{"id":43552,"date":"2023-05-17T12:24:04","date_gmt":"2023-05-17T17:24:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/?p=43552"},"modified":"2023-05-17T12:24:04","modified_gmt":"2023-05-17T17:24:04","slug":"how-to-avoid-6-printing-mistakes-thatll-make-you-want-to-curse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/43552\/how-to-avoid-6-printing-mistakes-thatll-make-you-want-to-curse\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Avoid 6 Printing Mistakes That’ll Make You Want To Curse"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Having taught over a thousand people for thirty years, I\u2019ve seen and done it all. Here are the most common mistakes that people encounter when printing their images that you can avoid by simply looking at your files more closely and handling your paper more carefully.<\/p>\n

Files<\/p>\n

You won\u2019t see this stuff if you\u2019re zoomed out and looking at the whole image. Zoom in to 100% screen magnification. You\u2019ll also miss things if you move around the image erratically. Move through each image one screen at a time and make a systematic quadrant-by-quadrant sweep.<\/p>\n

1 – Noise<\/b><\/p>\n

Too much noise can be distracting, especially color noise, unless you’re an impressionist. A little texture is good and makes images look sharper, so don’t overdo noise reduction, or your subjects will look like they’re made of plastic. Noise is most visible in smooth areas, like skies.<\/p>\n

In some cases, you’ll want to reduce noise selectively with layers and masks in Photoshop, for instance, when you want to reduce noise in a sky more aggressively than in a foreground.<\/p>\n

2 – Halos<\/b><\/p>\n

One of the key things you want to watch out for when sharpening is producing halos. Most often seen along high-contrast contours, like horizons, halos are distracting and can make a straight photograph look like a composite. Though it can be done, retouching them is a bitch. So don\u2019t produce them and use lower sharpening settings. If you need more sharpening in areas without contours (and the Texture slider won\u2019t cut it), use layers and masks in Photoshop to sharpen selectively.<\/p>\n

3 – Dust In Your File<\/b><\/p>\n

Those dagnab little dust bunnies. They\u2019re so easy to miss when you\u2019re zoomed out and so easy to see when you\u2019ve made a big print. Even if you keep your camera sensor clean, zoom in and check for them. If you find them, retouch them permanently.<\/p>\n

Media<\/p>\n

When it comes to media, the mantra is handle with care. This extra consideration will save you time, materials, and money. And it will earn the respect of your viewers. (God forbid that you don\u2019t notice these things until your prints are exhibited.)<\/p>\n

4 – Dust On Your Paper<\/b><\/p>\n

If dust and lint fibers is on your paper while you\u2019re printing, it can act as a resist and later fall off, leaving areas without ink. You can prevent this. First, store your paper in a sealed plastic bag or box. Two, look at your paper in the light and check for dust and lint, and if you see it, blow it off or use a soft brush to wipe it off.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

5 – Scuffing<\/b><\/p>\n

Different than scratching, which gouges the paper surface, scuffing pushes down the fiber of paper and burnishes the particles in the ink, leaving a faint mark that can be seen as a difference in sheen on the surface of the print. Handle your paper carefully at all times, and cover it with a protective sheet when you\u2019re not handling it.<\/p>\n

6 – Wrong Side Of The Paper<\/b><\/p>\n

If you print on the wrong side of the paper, blacks will be weak, colors will fade, and detail will be soft. How do you tell which side is the printable side? One, it\u2019s the side your wet lips will stick to. Two, the printable side will usually feel smoother to the touch. Three, you can feel a slight lip on the edges of the back side where a cutting blade has pushed through the paper.<\/p>\n

Pay your files and materials these extra considerations, and you\u2019ll not only make better prints, you\u2019ll also save you time, materials, and money.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Find more printing resources here.<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Learn more in my digital printing workshops.<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Having taught over a thousand people for thirty years, I\u2019ve seen and done it all. Here are the most common mistakes that people encounter when printing their images that you can avoid by simply looking at your files more closely and handling your paper more…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[3634],"tags":[4352,4475,4474,4471,38,4473],"post_folder":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow To Avoid 6 Printing Mistakes That'll Make You Want To Curse - John Paul Caponigro<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/43552\/how-to-avoid-6-printing-mistakes-thatll-make-you-want-to-curse\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How To Avoid 6 Printing Mistakes That'll Make You Want To Curse - John Paul Caponigro\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Having taught over a thousand people for thirty years, I\u2019ve seen and done it all. Here are the most common mistakes that people encounter when printing their images that you can avoid by simply looking at your files more closely and handling your paper more...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/43552\/how-to-avoid-6-printing-mistakes-thatll-make-you-want-to-curse\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"John Paul Caponigro\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-05-17T17:24:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/6Mistakes_750.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"johnpaulcaponigro\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How To Avoid 6 Printing Mistakes That'll Make You Want To Curse - John Paul Caponigro","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/43552\/how-to-avoid-6-printing-mistakes-thatll-make-you-want-to-curse\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How To Avoid 6 Printing Mistakes That'll Make You Want To Curse - John Paul Caponigro","og_description":"Having taught over a thousand people for thirty years, I\u2019ve seen and done it all. 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