Monitor calibration devices
Discussion
Does anyone have one of these (preferably in the Thames Valley area)? Any chance I might be able to borrow it for a suitable donation to the beer fund?
Or do I remember that it's best to recalibrate every few weeks as things change so might I be better off buying one? Just £200 ish seems a bit much considering I know not really what I do.
Reason I ask is that, prompted by Scott Kelby's book, I've just been through the Adobe Gamma utility a few times and each time got incredibly different results. I *think* I've got an alright one now, but reckon a proper hardware calibration might be the best idea.
Failing this, anyone able to recommend one? Spyder2PRO, Eye-One Display 2, Optix XR? Might be able to make my money back loaning it out to people for a fiver a pop. :D
Or do I remember that it's best to recalibrate every few weeks as things change so might I be better off buying one? Just £200 ish seems a bit much considering I know not really what I do.
Reason I ask is that, prompted by Scott Kelby's book, I've just been through the Adobe Gamma utility a few times and each time got incredibly different results. I *think* I've got an alright one now, but reckon a proper hardware calibration might be the best idea.
Failing this, anyone able to recommend one? Spyder2PRO, Eye-One Display 2, Optix XR? Might be able to make my money back loaning it out to people for a fiver a pop. :D
Apart from Monitor calibration, do you need to calibrate the printer, scanner and camera also? GretagMacbeth and Monaco products are better systems than the ColorVision (Spyder) systems. I use a Monaco Pulse ColorElite. I hope that helps. Here is a link to company who sells them all: [url] http://shop.colourconfidence.com/ [/url] and can tell you all you need to know.
beano500 said:
GretagMacbeth and Monaco products are better systems
Ah - some of these work differently?
Can anyone give a layman's quick explanation of why they are different and which are better (and whether type of screen matters?)....
The Spyder works on both LCD and CRT screens and costs less the £200. I get excellent results with it.
The others cost a hell of a lot more...
www.imageplace.co.uk/ Tony riley is very good, he will make you a profile for your printer for about £25-£30, for just about any compination of printer paper and ink a must for anyone who is printing off their own work on a regular basis
Thanks for all the info guys. Bee_Jay, when you're back from Orlando could you drop me a mail if you wouldn't mind me borrowing the Spyder2.
My thoughts at the moment were along the lines of getting the monitor properly hardware calibrated and then using the printer/paper specific ICC profiles from Epson to get a close-ish match on paper for those few that I do print. Then if/when I upgrade to a newer printer (got an old 1290 at the mo) I might look at getting it properly profiled or buying a hardware printer profiler.
Do the colours on LCD monitors change much thus requiring regular recalibration? Or is it a fire and forget procedure? I would have thought printers would be more prone to slipping out of profile as you change inks, different batches of paper, etc.
My thoughts at the moment were along the lines of getting the monitor properly hardware calibrated and then using the printer/paper specific ICC profiles from Epson to get a close-ish match on paper for those few that I do print. Then if/when I upgrade to a newer printer (got an old 1290 at the mo) I might look at getting it properly profiled or buying a hardware printer profiler.
Do the colours on LCD monitors change much thus requiring regular recalibration? Or is it a fire and forget procedure? I would have thought printers would be more prone to slipping out of profile as you change inks, different batches of paper, etc.
Monitors do change slightly over time, and the change is gradual so not normally noticable - this is why it's recommended to re-calibrate every month or so.
Printers don't slip out of profile if you stick with exactly the same ink/paper/printer settings combination, however different profiles are useful if you change any one or more of these parameters (eg using 2880 dpi instead of 1440 can make a slight difference, and even different batches of ink can vary slightly).
Decent monitor profiling tools can be had for < £200 (e.g., Spyder 2, Gretag Macbeth Eye-One Display 2). Both these are very highly rated, and I've got the previous version of the Spyder which I've found to be very good.
The above devices use colorimeters to measure the colour, however to produce decent print profiles you'll need to use a more sophisticated and sensitive device called a Spectrophotometer. A good example of this is the Gretac Macbeth Eye-One Photo. This will also calibrate and profile monitors too.
Obviously at ~£1000 it's a lot more money than the colorimeter solutions, but if you need to produce a number of print profiles then it can be a more affordable option than spending anything from £30-60 on a single profile from a 3rd party.
The other (free!) option is to try out different makes of paper and profiles supplied by the manufacturer, and see how these look. They won't be quite as good as if you create your own, but in many cases they can be more than acceptable.
Printers don't slip out of profile if you stick with exactly the same ink/paper/printer settings combination, however different profiles are useful if you change any one or more of these parameters (eg using 2880 dpi instead of 1440 can make a slight difference, and even different batches of ink can vary slightly).
Decent monitor profiling tools can be had for < £200 (e.g., Spyder 2, Gretag Macbeth Eye-One Display 2). Both these are very highly rated, and I've got the previous version of the Spyder which I've found to be very good.
The above devices use colorimeters to measure the colour, however to produce decent print profiles you'll need to use a more sophisticated and sensitive device called a Spectrophotometer. A good example of this is the Gretac Macbeth Eye-One Photo. This will also calibrate and profile monitors too.
Obviously at ~£1000 it's a lot more money than the colorimeter solutions, but if you need to produce a number of print profiles then it can be a more affordable option than spending anything from £30-60 on a single profile from a 3rd party.
The other (free!) option is to try out different makes of paper and profiles supplied by the manufacturer, and see how these look. They won't be quite as good as if you create your own, but in many cases they can be more than acceptable.
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