Master perfect printing

Want to look good on paper? Our 13-step troubleshooting guide will help ensure that what you see on screen is what you get in print

- Matthew Richards

1 Calibrate for correctness

All too often, your printed photos can bear little resemblance to the digital image you see on screen. The prime culprit is your computer monitor, which is likely to need calibration. Even screens that have dedicated sRGB and Adobe RGB modes can lack accuracy, and settings can drift over time, so it's worth investing in a calibration tool like the Datacolor SpyderX Pro or Elite.

2 Paper chemistry

There's quite a chemistry between printer ink and photo paper. These two components are carefully formulated by inkjet printer manufacturers so that they work together to give optimum colour and tonal accuracy, and the best definition without colours running into each other on the page. It's best to stick with the printer maker's own photo papers (or a directly supported alternative) to ensure the best results and resistance to fading.

3₁ Liquid gold

It's often said that printer ink is more expensive per millilitre than the finest champagne or perfume. It's therefore tempting to substitute genuine ink cartridges from the likes of Epson and Canon with cheap alternatives. However, cheap inks may contain impurities that can block print head nozzles and generally result in poor colour accuracy.

4 On the shelf

Communication is mostly digital these days and some of us only use a printer quite rarely. Even so, avoid leaving it on the shelf for too long, as the ink can dry in the print head nozzles and become very difficult to shift. Most inkjet printers run a mini-cleaning cycle at or shortly after switch-on, so it's worth at least turning on your printer for a few minutes each week.

5 Supersize your prints