kdriceman Posted February 14, 2012 Share #1 Posted February 14, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) I recently got a Dell u2410 monitor and have connected it to my Mac Mini Server which will print to an Epson 3880. I will be going through the color calibration routine this week, however, I have a question about this monitor. Dell makes a big deal out of its "factory calibration" "incorporating per-tuned sRGB and AdobeRGB with average delta of <.5." They even include the color calibration factory report.. Does this mean I can expect minimal adjustment when trying to match color through the printer. I know this is probably wishful thinking, but if the Epson is calibrated to the same standard as the monitor is there any reason to expect an easy go of it as I calibrate? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted February 14, 2012 Posted February 14, 2012 Hi kdriceman, Take a look here Monitor Calibration. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
1JB Posted February 14, 2012 Share #2 Posted February 14, 2012 I think I have the same monitor. At least it's a top end Dell 24" and came with the same details and bragging rights. I use the Epson 3800. I calibrated the monitor using the Eye One after a while but never had any color issues printing before the calibration. Try some small prints but I think you'll be close. If you have an issue get a calibration device like the Eye One. I print using Qimage and the Epson paper profiles with no color correction. Takes a bit of fiddling with the parameters at first but is a very solid printing software. I did not like printing from Photoshop at all. The only issue I tend to have is with the prints being slighty darker than they appear on the monitor even with a properly calibrated monitor but I've learned to compensate. I've had the same issue with all of my monitors, the room I work in is not bright so the monitor compensates I think. . 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdriceman Posted February 14, 2012 Author Share #3 Posted February 14, 2012 I think I have the same monitor. At least it's a top end Dell 24" and came with the same details and bragging rights. I use the Epson 3800. I calibrated the monitor using the Eye One after a while but never had any color issues printing before the calibration. Try some small prints but I think you'll be close. If you have an issue get a calibration device like the Eye One. I print using Qimage and the Epson paper profiles with no color correction. Takes a bit of fiddling with the parameters at first but is a very solid printing software. I did not like printing from Photoshop at all. The only issue I tend to have is with the prints being slighty darker than they appear on the monitor even with a properly calibrated monitor but I've learned to compensate. I've had the same issue with all of my monitors, the room I work in is not bright so the monitor compensates I think. . Yeah, my first prints were darker than the monitor and I adjusted accordingly, but I will probably go through a calibration routine just to see how it comes out. I have used Photoshop/Lightroom to print for awhile now and don't really want to change as I'm comfortable with that, but it has worked for me. I've just never had a 'factory calibrated' monitor, so I'm not sure what the means or what to expect. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanyasi Posted February 14, 2012 Share #4 Posted February 14, 2012 I may have the wrong terminology because I am not in front of my computer now, but in your profile you might reduce the luminance by 10 or 20 points. That may eliminate the discrepancy between what you see on the screen and what you get when you print. I spoke wit tech support at Imageprint when my prints were too dark and they recommended dropping the luminance from 110 to 90 if I recall. That did the trick. The tech support person said one of the biggest causes of discrepancies was too high of a luminance setting. When I am back at my computer I will look at the calibration to make sure I have used the right terminology and numbers. Jack Siegel 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
archi4 Posted February 14, 2012 Share #5 Posted February 14, 2012 I calibrate my monitors to around 80 cd/m2 using x-rite iPrifiler (but any other system which allows calibrating to a specific luminance will do as well) and the prints from my 3880 using either manufacturer profiles or my own match the screen brillance extremely well. One of my monitors has to be calibrated toa luminance of 72 cd.m2, but then that one also is fine. I prefer calibrating the monitor and certainly not messing within the imaging software, although I saw that LR4 beta has compensation for both lightness and contrast in the print module. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanyasi Posted February 14, 2012 Share #6 Posted February 14, 2012 Every monitor will be different, but my brightness is set at 100 cd/m2, which is working fine for me. The white point is 5500K and RGB are each set at 2.20. The overall point is that many mismatches can be fixed by lowering the brightness, which makes perfect sense if you prints are coming out darker than what you see on screen. Hope that helps. Jack Siegel 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
