Printing Woes

[Hairyman]

Dear All,

I recently bought a Canon PIXMA iP5000.

Photographs that look OK on the monitor (Samsung 172X) look CRAP when printed.

The prints are very "grainy" and dull.

I'm taking shots with a Canon 300D and mostly processing from RAW images with little cropping.

I'm using PS creative suite and the Canon printing software package.

I would have thought that 6-odd megapixels would be looking more grainy on a 17-inch monitor than a 4x6 print.

I would be very grateful for suggestions.

I'm a total n00b at this so no detail will be too small.

TIA, now I'm off to look at the newbie forums on other photo sites...

[jambo]

Dododo I don't feel stupid :rolleyes:

Download and print a couple from the April Photo Contest (http://forum.zgeek.com/showthread.php?t=34314&highlight=photo+comp) and let us know.

[Hairyman]

Jambo,

My printer is a Canon PIXMA iP5000 (see second line of my post ;) ).

I'll give some of the photos from the comps a go and be back soon.

[Hairyman]

I printed the "organic" entry from the comp (kudos to Dogg).

It's a bit over saturated, but I think I can fiddle with that.

The detail is much better, not grainy.

I'll go off and check on the resolution that the images are printing at.

Thanks for suggesting the print from the thread idea.

[jambo]

Sure. Why don't you post one of your pictures here and I'll try printing it.

[muga]

I have a Canon IP3000 and can print 6x4 prints from a 3.2MP camera perfectly, can go almost to A4 size but you can see the quality loss up close, from a distance it is fine.

What kind of paper are you using to print on?
If you can go out and get yourself some Canon Glossy Photo Paper (Pro) and try printing on that it should come out flawless. I have compared to regular photographs and cannot tell them appart.

I also have found a much cheaper paper made by a company called 'Summit' it works out to be around $10 for 40 (6x4) and $15 for 25 (A4) and it is great quality for the price.

[dozer]

i have the 4000 and they look great on glossy paper, just like from the shop.

id suggest checking your res, maybe something is happening with the raw conversion. try printing directly from ps.

[Hairyman]

Dear All,

Thanks very much for the help.

The problem looks to be in the image resolution. I have realised that I was only converting and printing at 180ppi, hence the crap.

Rep all around.