Digital Camera World

15 common photo printer problems and DIY solutions Mar 27th 2013, 01:00 When photo printers work, it's hard not to be amazed at the 'photographic' print quality that even the cheapest model can produce. But when they don't, it's hard not to reach for the hammer and blow-torch. There's as much to go wrong in the digital darkroom as there ever was in the wet chemical era, so you need troubleshooting knowledge if you want to avoid lengthy conversations with technical support. Knowing what can go wrong with your photo printer is more likely to make you realise that something really is wrong, instead of accepting that those little white lines that run the length of all your prints are actually unavoidable. Remember, you shouldn't have to put up with anything less than excellent; that's the standard all inkjet printers are now capable of reaching. In this DIY Photography Hacks guide we’ll run through the most common problems you might encounter with your inkjet printer, and a host of possible solutions. Work your way through these and you'll have a good grounding in printer maintenance. There are stacks of models out there, so online troubleshooting for your specific printer is a good idea before you attempt any major works! Common photo printer problems and DIY solutions The first port of call for any print quality issue is to check the basics: have you done something silly? Selecting the wrong paper type, printing on the wrong side of the paper, overloading the sheet feeder, printing on curled paper, using a low resolution setting, failing to install ink cartridges correctly or not replacing an empty ink tank are all common sources of problems, and can lead to streaks, banding (visible lines), or uneven printing. If you're sure that none of the above are the source of your woes, your next step should be the printer maintenance section of your printer's driver interface. There should be nozzle check, alignment check and cleaning cycle options – running these can solve the vast majority of problems. PAGE 1: Common photo printer problems and DIY solutions PAGE 2: Troubleshooting common photo printer problems PAGE 3: Paper feed and alignment errors PAGE 4: Nozzle and roller problems PAGE 5: DIY photo printer prevention techniques READ MORE 20 questions you need to ask about how to print photos Colour management: fine tune your kit for the most accurate colours possible Monitor Calibration Made Easy Adobe Camera Raw: the secret to using it for just about everything Mar 26th 2013, 12:08 In our latest Raw Tuesday post we unlock the secrets of Adobe Camera Raw and show you how you can use Photoshop’s raw editor for just about all of your photo editing needs. At first glance the Camera Raw editor may seem fairly basic, a place perhaps to make a few quick tweaks before opening your files into Photoshop. But delve a little deeper and you'll find that Adobe's powerful raw plug-in has much to offer. Many features can be found in the panels to the right of the interface, but there are also plenty more that may not be so obvious. In this tutorial we'll take a tour of the Camera Raw interface and uncover a host of tips and tricks used by the pros, from setting camera profiles and using the Tone Curve to tweaking preferences, making selective adjustments and cropping for print. If you're a Lightroom user, you'll find these tips equally useful, as the tools in Lightroom's Develop module are virtually identical. One of the biggest advantages of working in Camera Raw is that every single edit you make is completely non-destructive. This is because Camera Raw (as well as Lightroom, Aperture and Capture One) employs parametric image editing, which means that rather than altering the pixels that make up the image, any edits are instead logged as sets of instructions or parameters, and typically saved as a 'sidecar' file. When you're working on an image, you're not actually making changes to it, you're changing the way the imaging software interprets the data. Any setting can be edited or undone at any time, so you can apply the following tips in any order and on any image you like. How to use Adobe Camera Raw for just about everything: steps 1-6 01 Host ACR through Bridge Did you know the ACR plug-in can be hosted by Bridge? Photoshop needn't even be open, which saves on processing power. Open Bridge, right-click nextsteps_before.dng and choose Open in Camera Raw. If you like, set 'Double-click edits Camera Raw settings in Bridge' in Edit>Preferences>General.   02 Set the camera profile It's tempting to begin adjusting tones in the Basic panel, but often the Camera Calibration panel is a better starting point. Adobe Standard doesn't always look best, so experiment with others. Nikon and Canon cameras are supported, but for others you'll need to download profiles. We've used the ACR 4.6 profile.   03 Recover detail Go to the Basic panel and set Temperature to 4350 and Shadows to +16. Hold Alt while dragging the Whites slider to check for clipped pixels. We won't be able to bring back detail in the sun completely, but we can perform a recovery by dragging whites to -32.   04 Vibrance and Saturation The Saturation slider adjusts all colours, and Vibrance targets the less-saturated colours. A decrease in Vibrance with an increase in Saturation can give good results. Set Vibrance to -10 and Saturation to +26. Set Clarity to +22 to add punch to the midtones.   05 Boost the tones Go to Tone Curve and click Points. Cmd/Ctrl-click over the image to set a point along the curve line, then use the arrow keys to move it. Cmd/Ctlr-click on  lighter clouds, then repeatedly tap up. Cmd/Ctrl-click on the grey rocks then tap down to boost contrast.   06 Lighten the foreground The foreground is too dark, so grab the Graduated Filter tool, then set Temperature to +10, Exposure to +70, Highlights to +16 and Clarity to +15. Drag upwards from above the rocks towards the horizon while holding Shift to keep the line perfectly vertical. PAGE 1: How to use Adobe Camera Raw for everything: steps 1-6 PAGE 2: How to use Adobe Camera Raw for everything: steps 7-12 PAGE 3: How to use Adobe Camera Raw for everything: steps 13-18 READ MORE Blend Modes: the 10 best blends for photographers (and how to use them) Photoshop Layers Demystified: a beginner’s guide to smarter photo editing 101 Photoshop tips you really have to know

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