# Prints are too dark



## RobC3 (Sep 4, 2018)

When printing from LR6.14 the prints are too dark especially the blues which in this case is the sky.
If I print the images from PSE14 or On1 the colors are correct.
Any suggestions are appreciated.
thanks


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## clee01l (Sep 4, 2018)

Do you have a properly calibrated monitor?  When  you print, do you use a color profile to match your printer and paper?   Do you have LR managing the color profile and have you turned off color management by the printer? (Only one can be used and if both try to manage the color, then color weirdness occurs).    Are you using Soft-Proofing in Develop to mimic the printed output?


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## RobC3 (Sep 5, 2018)

Cletus, thanks for the suggestions.
The monitor was recently calibrated with a Sypder and that calibration is used under Color Management / Profile.
Printer color control is off.
I check soft proofing and do not see an noticeable difference.


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## Neelly (Sep 5, 2018)

I always, as per I think Scott Kelby, set brightness in the print module to +20 and just leave it there.  Thats with a calibrated set but it works perfectly every time


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## clee01l (Sep 5, 2018)

Often users will set the monitor brightness to too high a value.  When LR adjusts the image on the screen, the resulting value will be lighter than when displayed on print media.  
With a luminance setting greater than 100 cd/m2, prints will appear dark.  100 is a good luminance level for print production work. A display gamma of 2.2 has become a standard for image editing and viewing, so it's generally recommended to use this setting. It also correlates best with how we perceive brightness variations, and is usually close to your display's native setting.


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## RobC3 (Sep 7, 2018)

Why does LR print too dark but PSE and On1 do not?


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## Hal P Anderson (Sep 7, 2018)

Perhaps you have Brightness turned down in your Print Adjustment category:


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## davidedric (Sep 7, 2018)

You also need to consider where you will view the prints.
If you view them in a darkened room, then yes they will appear dark - obviously, there's not enough light to see them by.
So I'm in the camp of setting print brightness to a value that gives satisfactory all round results, and sticking with it.  My monitor is calibrated and the ambient light levels are pretty constant, at least during daylight hours.

Dave


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## LouieSherwin (Sep 9, 2018)

Here is a good video tutorial by color guru Andrew Rodney that explains why this might be happening.

Video tutorial: Why are my prints too dark

-louie


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