What equiptment do you use to calibrate your monitors?

Am using monaco optix xr and it helps me a lot especially when I send my photos for printing less chances of me getting bad prints my problem now is not all printing services are strict about color calibration on their printing systems.

Eye One Photo baby!

we use the Gretag Macbeth Eye One Design System :D

not to be rude or anything, maybe the title needs to be updated a bit to reflect the subject. just to make searching easier for newbies and veterans alike. just a thought. :D

changed title. thanks john for the feedback.

SPyder2 Pro. Don't have a chance to compare it with others though.

Maybe we can all meet up and compare each other's calibration tools?

we use the Gretag Macbeth Eye One Design System :D
Ian,

Isn't the Eye One Design part of Gretags advanced system, Similar to Profile Maker 5.5? Sounds like you got some serious fire power there! What's the line of business? I also want to know if you bought the gear here? I can't seem to get any answers from the distributors here.

Monaco Optix XR Pro by x-rite.
Tried colorvision's spyder but they are not as good as Monaco.

At $89, is the Pantone Huey (http://www.pantone.com/products/products.asp?idArea=2&idProduct=103) worth it?

I believe the Huey is still not accepted by the pros as a tool for critical color management. At the moment its a tool mainly for the amateur photographer. It was like the Colorvision Spyder a while back. Colorvision however came back with a much improved Spyder 2 that the pros find effective. Also note that Colorvision is priced much lower than other tools from Gretag or XRite. They Huey is on the right track with their low price but I'd probably wait for the next version. Good news is that Color management is getting cheaper for everyone now.

Nick, yes, it is part of Gretag's Advanced system. We are into the large format printing and advertising business so it's critical in our workflow to ensure our customers that they are getting the right color and quality for their prints. We got it in the U.S. because it's so expensive here. It's a complete system which can be upgraded to calibrate your monitor, printer (CMYK, RGB), scanner, projector and even DSLRs to give you consistent proofs all throughout your workflow. :)

Just got a Pantone Huey last week, and installed in on several machines this weekend: Desktop PC with a Samsung LCD, an I-Book, and a Dell notebook. Offhand, I thought the initial results turned all the screens towards the green side, and maybe a stop lighter. (My ambient light was mixed daylight for the notebooks, and a warm white CFL desklamp for the desktop).

But I hasten to add, my previous method of color management was purely "squint and pray" with Adobe Gamma. So it may just be that I have a preference for saturated warm colors.

Anyway, the Huey comes in an elegant box, about the size of a Holy Bible (the ones you find inside your hotel room night table). Black cardboard box, with "PANTONE" on it, and a blister pack/card stock display box inside. In the box is the Huey, USB extension cable (thin - diameter of headphone cables), CD and very simple instruction leaflet that folds out like a map.

The installation was painless. Our first try last week went onto a friend's 20" I-Mac. This particular Mac was the owner's daily driver - and it was previously calibrated with a Monaco Optix X Rite kit.

The Huey installed and calibrated with just a few simple steps and mouse clicks. Too simple, in fact. We thought it wasn't saving the profiles - but later found that it saved a file which was among the profile choices in Photoshop CS.

Results? The Huey calibration looked lighter than the Monaco's. We were conjecturing that this maybe because of the ambient light sensor's influence. However, since my friend uses his machine under the same lighting conditions everyday, he reverted to the Optix profile.
I
Which is quite the opposite for me: The notebook obviously travels, and the Desktop PC gets all a full range of daylight from sun up to sunset - So the ambient light sensor makes, uhm sense.

Next step - try printing a known file on several types of output (dye sub, inkjet, AgX, laser) and see if it matches the screen color...

Edwin

guys, can you post prices and where to get it here?

I'm planning of getting one. I'm an amateur and would like to take the next step of doing monitor calibration.

Just got a Monaco Optix XR from Globis, and it worked well with my Viewsonic VX2025.... calibration was a breeze.

Romy

I was looking to get a monitor calibrator as well and initially very sold on the spyder 2 until i heard about globis and monaco.

Here is what globis has to say for Monaco and spyder.

For the Spyder, it does not even come close to the consistent calibration result of the MonacoOPTIX. What would be the use of a calibrator if it does not give a consistent and similar results, thus your monitor to print matching will be inaccurate too.

So for those who have the monaco? How do you like it? Is it more than a screen calibrator? Does the quality of the calibration allow you to have consistent print results?

