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Harriet, I suspect it was the setting used, rather than anything you did wrong in downloading and installing. When you did View…..Proof Setup…..Custom to specify the HP profile I suspect that you had the Simulate Paper Colour box checked? Although one set of instructions posted on this site said you had to do that, the consensus of other users (there have been many posts on this) is that it should NOT BE! If you uncheck that the grey mist will disappear and the contrast will return! You should also leave the Simulate Black Ink unchecked. I used those settings (both unchecked) when I soft-proofed my test book, it came out great with the colours and contrast closely matching my monitor. By the way, have you calibrated your monitor? Softproofing cannot be 100%successful if your monitor is not correctly calibrated in terms of colour, contrast, etc. I calibrate mine every two weeks, older monotors in particular can ‘drift’ away from the correct settings. If you haven’t you’ll find some information in this post… http://forums.blurb.com/forums/2/topics/2469 I’m not the best person to help with sharpening, I have yet to go back trhough my photos and sharpen them for the book. I am purposely leaving that to the last, as I’m finding I’m going back and adjusting many of the photos for other reasons – mainly recropping. Have a look at this post… http://forums.blurb.com/forums/5/topics/2371 ..........Tony
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