Monitor and print calibration

[cliffp]

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I bought a Spyder3Pro 18 months ago but found it didn't work well with my new iMac 27". I am aware that Datacolor have improved the software with their "Elite" product to make it compatible with iMacs and that this is available as an upgrade from the "Pro". I am not sure whether to buy this upgrade or whether to go for a ColorMunki Photo (which I can get for £260 with an educational discount) or even Coloreyes display pro which will work with the Spyder3 sensor. I have tried the Coloreyes trial but being inexperienced at printing (and having just bought a new R2880 printer which I am not used to) am not confident I have got the hang of obtaining decent prints.

 

I would be very grateful for any opinions on which product to buy (software and/or hardware). I would be particularly interested in recommendations from people who have tried more than one system so have compared them. Of course if you've tried one system and been happy with it that is useful too.

 

I know there have been threads about this topic before (and I think I have read most of them) but I am still undecided as to what to buy.

[archi4]

Hello,

I have both the last iMac with the matte screen and the latest with the glossy screen.

I formerly used the spyder and its software, but a number of years ago I switched to x-rite, first the simple eye one display 2 colorimeter for monitor calibration and then the i1pro for both monitor and printer profiling.

The i1pro system works perfectly with both my displays, the matte and the new glossy type, and the printer profiles are truly excellent.

With my displays calibrated to a brightness of 80, display and prints from my Epson 3800 match unbelievably well using many papers in color and in B&W.

I also later purchased ColorEyes display pro software, but apart from the fact that this software adjusts the display brightness automatically while the brightness slider under the display preferences is set to maximum the results are no better than with the x-rite Eye-One match software. There you have to adjust the display brightness yourself using the slider.

 

Hope this helps.

Maurice

[Guido]

I upgraded from the SpyderPro to the Elite. There are functional improvements, like the ability to calibrate monitors to the same look in a multi-display setup (e.g. a laptop with attached external display), as well as diagnostic features like analysis of display gamut and uniformity across the whole screen area.

 

I found the upgrade worthwhile particularly because of the multi-display calibration. As far as the quality of calibration of a single monitor is concerned, the Pro version did fine for me as well. The new analysis functions in the Elite version are nice to have ("aha, my display indeed supports sRGB"), but not really essential for me at this price point of my other display and computing hardware.

[cliffp]

Thanks Maurice and Nightfire. I will look into the products you mention tomorrow.

[sanyasi]

There will be many that disagree and they are free to do so, but I find Mac monitors too bright for my calibration purposes. I believe that this is quite intentional on Apple's part because things look great on the monitor--almost like a light box.

 

I have been using an Ezio ColorEdge CG2210 monitor for somewhere around 2 years and been getting fantastic results--I get on paper what I see on the screen. Don't ask me how it works, but the Eizo monitor comes with software specially designed for it and that has made calibration much easier for me. I use an Eye1 calibration tool.

 

If you continue to work with a Mac monitor, I would look at an application called Shades (free, if I recall), that permits you to turn down the brightness of a Mac monitor.

 

Jack Siegel

[archi4]

Jack

The x-rite and ColorEyes calibration systems both allow me to calibrate my iMac's to a desired brightness (in my case 80 cd/m2).

Maurice

[FredSF]

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Personally I process 99 pct of my work in "B&W" with LR3 and Silver Effex Pro. The later displays the zones (0-10) which is a great helper. I just wish LR could do that too. Of course, when it comes own to color accuracy, it's quite another story. It still a matter of trial and error.