Photo of text looks fine on screen but prints out very darkly

martindow

I have taken some photos of pages of text - I've not got a scanner.  On my PC screen they look fine, in focus and with good contrast to the white background.  When I print a page using a black and white laser printer it comes out very dark and almost impossible to decipher.

I've got an oldish version of Photoshop, so I assume I need to put it into that and fiddle with contrast and brightness and possibly other things to get a decent print.  Can anyone give me pointers on what settings I should look to change to try to get better quality print outs?

bodsj

Not sure why you are taking photos? Can you not highlight,copy and paste the text into a document/s on your PC and print that way allowing the print driver and pc/printer to do the formatting. edited, apologies now realise that these documents exist on paper - will have a re-think

martindow

bodsj said:

Not sure why you are taking photos? Can you not highlight,copy and paste the text into a document/s on your PC and print that way allowing the print driver and pc/printer to do the formatting.

I haven't got it in a digital form unfortunately - just sheets of paper that I have borrowed and photographed in the hope that I can print them.  The originals need to be returned.

bodsj

Hi Martin, had a rethink. Assuming originals are of decent quality I would utilise my local library to photocopy them or scan and email to you if you require electronic copies - Hope this helps

flaneurs_lobster

Are you able to open the photos in Google Photos? Might try seeing if Google Lens suggests being able to copy the text to allow it to be pasted into another app (like Google Docs etc).

martindow

Thanks both.  I think I'll just go down to the library and see how that works.  There are not many pages to deal with.

Belenus

martindow said:

I have taken some photos of pages of text - I've not got a scanner.  On my PC screen they look fine, in focus and with good contrast to the white background.  When I print a page using a black and white laser printer it comes out very dark and almost impossible to decipher.

I've got an oldish version of Photoshop, so I assume I need to put it into that and fiddle with contrast and brightness and possibly other things to get a decent print.  Can anyone give me pointers on what settings I should look to change to try to get better quality print outs?

Do you have a friend, neighbour or family member nearby who has a scanner and who would help you out?

outtatune

Use the Microsoft Lens or Camscanner apps on your phone. They have document settings which will tweak the contrast to get a pretty decent image.