inaccurate color representation

hello again yall,

so ive been taking my pictures to print lately (kodak kiosk at CVS/pharmacy) and ive noticed quite a big problem. on both my CD blackbook and 24" imac, after i edit photos in any program (aperture/lightroom) to my liking, the print does not turn out the way it looked on my monitor. im exporting the version as edited, but it doesn't show up that way in print. in particular are the differences in saturation, contrast, and brightness. ive tried calibrating my display with no luck, i always give my displays atleast 30 minutes to "warm up." what more can i do?

thanks in advance

maanico1 said:

...on both my CD blackbook and 24" imac, after i edit photos in any program (aperture/lightroom) to my liking, the print does not turn out the way it looked on my monitor.

.... in particular are the differences in saturation, contrast, and brightness.

Click to expand...

On screen things will always be a little off from what you see in print.
However, the glossy screens of iMacs and MacBooks will make this difference seem even greater.

Glossy screens enhance the very things you are having troubles with: Saturation, Contrast and Brightness. Sure, it looks nice on a monitor, but when you print it looks almost nothing like your screen's images.
This is why the vast majority of designers and photographers prefer matte screens, as they produce a more accurate representation of color with regards to print.

My suggestion would be to attempt to compensate for the Glossy screen's discrepancies by doing a little "trial and error" with a home printer.
Play around with the settings in your image editor until you can find acceptable levels for your problem areas. It will probably look "off" to you when you view it on-screen, but the prints will turn out the way you intend them to.
Once you find your sweet spot for photos printed at home, you can then take them to get printed at the photo kiosk.

thank you for the advice, i had no idea that the screens made such a big difference. i always thought glossy screens just looked cooler. i wonder if there are any screen filters you can clip on that would make the screen closer to a matte finish