CLPEX Chat Board

George Reis wrote: Printing. I don't see any reason to ever print a fingerprint 1:1, and when you do so, your result will not be as good as the image on your monitor.

I agree with George.

If the photograph is just for illustration purposes, I'd rather enlarge it (no need for a magnifier glass). If it's for AFIS-input, i'd go for direct digital input.

However, we do a lot of on-screen comparisons of footwear, ears, ... for which it is important that the images are on the same scale. We use "Lucia Forensic Compare" software to calibrate the images (the easiest way is simply to draw a line over a ruler in the photograph) and to compare them (4 different types of overlay, split-screen, side-by side, ...). A click on a button is enough to put them on the same scale. And a scaled print (whichever size you want) is just another feature of the print menu.

The print itself however is, as George said, never as good as the image on the screen.

All the best,

Gerrit

As far as color correction goes, there are several steps in ensuring that what you see on your monitor is what you get in your print. While not too difficult, you do need some degree of computer knowledge.

1- Calibrate your monitor. Use a hardware calibration device and follow the setup and instructions given. The monitor will need to be periodically re-calibrated as it's output changes as it ages. This will give you a monitor profile. If you don't know how to adjust the brightness and contrast settings on your monitor, you are probably not going to be able to accomplish the rest of these tasks.

2- Download (and install) the printer profiles for your paper - printer combination. These are usually available from the printer manufacturer's website (for their own proprietary brand papers) or the paper manufacturer's website (if you are buying from a higher end paper company; whatever's on sale at the local office warehouse probably does not have profiles). If you bought a pro level monitor calibration device (see step 1), they often have the ability to profile printers as well and can generate a profile for your unique situation. Remember that each profile is only good for one unique combination of printer and paper; if you print on glossy paper sometimes and matte paper at others, you will need different profiles for each type of paper.

3- In the Photoshop Print dialog, check the box that "Photoshop Manages Color." You will then have to scroll through the list of available profiles and find the one for your printer/paper combination.

4- Most important Disable color management on your printer in the Print Settings. This is usually found in a dialog labeled "Advanced" or "Color" or some such (check your printer's reference material). If you don't disable the printer color settings, your printer will try to assign its own profile to the print job on top of the information being sent by Photoshop, with unpredictable results.

Hopefully this clarifies more than it confuses. -Jeremy

Thanks Jeremy

Yes it did help a lot.

Also taught me a bit more about how much I still have to learn but very helpful.

Anton