digital black and white prints

asd · 24-09-2006, 19:09

hi there,

Could anyone recommend a company who can provide digital black and white prints without the colour casts. Have just signed up with photobox and i am happy with the colour prints but the black and whites had a cast. I am looking for enlargements around A3 etc for framing(my printer can only do up to A4. I have heard jessops have a professional service, has anybody used this at all

thanks asd

***Dave*** · 25-09-2006, 07:18

I would be interested in this also

Hacker · 25-09-2006, 08:53

I'm surprised at Photobox as the ones I've had done have always been very good. Have you tried calling them as their customer service is excellent, I recently ordered eight A3 prints and one came with a yellow cast, phoned them up and they were very helpful, the next day I had another delivery - of all eight prints and a couple of days later another copy of the one with the cast.

There are a lot of companies who could learn a lot from them about keeping their customers happy.

***Dave*** · 25-09-2006, 09:50

Good to hear that Colin. Are you saying you had no colour cast at all in the prints ?

stevec · 26-09-2006, 22:13

I got my first bw prints from photobox today well pleased

***Steve*** · 27-09-2006, 08:16

Photobox have/had (not checked in a while) a test card that you can view to calibrate your monitor to their settings. If you take this step (and store it on a custom monitor preset maybe) then tweek your photos to match your required output before sending them in, you will find their prints are excellent quality with no casts. Obviously there may be times when one rouge shot may slip through the net but as Hacker has said, if you contact them they are more than happy to ensure you get what you paid for.

asd · 27-09-2006, 16:17

thanks for that,

It was my first order so didnt have the callibration print, will set it up with that now i have it and see how it goes

cheers

spxxxx · 30-09-2006, 18:20

I can vouch for Photobox - had plenty of B+W and not had a problem yet with casts - after using a Canon printer for B+W believe me when I say I look really hard at them

***Steve*** · 03-10-2006, 17:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by asd

thanks for that,

It was my first order so didnt have the callibration print, will set it up with that now i have it and see how it goes

cheers

I presume its a little too soon to enquire if you have had any more prints done and if there has been an improvement?

lolyton · 03-10-2006, 19:22

Sorry, i'm a little late on this one, and was reading what Steve had to say about calibrating your monitor to Photobox's output settings. You said to begin with that you are very happy with your colour prints, which would suggest that the colour calibration may not be too far out. Also....and this is the bit i am confused about, if you are sending them a B+W image to print, i am assuming it is in Greyscale (if it is not this may go a long way to explaning your problem), the calibration of your monitor will have no effect on a cast on the prints (i am ignoring brightness and contrast and focusing solely on colour as i am assuming it is a colour cast problem). A greyscale image will be printed in greyscale (using only tones of black ink), thus resulting in an image without a cast. The only area a cast can occur (as far as i am aware) if printing in greyscale would be from the type of paper used (i used to print B+W on some epson papers and they used to have a green cast to them).
Please correct me if i'm wrong (which i normally am).

I would suggest you ensure that the images are converted to Greyscale before sending them to be printed (providing this does not effect the image in anyway) just in case this is the reason your cast has been caused. There are so many ways of converting images now that sometimes you may still have a small amount of colour registering (maybe).

asd · 05-10-2006, 20:24

Thanks for the help,

Have just checked and the two black and whites were sent in RGB mode as i used channel mixer to turn it it black and white, so may be that is why i got a colour cast. Never crossed my mind so thanks for helping solve that little problem

ps, I am working on some shots i took in death valley and duotoning them, whats the best way of getting enlargements (A3 most likely) printed accuratley from a lab, as i will lose the effect if converted to greyscale............what a blinkin hobby this photography is..theres always something to tax the grey matter,...well whats left of mine

cheers

spxxxx · 05-10-2006, 21:12

Hold on.............

Don't change to greyscale - you loose too much detail - they should print fine in RGB but infact may need changing to CMYK depending on where they are printed.

**Dabhand16** · 05-10-2006, 21:17

I agree. Every tutorial I've seen recommends staying in RGB mode, otherwise you are restricted to 256 shades.

lolyton · 06-10-2006, 09:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by lolyton

I would suggest you ensure that the images are converted to Greyscale before sending them to be printed (providing this does not effect the image in anyway)

I did cover myself when i mentioned converting to greyscale, and i still believe this will remove any cast you may have on your images.....providing the paper is not to fault. But as Hacker said try giving them a call and ask their advice.

***Dave*** · 06-10-2006, 11:12

To my knowledge this has nothing to do with how the image is sent. It is how the print service creates the tones of white through to black. If done with mixing the colours then you run the risk of a coloured hue to the shot.