algrove Posted February 15, 2012 Share #7 Posted February 15, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) Yeah, my first prints were darker than the monitor and I adjusted accordingly, but I will probably go through a calibration routine just to see how it comes out. I have used Photoshop/Lightroom to print for awhile now and don't really want to change as I'm comfortable with that, but it has worked for me. I've just never had a 'factory calibrated' monitor, so I'm not sure what the means or what to expect. Do you use Soft Proofing? That will get your print results much closer to your screen results at with PS. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdriceman Posted February 15, 2012 Author Share #8 Posted February 15, 2012 Do you use Soft Proofing? That will get your print results much closer to your screen results at with PS. Yes, I soft proof with the printer/paper profile and click in and out of the gamut warning. Printing through PS is running dark, but printing through LR is about right using same paper, profiles, etc. So I don't think my monitor is off by much. I'm not sure what is going on wih PS because I'm used to using PS to print. So, at least I'm ok going with LR, but Im puzzled about the PS issue. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
algrove Posted February 15, 2012 Share #9 Posted February 15, 2012 With my Mac I use Cmd+Y to toggle between the two looks. How are you actually using Soft Proofing? What is your workflow? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdriceman Posted February 15, 2012 Author Share #10 Posted February 15, 2012 (edited) Import/Edit in Lighroom. If I'm happy with LR edits I will print straight from LR. If I need more extensive editing, I pull the image into PS. Then, Proof>Setup>Custom: choose paper/printer profile and I also toggle using Command+Y and Shift+Command+Y for gamut warnings . It looks good on the soft proof. Then I send to printer, with PS managing colors. The prints are coming out very dark. I have been printing with PS for a long time and have had good results, but these prints are coming out too dark to be explained by monitor calibration. I don't know if you;ve used LR to print, but it is quite straightforward. I choose the printer/paper profile, size the image, tweak a few things and hit print. Same printer, monitor, profile as the PS image, but the printed image is coming out close enough to what I see in LR that the difference is probably luminance of the monitor. I can live with it, but I'd like to figure out what is going on with PS because sending it back to LR is just another step. I haven't had the time to really tinker with it this week, but any suggestions would be welcome. Edited February 15, 2012 by kdriceman Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wda Posted February 15, 2012 Share #11 Posted February 15, 2012 Monitors change over time which is why it is recommended to recalibrate at prescribed time intervals, typically after 200 operating hours. You cannot rely on factory calibration which only holds good for the time it was done. All parameters drift with time. Calibrating the monitor is but one link in the chain to getting correct output from a printer. A correct monitor allows you to set what you perceive as correct colours when processing with software. Be consistent with choice of colour space and embed it in every file. That is vital information for the end device to interpret your colour intentions. You also need a printer profile which applies to one choice of paper and one set of inks. Change one and the profile is invalid. It appears complicated until you standardise procedures and consumables. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
algrove Posted February 16, 2012 Share #12 Posted February 16, 2012 Import/Edit in Lighroom. If I'm happy with LR edits I will print straight from LR. If I need more extensive editing, I pull the image into PS. Then, Proof>Setup>Custom: choose paper/printer profile and I also toggle using Command+Y and Shift+Command+Y for gamut warnings . It looks good on the soft proof. Then I send to printer, with PS managing colors. The prints are coming out very dark. I have been printing with PS for a long time and have had good results, but these prints are coming out too dark to be explained by monitor calibration. I don't know if you;ve used LR to print, but it is quite straightforward. I choose the printer/paper profile, size the image, tweak a few things and hit print. Same printer, monitor, profile as the PS image, but the printed image is coming out close enough to what I see in LR that the difference is probably luminance of the monitor. I can live with it, but I'd like to figure out what is going on with PS because sending it back to LR is just another step. I haven't had the time to really tinker with it this week, but any suggestions would be welcome. First, I click fifth icon to create a layer group and rename it to soft proofing for 3880. Then, I do the View//Proof Setup/Custom. Then is choose to simulate Epson 3880 with paper of choice. Check perceptual, check Black Point compensation. Check Simulate Paper Color. Click OK. Then I create a new layer under this layer group/select levels/leave layer mask on. With this layer I move center triangle left to add more brightness is necessary. This should get you close to your screen. Set mode to Luminosity. Now create a second layer under this layer group and select Color Balance. Instead of normal select Hue Leave layer mask on. Targeted to hue this is very important. I increase mid-tone color balance only slightly to get closer to the screen. Now create a third layer under this layer group/select Hue/Saturation and instead of normal select Saturation. Leave layer mask on. Increase the middle slider ONLY-the saturation slider. This is sufficient to adjust closer to your screen. Sorry it's so long, but sounds you are not trying that approach. