# Monitor calibration?



## madf1man (Jan 28, 2005)

Who knows what about it? I know nothing and have been shyin away from it. I think its part of my problem in learning LR and CS3


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## Gator_Nutz (Sep 27, 2006)

Spyder is a good one. It's easy to use and it's a must if you want prints that look like what's on your screen.


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## Pocketfisherman (May 30, 2005)

It very easy with the Spyder II or Spyder pro. You hang the colorimeter in front of your screen, and let the SW routine run.


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## Slip (Jul 25, 2006)

Yep, you can even see the before and after effects with Spyder. Amazing to see how much the screen looks better after the adjustments and didn't even know it.


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## madf1man (Jan 28, 2005)

Thanks guys


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## Fishin' Fool (Oct 30, 2005)

I use spyder - but you can run the calibration program included with photoshop. It is not as good as spyder, but is easy to use, does not cost extra and works fine.


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## Slip (Jul 25, 2006)

I wasn't even aware of a calibration included in Photoshop.


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## Pocketfisherman (May 30, 2005)

Fishin' Fool said:


> I use spyder - but you can run the calibration program included with photoshop. It is not as good as spyder, but is easy to use, does not cost extra and works fine.


The photoshop calibrator (Adobe Gamma) is subjective, and each individual will interpret what they see differently. Calibration with a colorimiter is the real thing that takes the human factor out of the picture entirely. The newer Spyders even take into account the amount and type of ambient room lighting when the calibration runs. Your eye cannot naturally compensate for that.


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## BPitcher (Aug 23, 2004)

Pocketfisherman said:


> The photoshop calibrator (Adobe Gamma) is subjective, and each individual will interpret what they see differently. Calibration with a colorimiter is the real thing that takes the human factor out of the picture entirely. The newer Spyders even take into account the amount and type of ambient room lighting when the calibration runs. Your eye cannot naturally compensate for that.


exactly.

get the spyder- it's well worth it.


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## grayfish (Jul 31, 2005)

Calibrating you monitor does not calibrate your printer. But it gives you a start.


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## richg99 (Aug 21, 2004)

Poor man's calibrator. 

Take a shot; get it printed or print it yourself; hold the print up next to your monitor; change your monitor's settings to agree with the print..

Viola!! You have calibrated your monitor to your printer...rich.


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## Terry G. (Jul 17, 2006)

I see spyder aint cheep ether is it ..beyond my price range.


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## madf1man (Jan 28, 2005)

I think BH had the ll or maybe lll version for about 70 bucks. The pro was about 150


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## Ledge (Feb 4, 2005)

Unless you are sending your images to final press/print then a spyder is sort of overkill, you need to calibrate from what your images final destination will be.

Some other general tips for color correcting is to make sure you have a good monitor to start, preferably a MAC, out of the box they are as close as you can get. A bad monitor you will never be able to calibrate.

As a general base, adobe RGB (1998) is a good start and preset within photoshop for photoshop work.

Also your environment, Sunlight is bad, monitor glare, wall colors, t-shirt color will affect what you see. Either have Bright 5k white good light, (the new flourescent bulbs work great, and are a cheap alternative) and set monitor brightness all the way up to make sure your whites are white, or black your room out, no light at all.


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## Pocketfisherman (May 30, 2005)

Adobe RGB is a colorspace, and not a calibration profile. It is also the last colorspace you want to use if you will be primarily using images for viewing with a browser or on a website because the images will come out dull and muddy. For printing, RGB has a broader gamut then sRGB, but you'll only see that with a very high dollar pro level printer. Check with the people who make your monitor, a lot of them have color profiles you can download and use. Here's a very nice discussion on color management that can help:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=296149


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## Slip (Jul 25, 2006)

Pocketfisherman said:


> The photoshop calibrator (Adobe Gamma) is subjective, and each individual will interpret what they see differently. Calibration with a colorimiter is the real thing that takes the human factor out of the picture entirely. The newer Spyders even take into account the amount and type of ambient room lighting when the calibration runs. Your eye cannot naturally compensate for that.


Thanks, I have the Spyder at home, however, at work our IT department, won't let me install the program and won't supprort the program either, so I cannot bring it out and load it up on my work screen. I may give this a try, however, my eyes are not nearly as good as the Spyder eye is.


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## Slip (Jul 25, 2006)

slip knot said:


> Thanks, I have the Spyder at home, however, at work our IT department, won't let me install the program and won't supprort the program either, so I cannot bring it out and load it up on my work screen. I may give this a try, however, my eyes are not nearly as good as the Spyder eye is.


Just a few months ago, I bought the Spyder Express from Amazon for around $50 - $60 bucks. http://www.amazon.com/ColorVision-Spyder2-Express-Win-Mac/dp/B000ES4PYU/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1218733532&sr=8-1


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## Ledge (Feb 4, 2005)

Yeah, I was referring to RGB for monitor web viewing while in PS on a MAC as a basic start, not for print, print is CMYK, I am a Digtial Retoucher by profession btw. Calibrating where the file is going to end up is most important.



Pocketfisherman said:


> Adobe RGB is a colorspace, and not a calibration profile. It is also the last colorspace you want to use if you will be primarily using images for viewing with a browser or on a website because the images will come out dull and muddy. For printing, RGB has a broader gamut then sRGB, but you'll only see that with a very high dollar pro level printer. Check with the people who make your monitor, a lot of them have color profiles you can download and use. Here's a very nice discussion on color management that can help:
> http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=296149


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