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Needing help with monitor issues...
Feb 20, 2018 20:23:05   #
gunflint Loc: Rocky Mountain High, Colorado
 
Hello, I was directed to your group as a possible help to me. I posted the following questions in the general forum...

Hello, I have the Nikon D850 so I wanted to upgrade my monitor to take advantage of the image quality from this camera. I bought a monitor with the following specs:

27" In-Plane Switching (IPS) Panel
DVI-DL / HDMI 1.4 / DP 1.2 Inputs
2560 x 1440 Resolution
1000:1 Contrast Ratio
350 cd/m² Brightness
178°/178° Viewing Angles
5 ms (GtG) Response Time
1.07 Billion Color Support
OSD Controller to Switch Color Modes
99% AdobeRGB Color Gamut

I thought that one with the 99% Adobe RGB or greater was best since I use this in LR and PS. My question is this - the monitor has amazing colors, sharpness, etc. but it seems that images I create with this look flat on other computers, TV, etc. Is this because they may be in SRGB color so they look under saturated? I don't really understand how this works but perhaps some of you can help explain it to me. I don't know if there are different settings I should use or if this is just the way it is. I can still return this monitor if there is a better option for me.

Thanks much!

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Feb 21, 2018 08:25:32   #
TomV Loc: Annapolis, Maryland
 
The first thing I would consider as a differentiating factor would be monitor brightness (yours may be too bright). If that appears to be consistent, then parameters such as Modes: Standard, Movie, Multimedia, Game, Paper, Color Temp, Temperature (these are modes on my Dell). If those match your settings then the Gamut would be a most likely factor.

I have a Dell IPS panel and would not trade that in since the colors are a close match to my Pixma Pro-100.printer. My monitor brightness is set to 10%.

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Feb 21, 2018 13:19:09   #
FreddB Loc: PA - Delaware County
 
TomV wrote:
The first thing I would consider as a differentiating factor would be monitor brightness (yours may be too bright). If that appears to be consistent, then parameters such as Modes: Standard, Movie, Multimedia, Game, Paper, Color Temp, Temperature (these are modes on my Dell). If those match your settings then the Gamut would be a most likely factor.

I have a Dell IPS panel and would not trade that in since the colors are a close match to my Pixma Pro-100.printer. My monitor brightness is set to 10%.
The first thing I would consider as a differentiat... (show quote)


Did the 10% brightness setting come from trial and error, personal preference, or from a calibration setting? How did you get the colors to match your printer?

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Feb 23, 2018 20:59:24   #
TomV Loc: Annapolis, Maryland
 
FreddB wrote:
Did the 10% brightness setting come from trial and error, personal preference, or from a calibration setting? How did you get the colors to match your printer?


I had a monitor that was not adjustable to a low enough setting to match my printer despite the colors being very nice. I bought a new IPS panel Dell U2715H and was able to drop it down to a good level.

The low brightness adjustment solution came from several UHH users and also many other on-line sources.

I adjusted my monitor to a setting value that approximated a printed 4x6 photo.

My settings are 10% Brightness and 70% Contrast (other monitors may differ a bit). Also, the Color Temp should be set to 5000K (impacts color).

The Dell color seems to do a very good job of matching my Canon Pixma Pro-100. I use Canon paper and ink. I am assuming the Canon combination is the standard for printing and I need to adjust my monitor to match it.
I also use a ColorMunki for color cal, though it does have only a minor effect for this monitor. For ColorMunki, I cal for 100 cd/m and D50 (50 for the 5000K Color Temp setting).

I use ACDSee as my photo processing sw. When printing from it, I let ACDSee manage the colors. Color Rendering Intent is Relative Colormetric, Soft Proof.

My printer is set to Color/Intensity Manual Adj, Color Adjustments to Default and Matching to None.

An often overlooked but important asset to have is appropriate lighting. I use an OttLite task lamp and it delivers a good source of light. You can see the marked difference in color when other overhead lighting is used and then the photo is placed under this lamp. I highly recommend this company for lighting. This light alone brightens the colors in the print. ottlite.com

This is a link to download a test image to evaluate colors on the screen and on the printer:

http://www.jirvana.com/printer_tests/PrinterEvaluationImage_V002.zip

That's it for now.

