This is all about getting the best out of your printer and getting a photo out of your kit the right way. There are many different types of printers, paper and inks can all be different. Something that I have said before keeps the ink and paper the same make as the printer as this will get the best out of the photo.
The way I work is I colour check all my montoir’s and make sure that there is no big difference, but if you are not like me you can always print some images out from time to time and see where the colour ranges are. When I work with printing I have a trick that works well. As I print a test print where I have sections of 20 increments positive and negative ways with a 0 in the middle. Like the photo below as when you print this out, you will see what the best brightness will be. Also with test prints, you can see the colours after this so the colours can look good.
I have also put my layers next to the photo as this is what goes into each colour test. I know the image is black and white but this works well with coloured photos. As sometimes as it will improve your colours and what you need to choose for your prints. The only thing is thought working just printing and looking at you computer cannot be a good thing as it is not that cheap.
I print through Photoshop as this gives great colour and I see how things go. As you can change so much colour and different things through each test print and it is something that you get over time.
Working like this will get a good image for your printer, paper and ink. One of the biggest things I have to say is that all printers, paper and inks are different so doing this is only a good thing.
I do hope this helps out with your printing.
Joe
Gillbanks Photography Blog 