On 12/24/18 10:10 AM, nospam wrote:
In article , Ken Hart
wrote:

Before going to a photo kiosk I PShop all RAW
images, and crop to a 2:3 ratio. I save to jpeg.

The quality of the Kiosk prints are mediocre even
if I turn off the kiosk's offer to "sharpen" &
"auto-adjust" the images.

Are these just ink-jet prints & is it possible to
get a better quality?

It's possible that they are actual "wet" photos- depends on the
equipment used.

it's not a 'wet photo'. kiosks are inkjet prints, possibly dye sub but
that's unlikely. even photo labs who print from film no longer use wet
photos for all sorts of reasons, including that digital is faster, less
expensive, offers a wider range of adjustments and produces higher
quality results.

By the term "wet photo" in this instance, I am referencing a photograph
printed by a light-jet type printer, which exposes light-sensitive
photograph paper, which is then processed through developer and
bleach-fix (and maybe stabilizer if it is washless).

Is "kiosk" a brand name for a particular photo printing company? Or if
it is a generic term (as I took it to be), then there are many "kiosks",
some of which use "wet" system processing.

There are one-hour type photo processing machines that scan film
negatives while they are still wet. At this point in the workflow, the
image is made digital. The image can be adjusted (with a wide range of
adjustments that are available for any digital image), and printed onto
light-sensitive photo paper. If a lab is developing film, they likely
have the capability to run wet printing. C-41 and RA-4 chemistry does
not have unique problems.


It may be possible to get better quality. First, you need to define what
you mean by "mediocre". If the business is regularly checking their
equipment and running test prints, then it's a matter of adjusting your
images to get the best results from their equipment.

except that's a moving target.

Why is it a moving target? If a photolab maintains their chemistry
within limits, and prints "Shirley" (a standardized color test negative)
to establish their baseline exposure on a regular basis, the "target" is
for practical purposes, stationary. I don't have a problem maintaining
color balance in my darkroom. In fact, it's fairly easy.

If your prints from the kiosk are consistently too light or too dark, or
lean toward a particular color, then you need to compensate. Auto-adjust
can be fooled if the image has a preponderance of a particular color, or
is very light or very dark.

he said he disabled auto-adjust.

I saw that. I mentioned auto-adjust to confirm that it may have been a
good idea to disable.

Are you certain that your own workflow is correct? Is your monitor
giving you exactly what the camera captures? Try photographing an 18%
gray card, then comparing the image on screen to the actual card for
starters.

that won't do anything, other than waste money.

But digital is less expensive, according to you. (I dispute the cost
issue.) The only expense in photographing a gray card and comparing it
to the screen image is the cost of a gray card. There are further
techniques, but this is just "for starters".

the solution is a colour calibrated workflow, however, it will need the
profile for the kiosk, which is unlikely to be available.

Or the profile might be readily available. Did you ask? Unless "kiosk"
is a brand name for a company whose policy is to not release their
profile(s).

another problem is the kiosk is unlikely to be maintained very well (or
at all) so even that won't necessarily solve the problem.

You know that for a fact? Some businesses are run quite well. It's a
good method for retaining customers.

the best solution is to not use a kiosk at all, but rather an actual
lab who can provide the necessary information (i.e., profiles and/or
specific settings), or better yet, adjust to the customer's desires,
what a pro lab actually is for.
I could explain how I calibrate my workflow, but since it involves film
and a darkroom, it won't apply to you. Except for the gray card.

not even the grey card applies.

A gray card is a starting point. It can show density and color balance
problems. (Contrast issues would usually need a step wedge.) It is a
starting point, hence my "for starters".

It might be a good idea for you to avoid speaking in absolutes. The real
world is not binary.



--
Ken Hart