Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

I use the least expensive ColorMunki device, model Smile: http://xritephoto.com/colormunki-smile ($79 at B&H). I am quite pleased with the ease of monitor calibration, and the beautiful color & saturation match of my 13x19-inch prints to my PC monitor.

Paper profiles match inkjet quantities being sprayed, to the porosity of different papers and different finishes.

geezer1111

Thanks for the quick reply and it's good to hear that it works with the printer as well as the monitor. I must have read the description wrong the first time as it seemed to indicate that the "smile" unit was only for the monitor and gave me the impression that I need to get the more expensive Munki unit.
Your input saves me about $85.00 so thank you very much indeed!

Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

ALL calibration devices apply only to adjusting the monitor, not the printer. To my understanding, each printer is "factory-set" by the manufacturer, and the calibration devices adjust the monitor to match that standard. Technically, once a monitor is calibrated, JPG images edited using that monitor, should make near-identical prints on any printer.

Just saw this... It's not quite right. There are some kits from X-RITE and others that contain hardware and software that are designed to calibrate monitors AND make custom paper profiles.

Inkjet Printers are CALIBRATED at the factory, but it takes a paper profile to match that calibration to a given paper surface.

Nearly all printer manufacturers make GENERIC paper profiles that work with each category of paper they also sell, with THEIR inks.

When you use a third party paper, you should download the paper manufacturer's GENERIC paper profile for your brand and model of printer, OR, use a profiling kit to make your own profile.

When you use third party inks, with anyone's paper, you should download the ink manufacturer's profiles, or follow their instructions... But chances are, you'll get the best results with a custom profile.

Color management is a system. It starts with some assumptions:

• Your camera is calibrated properly at the factory. (This is usually true, but not always!)
• You meter correctly for perfect exposure of your main subject.
• Your white balance is set perfectly for the light falling on the subject of your photo. This usually means setting a custom white balance in-camera for JPEGs, or photographing a reference target for raw images. Using a custom white balance with raw images saves time, if your post-processing software can reference it from the EXIF data of the JPEG preview image.
• You record raw, or save JPEG images in-camera with a known profile space such as sRGB or Adobe RGB (1998).
• Your computer monitor is calibrated and profiled.
• Your operating system AND software are set properly to take advantage of the image file's profile, the monitor profile, and the printer profiles you will need.
• If you work from a raw file, you have a proper white balance reference in the scene — and use it.
• You reference the embedded profile in JPEG images when opening them and editing them OR
• You save files converted from raw images with an appropriate profile for your workflow (sRGB, Adobe RGB, or ProPhoto RGB).
• You enable the printer profile for the brand, model, inks, and paper in use at print time.

Do all that, and you can reproduce reality quite well! What happens (JPEG example) is:

Camera, in a known state, saves a perfectly exposed and correctly white-balanced image into a known color space.

Computer, with a correctly calibrated monitor, displays this image and allows adjustment.

Computer operator uses the PRINTER profile as a PROOFING or VIEWING profile in post-processing software, when adjusting color, brightness, and related image parameters.

Printer is properly calibrated and profiled, and prints a great image.

It's a bit more complicated, but that's enough to get new users started...

My experience is that the most vital parts of this are:

• Proper exposure and white balance
• Proper monitor calibration and profiling
• Proper post-processing software configuration (to USE profiles correctly)
• Printer driver setup (to USE profiles correctly)
• Matching paper and inks to the right profile

Care must be taken not to DOUBLE PROCESS the printer profile. Conversions must occur EITHER in the post-processing software OR in the printer driver, but not both. It's rather easy to double-profile and make a mess... read all the dialogs in Photoshop or Lightroom or whatever you're printing from.

geezer1111

That clears it up and thanks for the insight, it's much appreciated!