Expert: LizaL - 6/5/2005

Question
Hello:

I had an very old photo that was black and white to restore.  It was in bad shape.  My problem is that when printed out it was dull and not as clear as the original picture.  I've done this one other time and it came out great but this one after I did the restoration the photo itself was dullish .  I tried printing on gloss paper it didn't help.  I told the person I did it for I would continue to try but I don't know what else to do.  Any suggestion.  The resolution I used was 300 dpi..I printed several copies at the copier as well as on my printer and it just wasn't as clear as the picture  It doesn't look like it's a resolution problem.  

Answer
Hi Veronica,

I'd really have to see both pictures in order to tell you accurately what the problem is. It's almost impossible for me to know what you mean by "dullish," without seeing the picture itself, and I'm sure you can understand that.

So if you'd like, please feel free to email the before and after versions -- or if they're really big, just portions of both -- to lizal@little-works.com.

Meanwhile, check your mode (Image pulldown menu > Mode) and make sure your "after" picture isn't CMYK. CMYK, used for printing, always tends to look and print less "bright" than a JPEG.

But without seeing both pictures, it's really too hard for me to tell.

Also, when you send the pictures, please tell me what steps you used for the restoration. If it's a list a mile long, you can just gloss over the small stuff and tell me what some of the major changes are that you made.

Thanks!

Lisa