This is why the specialist Mono home printers such as Epson r2400, use up to 3 dedicated black ink tanks for printing Mono's....that way there is no risk of a colour hue. Just wish I could afford the £500+ price tag

24-09-2006, 19:09	#1 (permalink)
asd Getting Comfy Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: BLACKPOOL..capital of fun/s**t Posts: 124	digital black and white prints hi there, Could anyone recommend a company who can provide digital black and white prints without the colour casts. Have just signed up with photobox and i am happy with the colour prints but the black and whites had a cast. I am looking for enlargements around A3 etc for framing(my printer can only do up to A4. I have heard jessops have a professional service, has anybody used this at all thanks asd

25-09-2006, 07:18	#2 (permalink)
*Dave* Pixalo Crew Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 14,909	Re: digital black and white prints I would be interested in this also

25-09-2006, 08:53	#3 (permalink)
Hacker Forum Regular Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 623	Re: digital black and white prints I'm surprised at Photobox as the ones I've had done have always been very good. Have you tried calling them as their customer service is excellent, I recently ordered eight A3 prints and one came with a yellow cast, phoned them up and they were very helpful, the next day I had another delivery - of all eight prints and a couple of days later another copy of the one with the cast. There are a lot of companies who could learn a lot from them about keeping their customers happy.

25-09-2006, 09:50	#4 (permalink)
*Dave* Pixalo Crew Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 14,909	Re: digital black and white prints Good to hear that Colin. Are you saying you had no colour cast at all in the prints ?

26-09-2006, 22:13	#5 (permalink)
stevec Getting Comfy Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: bradford west yorkshire Posts: 242	Re: digital black and white prints I got my first bw prints from photobox today well pleased

27-09-2006, 08:16	#6 (permalink)
*Steve* Pixalo Crew Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: An Englishman living in Germany Posts: 16,158	Re: digital black and white prints Photobox have/had (not checked in a while) a test card that you can view to calibrate your monitor to their settings. If you take this step (and store it on a custom monitor preset maybe) then tweek your photos to match your required output before sending them in, you will find their prints are excellent quality with no casts. Obviously there may be times when one rouge shot may slip through the net but as Hacker has said, if you contact them they are more than happy to ensure you get what you paid for.

27-09-2006, 16:17	#7 (permalink)
asd Getting Comfy Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: BLACKPOOL..capital of fun/s**t Posts: 124	Re: digital black and white prints thanks for that, It was my first order so didnt have the callibration print, will set it up with that now i have it and see how it goes cheers

30-09-2006, 18:20	#8 (permalink)
spxxxx Been here a while Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Chesterfield, UK Posts: 407	Re: digital black and white prints I can vouch for Photobox - had plenty of B+W and not had a problem yet with casts - after using a Canon printer for B+W believe me when I say I look really hard at them

03-10-2006, 19:22	#10 (permalink)
lolyton Forum Regular Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Granada, Spain Posts: 803	Re: digital black and white prints Sorry, i'm a little late on this one, and was reading what Steve had to say about calibrating your monitor to Photobox's output settings. You said to begin with that you are very happy with your colour prints, which would suggest that the colour calibration may not be too far out. Also....and this is the bit i am confused about, if you are sending them a B+W image to print, i am assuming it is in Greyscale (if it is not this may go a long way to explaning your problem), the calibration of your monitor will have no effect on a cast on the prints (i am ignoring brightness and contrast and focusing solely on colour as i am assuming it is a colour cast problem). A greyscale image will be printed in greyscale (using only tones of black ink), thus resulting in an image without a cast. The only area a cast can occur (as far as i am aware) if printing in greyscale would be from the type of paper used (i used to print B+W on some epson papers and they used to have a green cast to them). Please correct me if i'm wrong (which i normally am). I would suggest you ensure that the images are converted to Greyscale before sending them to be printed (providing this does not effect the image in anyway) just in case this is the reason your cast has been caused. There are so many ways of converting images now that sometimes you may still have a small amount of colour registering (maybe).

05-10-2006, 20:24	#11 (permalink)
asd Getting Comfy Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: BLACKPOOL..capital of fun/s**t Posts: 124	Re: digital black and white prints Thanks for the help, Have just checked and the two black and whites were sent in RGB mode as i used channel mixer to turn it it black and white, so may be that is why i got a colour cast. Never crossed my mind so thanks for helping solve that little problem ps, I am working on some shots i took in death valley and duotoning them, whats the best way of getting enlargements (A3 most likely) printed accuratley from a lab, as i will lose the effect if converted to greyscale............what a blinkin hobby this photography is..theres always something to tax the grey matter,...well whats left of mine cheers

05-10-2006, 21:12	#12 (permalink)
spxxxx Been here a while Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Chesterfield, UK Posts: 407	Re: digital black and white prints Hold on............. Don't change to greyscale - you loose too much detail - they should print fine in RGB but infact may need changing to CMYK depending on where they are printed.

05-10-2006, 21:17	#13 (permalink)
Dabhand16 Pixalo Crew Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Dunstable Bedfordshire UK Posts: 9,000	Re: digital black and white prints I agree. Every tutorial I've seen recommends staying in RGB mode, otherwise you are restricted to 256 shades.

06-10-2006, 11:12	#15 (permalink)
*Dave* Pixalo Crew Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 14,909	Re: digital black and white prints To my knowledge this has nothing to do with how the image is sent. It is how the print service creates the tones of white through to black. If done with mixing the colours then you run the risk of a coloured hue to the shot. This is why the specialist Mono home printers such as Epson r2400, use up to 3 dedicated black ink tanks for printing Mono's....that way there is no risk of a colour hue. Just wish I could afford the £500+ price tag