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Feb 23, 2018 22:18:09   #
FreddB Loc: PA - Delaware County
 
TomV wrote:
I had a monitor that was not adjustable to a low enough setting to match my printer despite the colors being very nice. I bought a new IPS panel Dell U2715H and was able to drop it down to a good level.

The low brightness adjustment solution came from several UHH users and also many other on-line sources.

I adjusted my monitor to a setting value that approximated a printed 4x6 photo.

My settings are 10% Brightness and 70% Contrast (other monitors may differ a bit). Also, the Color Temp should be set to 5000K (impacts color).

The Dell color seems to do a very good job of matching my Canon Pixma Pro-100. I use Canon paper and ink. I am assuming the Canon combination is the standard for printing and I need to adjust my monitor to match it.
I also use a ColorMunki for color cal, though it does have only a minor effect for this monitor. For ColorMunki, I cal for 100 cd/m and D50 (50 for the 5000K Color Temp setting).

I use ACDSee as my photo processing sw. When printing from it, I let ACDSee manage the colors. Color Rendering Intent is Relative Colormetric, Soft Proof.

My printer is set to Color/Intensity Manual Adj, Color Adjustments to Default and Matching to None.

An often overlooked but important asset to have is appropriate lighting. I use an OttLite task lamp and it delivers a good source of light. You can see the marked difference in color when other overhead lighting is used and then the photo is placed under this lamp. I highly recommend this company for lighting. This light alone brightens the colors in the print. ottlite.com

This is a link to download a test image to evaluate colors on the screen and on the printer:

http://www.jirvana.com/printer_tests/PrinterEvaluationImage_V002.zip

That's it for now.
I had a monitor that was not adjustable to a low e... (show quote)


that is quite a bit of info to chew over for a while

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

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Jul 24, 2018 18:07:28   #
burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC
 
FreddB wrote:
that is quite a bit of info to chew over for a while

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!


If your prints don't match your monitor, you need a custom ICC profile for the monitor! The only good way to get one is to buy a calibration/profiling kit from DataColor or X-Rite, install the software, plug in the colorimeter, and run the software. Kits start at about $100 and go up to $500 or more. A decent calibration kit costs $150 to $200. If you print large prints, it will save you a fortune in ink and paper.

Here are some aims to set in the software, based upon my experience running the color correction department of a large photo lab:

Monitor brightness (white point) should be turned down to between 80 and 120 cd/m^2 (candelas per square meter). If your cal kit senses room brightness, it will recommend a level for you.
Monitor black point should be around 0.5 cd/m^2
Monitor gamma should be 2.2, if your software allows setting it.
Color temperature should be around 5800 to 6500K, depending on the brightness. Most software will tell you. Some software will set it for you.

The profiling kit calibrates the monitor via those initial settings, but mostly with a profile that creates 3D lookup tables loaded into your video card. The result is that you can adjust images in software, and print them to a calibrated and profiled printer, with nearly what-you-see-is-what-you-get results.

Don't overlook print viewing conditions! You need a print viewing box or small area behind the monitor surface that is matched in brightness to the monitor (visual evaluation is good enough for that). It should contain a 5000K, CRI 91+ light source. Room light in the area should be very subdued. Bouncing a small 5000K light source off the ceiling for diffuse, indirect task lighting is recommended. If you're really serious, paint everything a neutral medium gray, and make your computer desktop a medium gray as well (no brightly colored objects or lights should be in your field of view when evaluating colors.

Allow your monitor to warm up for 20 to 30 minutes, and your eyes to dark adapt to the room, before evaluating color.

And for goodness' sake, if you have a Mac, be sure the Night Shift mode is turned off! Turn off the Automatically Adjust Brightness feature before you ever calibrate, and leave it off permanently, to protect the integrity of your calibration and profile. RE-calibrate and profile at least monthly, or any time you suspect someone has "adjusted" your monitor for you.

Finally, learn how to use color profiles (ICC color management) correctly. A discussion of that is beyond this post, except to say that if you put images on the Internet, they should be JPEGs in sRGB. If you send files to a traditional professional wet process photo lab (Bay Photo, Full Color, American Color Lab, Millers, MPix, H&H, etc.), they should be JPEGs in sRGB UNLESS the lab specifically instructs otherwise.

Wider gamut profiles such as Adobe RGB and ProPhoto RGB have special applications in commercial printing, and may be useful if you have a "closed loop" printer setup at home. Avoid them for anything else.

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