Chromira printing

[John Chardine]

I would be interested to know people's experiences having photographs printed with a Chromira LED printer on Kodak Endura Matte paper. I am considering using this for an upcoming show.

[Don Lacy]

Hi John, I have been very satisfied with the Chromira prints I receive from the labs I work with but I mostly print gloss, super gloss, or pearl on Fuji Crystal Archive paper. If I were you I would order a 8X10 test print and see if it meets your standards you also might want to check out the Fuji papers.

[Gray Fox]

Results can be very good, but be sure to download printer/paper profiles and soft proof each image. LED printers have smaller gamuts than the best inkjets, and some very vivid colors may be out-of-gamut, in which case you may want to apply additional color and tone adjustments. Some services provide free test prints for first-time customers, well worth the time and effort.

[Don Lacy]

but be sure to download printer/paper profiles and soft proof each image

Unless you are using a wide gamut monitor soft proofing can cause more problems then it fixes here is some information on the disadvantages of soft proofing http://www.westcoastimaging.com/wci/...tip/tip35.html

[Gray Fox]

Don, the link you reference recommends "hard proofing" as a better approach than soft proofing. Well sure -- keep making test prints until the result is finally perfect. Who can argue with that? (It's certainly useful advice if you're marketing a print service.) Will a wider gamut monitor produce a better soft proof? Of course. Will a series of test prints provide a more faithful representation of the final result? Of course. But the question is, how much better? And, how much better does one actually need? I guess in the final analysis, do what you need to do to get the fidelity and quality your intended use requires. In my experience, soft proofing provides substantial value, both in terms of how colors and tones will be rendered and what colors will be out of gamut. In any case, I'd rather proceed from an educated guess rather than by trial and error even if the intent was to produce test prints.

[John Chardine]

Many thanks for comments so far.