I was looking to get a monitor calibrator as well and initially very sold on the spyder 2 until i heard about globis and monaco.

Here is what globis has to say for Monaco and spyder.

For the Spyder, it does not even come close to the consistent calibration result of the MonacoOPTIX. What would be the use of a calibrator if it does not give a consistent and similar results, thus your monitor to print matching will be inaccurate too.

So for those who have the monaco? How do you like it? Is it more than a screen calibrator? Does the quality of the calibration allow you to have consistent print results?

I have had 2 units of the Spyder. They were not consistent with each other. At present we use the Monaco Optix XR Pro. It seems to be very precise as we have been able to achieve consistency between monitors, plus we have been able to observe very good monitor to print matches which we were not able to achieve as well with the spyder. Although, I do hope that the present version of the Spyder is much improved.

Another factor in favor of the Monaco Optix XR Pro, some of the leading color management specialists recommend it as the best monitor calibrating tool in the market.

One other factor, when I had the spyder, they provided no support whatsoever. No matter how many times I would email or fill up their help forms, they didn't help at all with any questions or concerns I had. With Monaco, the customer support is excellent. Not only did they respond within reasonable time, they also followed me through the process until we got the desired results. They were very thorough and helpful.

thanks louie!
You've just about sold me on the monaco.

But does it work accross different platforms? MAC and PC?

I grew up with PC, and just recently bought an ibook for my wife and learned why many wedding photographers like it so much. Still haven't decided whether to switch to MAC but should i switch i hope I'd want to maintain the functionality.

You'll have no problem with the Monaco. Colorimeters are cross platform.

Have plenty of experience with monaco. As a printer it is a workhorse of our pre-press department. But one should note that quality of monitors still vary. There are good and bad ones.

sir louie, how much did you get the monaco?

Just got a monaco optix xr!
Got it from Globis 20k + taxes
Great product! it even calibrated my 21" CRT and 15" LCD monitor, which are vastly different in color resolution, brightnest and contrast.
It's not exactly the same but closer than i thought possible!

Now i can only blame the printers if things don't come out right! ;)

Just got a monaco optix xr!
Got it from Globis 20k + taxes
Great product! it even calibrated my 21" CRT and 15" LCD monitor, which are vastly different in color resolution, brightnest and contrast.
It's not exactly the same but closer than i thought possible!

Now i can only blame the printers if things don't come out right! ;)

Congrats on your monaco optix xr!

Though calibration of the monitor may be simple, the process of matching print to monitor is not as simple. If the light source you use to compare your prints to the image on your monitor has a different color temperature than the white point you calibrated your monitor to, you won't get that good a match.
If you are after a good monitor to print match, its not just monitor calibration, but the viewing environment/light as well that is important.

There are a number of people who have calibrated monitors, they have prints done and then worry why the prints look dark. They would easily blame the printer, but the first question that should be investigated is the viewing light.

So the basic things we have to look out for with regards to viewing light is the color temperature, and the brightness.

any pantone huey users here? I'm seriously considering purchasing this.....it retails for 85$.....so is this worth buying? any info regarding the huey would be greatly appreciated....thanks in advance

you can get a spyder2express over the huey for almost the same street price. the problem with the huey it only measures 3 colors, R G B. that's it. it doesn't give you an accurate profile from the measurements it makes.

those two were actually my choices...the huey getting the advantage only becuase it was available at the mac store. anyway, i will be getting the spyder2express based on your recommendations.

thanks

Got our Monaco Optix XR in the U.S. for around 78 dollars with a promo to upgrade to pro version for free via email. Upgrading was a breeze and they unselfishly give tutorials. There were also several workshops on color management in Sam's Camera along Hollywood and in all the Apple stores.

As for Globis, they're the only ones who seem to know anything about color management and the workflow involved.

where exactly did you get your Monaco Optix in the US?

I got my spyder2express in the US for $62 only! :)

I am using a Spyder2express. It's the same unit that I use when I do demos for my students. Most of my students think its too expensive to purchase a Spyder2express. That is until I explain to them that monitor calibration has to be done on a regular basis.

I don't why, but some of them are under the impression that monitor calibration is just a one time procedure :D

slightly OT po...

where can we buy spyder2express (in metromanila po)?

thanks po

@ Darwin

I can sell you on for P7.5k :D

PM me for the details :D

Gretag Macbeth Eye One for me.

in calibrating the monitor using Spyder or Monaco, what gamma should be used? They usually recommend 6500k, but if your viewing conditions are not 6500, then the prints will not match the monitor. Right or wrong? I read somewhere that it should be set to 5000k.

