Largobob

I believe it is critical to calibrate any monitor used for photoediting....and on a regular reoccuring basis. I have used the Datacolor Spyder products with great success. The product pretty much does all the work by itself....and the images of the calibrated monitor will be better representative of the actual pixels captured.

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

Same here

SayMoney

I use a Pantone Huey Pro on ALL images. I know my customers will get perfect color balance wherever they print.

ATCurry

Calibration is also useful for multiple monitor setups, or if you ever use more than one computer.

StevenG Loc: Long Island, NY

I use a Spyder as well, monthly. The before and after ALWAYS shows the screen going from a bluish hue to a more natural hue. Interestingly, I NEVER notice this shift to bluish during the month. This always makes me wonder if my screen is actually being calibrated, or if the Spyder software just shows the same before and after adjustments every month. Or, if the changes are so incremental I just don’t notice the color shift.
Steve
Steve

Chefneil

How did it work for you? Would you get one for yourself?

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

5 minutes or so with my DataColor Spyder5. No other HW needed except the calibration device and a USB port to plug it into.

Definitely worth the expenditure. Whether I send an image out to be printed (Bay Photo) or print it myself, I know that the print will look exactly (within the limits of reflected light off the print vs projected light from my display) like what I create on my monitor. The savings in paper, ink and outside printing costs can save the cost of the device in short order. At least once every few weeks, there’s a post that begins with “my prints are coming out too dark...”, and the answer is to calibrate your monitor, download the profile from your printing company or for your paper/ink combination if printing at home, and then soft proof. An added advantage is that if you use multiple monitors, they’ll all look alike with respect to color and brightness, and you can calibrate your laptop as well.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Lack of saturation can be an ICC profile mismatch. Do a ‘net search for “examples of ICC profile mismatches”.

I have used monitor calibration kits for over 14 years. My prints closely match my monitor, whether I print at home, or a lab makes them.

I’m currently using a DataColor Spyder5Pro on my iMac. It is a three inch diameter “puck” called a colorimeter. It plugs into a USB port. You install the software (MAC or Windows). It guides you through the entire process of calibration, THEN, it creates a custom ICC profile and puts it in the proper folder for your operating system, and activates it.

Calibration “linearizes” a device. That means it mixes colors linearly from black to white, with perfect gray in between. ICC profiling “describes” the color boundaries of a calibrated device. It is used by the computer’s color management system to convert color from one device to a standard color space, and then to the color characteristics of another device. The result is the most natural reproduction possible with those devices.

In 2002 to 2004, as I ran the digital production side of a large pro lab, I led the charge to install color management discipline. We profiled all nine monitors used for color correction, using the same numerical aims for brightness, gamma, white point, black point, and color temperature.

We profiled all 15 mini-labs, three wide format Epson inkjet printers, eight ID card dye sublimation printers, two Canon color copier/printers... for the standard media used on each.

We saved all film scans in sRGB. We saved all JPEGs (from cameras or software origin) in sRGB.

We cut paper, chemical, labor, and other waste by over $600,000 a year...

So yeah, it works! But you have to be anal retentive about it to make it work and keep it working!

bengbeng Loc: Houston, Texas

I'd love to here more about the best way to calibrate monitors (primarily for web viewing) . I've several monitors and laptop screens, 2 calibration devices and there are still marked differences between the same image viewed on the 'calibrated' monitors and laptops. So , either I'm not running the procedure correctly or some screens (the laptop in particular) can not achieve accurate color rendition.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Don't bother calibrating a laptop unless it is very high end, like a recent MacBook Pro with Retina Display. Most cheap PC laptops have very cheap, 6-bit displays. They will never calibrate properly.

Desktop monitors from NEC, LaCie, Dell, and others that cost over $400 or so can be calibrated to match fairly closely. Apple iMacs can be calibrated to match very closely.

If you're buying a monitor, look for one that reproduces 100% of the sRGB color space, and over 80% (preferably 99%!) of Adobe RGB color space.

Get a calibrator kit (or upgrade your software) that allows setting parameters to match across multiple monitors.

Black Point 0.5 candelas per square meter
White Point 120 candelas per square meter
Gamma 2.2
Monitor Color Temperature 6500K

Also, the work area around your monitor should be neutral gray, close to gray card gray (Munsell N8 paint is perfect, but very expensive).

The work area should have dim, indirect lighting of 5000 to 5500K. Place the monitor where it will have absolutely no direct light falling on it.

Print viewing should be at about the same brightness as your screen, using a full spectrum 5000K CRI 91+ CFL or other fluorescent tube.

The same calibrator and software should be used on each device, and the same person should do the calibration the same way...

Realize that printers must be calibrated properly to match input color space standards. The exact combination of printer, paper, and chemistry (silver halide printing) or printer, ink, and paper (inkjet) needs at least a manufacturer-supplied generic profile, and preferably a custom profile.

Here's the flow of information for raw image processing:

Camera Raw profile --> Computer Working Space Profile (sRGB, or Adobe RGB, or ProPhoto RGB) --> Monitor Profile AND --> File Output Profile OR Printer Profile

Here's a similar flow of information for camera-generated JPEG processing:

JPEG file in sRGB --> Computer Working Space Profile (sRGB, or Adobe RGB, or ProPhoto RGB) --> Monitor Profile AND --> File Output Profile OR Printer Profile

--> means "is converted to"

**All Internet images should be in sRGB color space. MOST photo labs want sRGB JPEGs or TIFFs. Some labs and commercial printers will request Adobe RGB color space.**

Bear in mind that RGB to CMY (silver halide) or RGB to CMYK or CCMMYK (or some other inkjet scheme) is a very radical change! Prints and monitors will never match exactly. But you can get to a really fine simulation if you try. Even a $100 desktop inkjet can produce a very nice print, if you set everything correctly and calibrate/profile properly.

bengbeng Loc: Houston, Texas

That is an excellent reply, thank you and it will take me a while to work through it. Much appreciated

bpulv Loc: Buena Park, CA

Barry,

I take exception to your otherwise fine comment on one point. If one is going to post the pictures on a website such as UHH that is designed for photographers, many of your viewers will have calibrated monitors and could see a difference.

Fstop12 Loc: Kentucky

I use the Spyder 5 pro as well. It does a very good job of keeping my dual monitor's calibrated. It's very easy to use. Please keep in mind that every monitor is different. It also makes a difference on the type of light in the room where you are doing editing. I haven't done any printing in awhile but if you are using an outside lab to print your images, see if they have the printer profile for the printer's they use. This profile can be used to Soft Proof you image in Photoshop before sending the file out to the printers. It will show you what your image should look like printed on that printer.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

I believe that calibration is a very important first step in any color corrected workflow and it is of vital importance to getting great prints on the first try. I use the Spyder 5, and I have used previous versions. From what I've heard from others the XRite products are just as good. If you not in a great rush, you might want to wait until B&H has a deal on the Spyder. Best of luck.

G Brown Loc: Sunny Bognor Regis West Sussex UK

You said you were printing yourself. Do a print run....alter image as required.....do a print run.
Depending upon who you send out images to.....depends upon the results you get....there are regular 'tests' done by photographers that pretty much prove this - so work with one that matches your 'ideal' and PP images so that they come back right. (Try sending copies of the same images to all of the sites that offer a 'first time discount' and see for yourself.
Other people's monitors and their comments - some people read this post on their cell phone,Ipad,Laptop, PC, game PC, ouigi board, etc Every one will display it differently (No-Win situation) so stop worrying !!