Prints may appear darker than expected, even when the images look bright on your screen. This happens due to differences in how screens and printed materials display light. Below, we’ll explain why this occurs and how to prevent it.
Screen vs. Print
Screens emit light, making images appear brighter, while prints reflect light, which can make them look darker. If your screen brightness is too high, it may give a misleading impression of the image’s actual brightness and contrast, resulting in prints that look too dark.
Checking Your Histogram
A histogram helps analyze an image’s light and dark tones. It shows whether highlights, midtones, and shadows are well-balanced for printing.
How to Read the Histogram:
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Horizontal Axis: Left represents dark areas, the middle represents midtones, and the right represents light areas.
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Vertical Axis: Shows how much of each tone is present in the image.
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Peaks and valleys: Peaks indicate a high amount of a specific tone, while valleys indicate lower amounts.
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Clipping indicators: White triangles in the top corners warn that tones are lost—left for shadows, right for highlights. Click the triangle or press J to highlight clipped areas in the image.
Adjusting the Tone Curve
The Tone Curve allows fine-tuning of brightness and contrast by adjusting shadows, midtones, and highlights. This helps ensure images translate well from screen to print.
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In Lightroom: Access the Tone Curve panel.
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In Photoshop: Go to Image > Adjustments > Curves.
Preventing Dark Prints
By analyzing the histogram and adjusting the tone curve when editing, you can ensure your prints maintain the intended brightness and contrast. Understanding these factors will help you achieve accurate, high-quality prints that match your digital images.
If you have any questions or need any additional information, please email help@passgallery.com