas Keepsakes]

Hey guys quick question.  Any photo that I scan using my Epson V500 Photo scanner or any other scanner for that matter comes out way darker than I see on the screen.  Any photo I get from a photographer priunts exactly as I see it on screen.  Why the difference?  How can I get photoshop to print these files without any problems?  What am I doing wrong?  One print was with my Epson V500 scanner and the other was with a Canon C2550 Copy Machine scanner function.  Both printed out exactly the same . . dark.  Skin tones are real dark.  Ugly prints.  Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks

[ErikKaffehr]

Hi,

Could your image be tagged by wrong color space? Are you using a color managed application? Can you post an image?

Best regards
Erik

Hey guys quick question.  Any photo that I scan using my Epson V500 Photo scanner or any other scanner for that matter comes out way darker than I see on the screen.  Any photo I get from a photographer priunts exactly as I see it on screen.  Why the difference?  How can I get photoshop to print these files without any problems?  What am I doing wrong?  One print was with my Epson V500 scanner and the other was with a Canon C2550 Copy Machine scanner function.  Both printed out exactly the same . . dark.  Skin tones are real dark.  Ugly prints.  Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks

[Mark D Segal]

The most likely issue is incorrect colour management. Do you have a profile for the scanner? Are you scanning the photos with the correct profile? Do you have that profile embedded in the image file so that when it opens in Photoshop, Photoshop knows how to interpret the colours?

[Kanvas Keepsakes]

Can I go to EDIT on Photoshop and select Assign Profile?  Then just choose the paper profile I made with my Color Munki?

[Mark D Segal]

I'm talking about the scanner profile, not the paper profile. What scanning software are you using? Does it allow you to check the colour management settings? Does it allow you to embed a SCANNER profile in the scan you are making?

[Kanvas Keepsakes]

Hey Mark I use the built in Epson scan software but just recently downloaded a demo of VueScan to see what it's all about.  I know with that you can choose profiles.  Do I make a profile for my scanner?  I think the Epson software uses sRGB by default.  As far as pictures go here is the original and the printed outcome.   HORRIBLE! 

For now since I dont have the originals to scan, I made a Levels adjustment layer and just brightened up the dark parts.  Looks good now.  Just wish I knew how to avoid this problem next time. 

[Kanvas Keepsakes]

Forgot to attach the images.  Here is the original and the printed result

[Mark D Segal]

There should be profiles for your scanner somewhere in the colour management files of whatever computer system you are using, and you should be able to access those profiles through Vue Scan. You may also want to try a demo version of SilverFast 8 Ai version for your scanner. Colour management is quite straightforward with it. Then you can determine which works better for you.

[ErikKaffehr]

Hi,

To me it seems the jpeg image is OK and it seems properly tagged. Could it be a case of double profiling in print?


Best regards
Erik

Forgot to attach the images.  Here is the original and the printed result

[Mark D Segal]

Erik it seems from his first post that his printing set up is okay - that is why I suspect the scanner profiling and scanner profile embedding

[ErikKaffehr]

Mark,

I agree, on the other hand the sample he sent was perfectly OK!

Oh, no, now I see it it was just a screen shot! Hopefully he will post the original image!

Best regards
Erik

Erik it seems from his first post that his printing set up is okay - that is why I suspect the scanner profiling and scanner profile embedding

[Kanvas Keepsakes]

Here is the original image.  Thanks for all the help guys. 

[Mark D Segal]

You are welcome, but is your problem solved?

[Kanvas Keepsakes]

Mark not sure yet because I havent scanned anything after this help and printed.  What's weird is that I used the same copy machine (Canon iR-ADV 5250 I believe) to scan all the images.  I printed one on canvas and the others on my photo paper.  The canvas print came out dark.  The prints on photo paper came out exactly how they were scanned.  Mark, which profile do I choose on this window?

[Mark D Segal]

OK, this looks like a SilverFast interface and the profiling looks OK. You have selected the correct profile for the Epson V500 scanner, and the use of ARGB(98) for the colour space ("internal") is fine. If you are using another scanner, you need to select the scanner profile specific to the scanner model you are using. Using an unmatched scanner profile can be deadly.

Now that you mention canvas, the problem is the printer profile. In your print/colour management set-up for printing, you need to use the printer profile that is intended for canvas paper. Again if you have a printer profile that is not matched for the paper/printer combination you are using the result can be deadly.

So bottom line, make sure the scanner profile and the printer profile are matched for you scanner and your paper/printer combination. You manage the scanner profile in SilverFast or other scanner software, and you manage the printer profile in your print dialog in Photoshop or Lightroom, whatever you are using for printing.

[Kanvas Keepsakes]

Thanks Mark.  I have profiles for my printer (paper) that I select when I print through Photoshop.  Always use this method. I created profiles with my ColorMunki.  That doesn't change.  But when I scan and print it comes out dark.  I'll play with this software and see if there's a difference in the output.  Appreciate your time.  I will be purchasing your e-book as well.  Thanks!

[Mark D Segal]

You are welcome. Hope you find the book useful.

Regards,

Mark

[ErikKaffehr]

Hi,

I checked your file, and I think it is OK.  But something I notice that the image is a bit dark. I would guess that your screen is to bright! Try to adjust down to 90 cd/m^2, that is what I use. Before that I was using 130-150 cd/m^2 and had a lot of problems with dark prints.

Best regards
Erik

Here is the original image.  Thanks for all the help guys.