# Anyone ever use one of these?



## stargazer (May 24, 2004)

Monitor calibrator

http://www.pantone.com/pages/products/product.aspx?pid=79&ca=2


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## yer_corks_under (Mar 23, 2007)

( *huey* corrects the color on your monitor so photos and designs print more accurately)

Sounds like a rip off to me. You could have a B&W monitor and still print color!


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## Pocketfisherman (May 30, 2005)

It's not a "ripoff" and is an essential tool for any pro or semi pro that is creating images for either printing or website display. This and similar tools allow you to create a custom profile for your monitor to match standardized color charts. I'm not familiar with that model, but instead use the Spyder systems tool which is very similar. They use software to product a series of test images, and a colorimeter that hangs in front of the monitor to read the monitor output and automatically build the ICC profile for your monitor. They are essential tools for any photog or graphic artist who is concerned about color management where it is critical that what you see on the screen ultimately matches what the client receives.


Pantone is the industry leader in standardized palettes and inks for commercial printing. I'd imagine any product they put out is top notch.


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## deebo (May 22, 2004)

we do a lot of work with aerial imagery here at work, and last year we had a consulting company come in and calibrate all our monitors. It made a big difference, and i am a big fan. Dont know software and model they used, but it has definitley made a difference.


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## grayfish (Jul 31, 2005)

The Huey has recieced mixed rewiews base on my research in the photo groups on the web. Most all that like it used the Huey Pro. It was on sale on Amazon. I have been looking for a Monitor Calibration system also. The Huey Pro caught my eye due to its ability to take the ambient light into consiederation.

From what I have researched the Eye One Display 2 seems to be highly rated with the Spyder 2 Suite following. Many LaCie monitors come with the LaCie system (same metering unit as the Eye One) and are way out of my range. Have no idea it that means much.

I am leaning towards the Spyder 2 Suite myself, but still looking at the Huey Pro. The Huey, Spyder and Eye One all originated with Pantone. 

There is a new Spyder 3 system out now so the 2 series has dropped in price. Very tempting since I am only an ameture and not really concern with ambient light effects on my monitor so ar present I am leaning towards the Spyder 2 Suite. I has a rudimentary printer calibration also. Tempting.

Now to confuse matters even more, at least to me, I read once that you don't need any calibration if you are not sending work out to a service bureau for printing. Article says to turn off all color management in your editing program and go wiith your eye for adjustment.


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## grayfish (Jul 31, 2005)

yer_corks_under said:


> ( *huey* corrects the color on your monitor so photos and designs print more accurately)
> 
> Sounds like a rip off to me. You could have a B&W monitor and still print color!


You are ablsolutely correct. But what color? Some people do not care. Some of us like colors that are a more realistic representation of the original. The following shows the original, an blue tinted image and the blue image desaturated to B&W (what we call grayscale). So if you printed image you see in B&W on your monitor you get the middle picture.


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## stargazer (May 24, 2004)

After reading the thread about monitor adjustment I ran across this Huey Pro. I did a calibration last night using a program that can with Abode photo software and was wondering if this is better or all about the same. I dont need a high end calib tool but just want to make sure my monitor and eye agree. 

Guess Ill stick with the one I have since its free....but was just wanting to see if yall had an opion.
Thanks


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## grayfish (Jul 31, 2005)

I don't think I would trust a program to adjust a monitor that does not actually use a meter to see the screen. I trust my eyes more. I do plan on getting a calibration software package an meter in the near future. Calibration of the monitor to display what will be printed is a different matter. Getting monitors to display in RGB what CYMK colors will look like when printed is a ways beyond me at present. I actually do not use "Color Management" as Corel calls the settings. I have it turned off, since most of what I do is for the webm but I do use a generic profile setting for my devices such as printer, scanner and monitor.

I guess the question in my mind is, Of those on the board that have used a calibration system with a meter, what benifit did you derive or what difference did you note?


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## stargazer (May 24, 2004)

grayfish said:


> I guess the question in my mind is, Of those on the board that have used a calibration system with a meter, what benifit did you derive or what difference did you note?


I would be interested in knowing that also. Although I am not a professional photographer, I would like to have the colors correct.


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## Pocketfisherman (May 30, 2005)

The software that comes with Adobe just adjust the Gamma for each of the three color channels. Gamma is compensation to account for the fact that the human eye does not respond in a linerar fashion to differences in brightness, whereas the camera sensor does. What Gamma does is to compress the brighter end of the tonal range and stretch out the darker end of the range. The Adobe software just adjusts this Gamma compensation and does nothing to adjust saturation, contrast, and tint/hue. 

The main benefit for me is that what I see in photoshop on my calibrated monitor matches what comes out of my photo printer. It has probably already payed for itself in the ink and paper I've saved by not having to run 5 or 6 prints before I get one that turns out the way I originally wanted.


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