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdriceman Posted February 16, 2012 Author Share #13 Posted February 16, 2012 First, I click fifth icon to create a layer group and rename it to soft proofing for 3880. Then, I do the View//Proof Setup/Custom. Then is choose to simulate Epson 3880 with paper of choice. Check perceptual, check Black Point compensation. Check Simulate Paper Color. Click OK. Then I create a new layer under this layer group/select levels/leave layer mask on. With this layer I move center triangle left to add more brightness is necessary. This should get you close to your screen. Set mode to Luminosity. Now create a second layer under this layer group and select Color Balance. Instead of normal select Hue Leave layer mask on. Targeted to hue this is very important. I increase mid-tone color balance only slightly to get closer to the screen. Now create a third layer under this layer group/select Hue/Saturation and instead of normal select Saturation. Leave layer mask on. Increase the middle slider ONLY-the saturation slider. This is sufficient to adjust closer to your screen. Sorry it's so long, but sounds you are not trying that approach. Thanks. I do print strips and make adjustments as I go, but I'll try this tomorrow as there are some things I'm not doing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdriceman Posted February 16, 2012 Author Share #14 Posted February 16, 2012 First, I click fifth icon to create a layer group and rename it to soft proofing for 3880. Then, I do the View//Proof Setup/Custom. Then is choose to simulate Epson 3880 with paper of choice. Check perceptual, check Black Point compensation. Check Simulate Paper Color. Click OK. Then I create a new layer under this layer group/select levels/leave layer mask on. With this layer I move center triangle left to add more brightness is necessary. This should get you close to your screen. Set mode to Luminosity. Now create a second layer under this layer group and select Color Balance. Instead of normal select Hue Leave layer mask on. Targeted to hue this is very important. I increase mid-tone color balance only slightly to get closer to the screen. Now create a third layer under this layer group/select Hue/Saturation and instead of normal select Saturation. Leave layer mask on. Increase the middle slider ONLY-the saturation slider. This is sufficient to adjust closer to your screen. Sorry it's so long, but sounds you are not trying that approach. Thanks for your tips. Getting pretty good results now. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
algrove Posted February 17, 2012 Share #15 Posted February 17, 2012 Glad that helped. Maybe next week I will get stuck on something and hope the readers here can find a useable solution for me. This is what makes this forum so beneficial to us all when solid answers confront real problems. I am no PS expert, by any means, but your question hit home on what I have working on over the last month just by chance. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdriceman Posted February 17, 2012 Author Share #16 Posted February 17, 2012 Glad that helped. Maybe next week I will get stuck on something and hope the readers here can find a useable solution for me. This is what makes this forum so beneficial to us all when solid answers confront real problems. I am no PS expert, by any means, but your question hit home on what I have working on over the last month just by chance. One of the things I love (and hate) about photography. There is always something more to learn. I put a Color Munki on it today and that helped also. Between that, your tips and some other tweaking, what I see on the monitor is getting close to what comes out of the printer. Thanks again. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
algrove Posted February 17, 2012 Share #17 Posted February 17, 2012 One of the things I love (and hate) about photography. There is always something more to learn. I put a Color Munki on it today and that helped also. Between that, your tips and some other tweaking, what I see on the monitor is getting close to what comes out of the printer. Thanks again. Hey, if we stop learning, I'm afraid it's all over. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdriceman Posted February 17, 2012 Author Share #18 Posted February 17, 2012 Hey, if we stop learning, I'm afraid it's all over. +1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tobey bilek Posted March 7, 2012 Share #19 Posted March 7, 2012 Work in a dark room, luminesence 90. Soft proof so the file will print the way you see it. Set the dark with black point compensation and the highlights with paper base white. Then take the printer profile out and send to printer as RGB. It will look wrong at this point, but the printer profile will right it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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