Printing Issues - Too Dark

[Murasame]

Hi guys,

Firstly, thanks for all the great work you do here.

I have just started printing covers I got from here and I've hit a stumbling block - everything I print is too dark and possibly too red/orange.

I have an Epson ET2720 (oh man the ink tanks last forever) and have tried to print using paint.net and GIMP, but no matter what I have tried I cant get it to print out nicely. Both glossy and matte give the same result.

I noticed that if I tell the printer I am using plain paper rather what I actually put in the colour actually comes out slightly better (lighter, more yellow), so I think there might be a colour correction issue at the printer end which I can then maybe adjust. In theory I can maybe adjust the colour balance but it is difficult as I think the problem is between the PC and the printer, not what the screen shows so I don't know what to adjust.

Any ideas? Reddit suggested it might be something to do with converting RGB to CYMK, but I assumed this shouldn't be an issue with GIMP. Please treat me like a literal child when it comes to this stuff 

I have linked an image below comparing the JPEG used vs 2 prints (gloss left, matte right) and the manual that goes with the game. You can see how the manual much more closely matches the JPEG and that the back of the box is clearly way too dark

[Oobgarm]

Converting RGB to CMYK means that you're only going to get colors in the CMYK colorspace. While CMYK is a print standard for reproducing color, it is usually a bit darker or more dull-looking than RGB in my experience. It's not a drastic change like you're seeing here though. Typically you see the biggest difference in solid colors, not full-color images.

Perhaps if the printer is able to adjust ink densities based on the finish of the paper, the glossy or matte finish is causing problems?

I'm thinking there may be something odd going on in regards to the print driver. Is it up to date? Can you reinstall and try? Can you replicate this issue with anything not from The Cover Project?

Your image is too small to really be able to discern anything except that the bottom two look drastically different than the top one, btw.

[wiggy]

Sadly most of the covers produced on this site are adjusted to look good on a monitor only. People don’t proof, and tend to assume that, if it looks good on their display, then it’ll look good printed.

Colors tend to be over-saturated and midtones FAR too dark.

Adjusting the levels usually solves the problems.

[Murasame]

Your image is too small to really be able to discern anything except that the bottom two look drastically different than the top one, btw.

Thanks for the reply, the image was far too big on my screen so I kept resizing it but obviously managed to mess that up. I'll link a massive one below.

I don't think it's an issue with my monitor calibration/the originals, as I have printed a bunch and they are all too dark and dont match their manuals/card boxes. I'll have a mess around with some settings.