Monitor Calibration for printing

[lowster]

Hullo,

I've been doing some basic pp on my photos and want to know a way to calibrate my monitor for printing?
I've got both a laptop and another LCD monitor and realised that the monitors settings are such that the photos viewed on screen were quite different.

Thanks.

[nito]

There will be someone to tell you soon to do a search. But it aint me.

Spyder 2 is the best value monitor calibrator on the market. You can get it from Kayell in Oz, but it will cost 560 for the pro version. Basic spider 2 is 360 from these guys.

Alternatively, import it for about 350-400 AUD from a US site like B and H or Adaroma.

Monitor calibration is only 1/2 the story. You would need to cal your printer too to a particular paper source. Cheapest option is to download the printer profile for your printer from a pro paper company.

People here will swear by ilford, but I use kodak pro paper.

Hope it helps.

[lowster]

Thanks, I did do a quick search but I was hoping to make do without a calibration device. Also, would you be using it only once? Once, its calibrated that is it, isn't it?

Just to clarify, I'm getting it printed at a photo lab rather than my own printer.

[pippin88]

Regular calibration is best if possible.

Monitors change over time.

[shakey]

The only common non device way of calibration is Adobe Gamma which comes with Photoshop or its crippled relations.

If you are serious about printing at home you really need a colorimeter and you need to recalibrate the screen at least monthly (some shops do it every day).

I have Spyder 2 from colorvision but Monaco Optix comes highly recommended from Bob Johnson. He has some wonderfully lucid articles on colour management.

Look at the archives on his site

http://www.earthboundlight.com/phototip-archives.html

[DaveB]

Another (good) option is the EyeOne Display colorimeter & software.
AU$415 from Image Science.

[nito]

It depends on your monitor. CRT would need calibration every 2 weeks while LCD is more stable and you can get away with one every 6 months.

Adobe-like config software is really guess work but would be better than not having your monitor calibrated.

[robboh]

Having just managed to borrow a Monaco Optix for a night last night and do a calibration on my 19" CRT, I will certainly say that there is a noticeable difference.

I had done pretty well with the eye-ball calibrator that comes with OS X, but the ability to properly tune your white-point and a proper profile has definitely given me more neutral greys etc. Changing back and forth between profiles, there is a slight, but noticeable, colour cast on my eyeball profiles.

CRT's, its recommended to do once every few weeks, but if you can borrow a calibrator to do it once, then that might help you 'see' what the eyeball profile should look like.

As someone mentioned, LCD's are apparently generally much more stable over time and can go much longer between calibration/profiling.