I am using a Spyder2express. It's the same unit that I use when I do demos for my students. Most of my students think its too expensive to purchase a Spyder2express. That is until I explain to them that monitor calibration has to be done on a regular basis.

I don't why, but some of them are under the impression that monitor calibration is just a one time procedure :D

That's why you're there to explain... ;-)

slightly OT po...

where can we buy spyder2express (in metromanila po)?

thanks po

You can get one at Bella Luce studios. They're selling for P7,500.00 (lat time I asked).

Jun,

My monitor is usually set at 2.2-Native or 2.2-D65

D50 is normally used for those who work at a printing press.

BTW, 6500k is not the same as D65 :D

in calibrating the monitor using Spyder or Monaco, what gamma should be used? They usually recommend 6500k, but if your viewing conditions are not 6500, then the prints will not match the monitor. Right or wrong? I read somewhere that it should be set to 5000k.

I got so frustrated and dissappointed with the colors of my hot air balloon prints the other day. The sky-blues became purplish-blues!!!

Anyway, I called them to tell them about the problem and they said they were printed as is since it's for the contest. I informed that in my computer, the skies were brilliant blue. They sort of insisted that it was purple in their machine.

So, I, personally, went back in the afternoon to show them the photos. Lo and behold, her claim that it was purple in her machine wasn't really purple but really blue. She tried to edit the blues a bit but the output was still purple... so, so frustrated. Lesson learned: Have your submissions printed at the earliest possible. Special Note: The silhouette shots turned out okay.

Funny thing is, I never encounter any color problems when I send my images to DPI.

What's the best solution to this?

Where did you get your images printed?

Fuji Megamall

Why won't the screen and the print match?

1) The screen is not calibrated or profiled.

2) The ICC profile of the display is inaccurate.

3) The ICC profile for the printer and paper is inaccurate.

4) A different choice of rendering intent perhaps?

5) You can't do anything much about out of gamut colors.

6) It's an accepted fact that the screen and the print will never match 100%.

7) Was the color profile of your digital image Adobe RGB? sRGB is safer for one hour labs.

Will the spyeder2express also work on plasma tv's? Or is it just for LCD and CRT monitors?

Will the spyeder2express also work on plasma tv's? Or is it just for LCD and CRT monitors?

SpyderTV or Spyder2Pro for that purpose.

I am getting tempted to create custom ICC profiles for the Pro 9000. I got an itch that I have to scratch :D

@ Nick or Nino

Any idea when my package from Sam of HK will be arriving? :D

I got so frustrated and dissappointed with the colors of my hot air balloon prints the other day. The sky-blues became purplish-blues!!!

Anyway, I called them to tell them about the problem and they said they were printed as is since it's for the contest. I informed that in my computer, the skies were brilliant blue. They sort of insisted that it was purple in their machine.

So, I, personally, went back in the afternoon to show them the photos. Lo and behold, her claim that it was purple in her machine wasn't really purple but really blue. She tried to edit the blues a bit but the output was still purple... so, so frustrated. Lesson learned: Have your submissions printed at the earliest possible. Special Note: The silhouette shots turned out okay.

Funny thing is, I never encounter any color problems when I send my images to DPI.

What's the best solution to this?

I thought I was the only one having problems like this. I got some photos printed yesterday, and the shadows on some photos lightened. Also, some photos that were supposed to be lighter became darker. Totally changed the mood of my photos. T__T

As for monitor calibration, I just use this site here: http://www.photofriday.com/calibrate.php

I checked the link at photofriday. It's only for screen brightness and contrast. It doesn't take into account other factors like the white point setting of your screen, etc.

Neither does it generate an ICC profile for your screen which you will need in Photoshop to have a fairly accurate preview of your digital file.

Oh, I see. Thanks!

Nick, Im not much familiar with calibration tools, Im quite interested though. How much would I need to invest in a Spyder 2 and would it be worth it for a hobbyist?

What's the best time to visit you at your studio since I know your the distributor.

Regards. Happy easter!!!!

@ John

Let me answer a part of your question. The Spyder2 Express is a worthy investment even if you are a hobbyist. The calibration and profiling of a display monitor is done on a regular basis. You gain confidence in printing your work if you have a fairly accurate display profile because you can soft proof your work in Photoshop.

Don't fall into the trap of not printing your work. :D