Calibrating an iMac?

PoleStar

Hi hi!

Anyone there have an iMac?

Best computer Ive had in a long time for multimedia and everything in general, a real joy to use.

BUT with the glossy LCD screen obviously my prints dont look quite like how they appear on screen.

What have people with these done to calibrate or do I need to get a Spyder or something similar.

Thanks!

feileacan

i have a mac book pro and recently bought a new monitor (27" dell) and got a spyder to recal it.

my screen was way too bright and the colours were completely oversaturated. so it was toned down and does look better.

however, spyders are relatively expensive and iim not sure if it would make a major difference on my (or yours) laptop.

however, if money no object or you can borrow one then its probably worth while.

i only print out my photos via photobucket etc., so no idea how much of a difference it would make if you are home printing.

sorry i couldnt be more help

PoleStar

Sorry just to clarify, I dont print at home, use "in shop" printers or the likes of photobox. However, the printed result doesnt look the same.

Also, if I get a spyder, does it come with software which will let have monitor settings which you can "switch" on when you are editing photos for printing, but then turn off and go back to baseline settings for when you are just using computer for net etc. Because of course one of the nice things about the iMac is that lovely glossy LCD screen!

Borderfox

Adjust your screen to match the print?

jpfahy

Macs have a built in calibrator in the 'colour' tab in 'Displays' in System Preferences. Have you tried that?
I've a Dell 2407WFP and tried to calibrate it with a Pantone Huey. The first thing it wanted me to do was set the contrast, but theres no f****n contrast adjustment on this monitor. Screen looked worse when I was finished.

Hugh_C

I have an iMac and am reasonably happy with the way Ive lined it up using the calibrate function somewhere in system prefs under displays.

The biggest thing is the gamma (greyness) of your monitor, because Macs use a lighter gamma than windows and printers. So your prints will always look darker or denser. If you use PhotoShop, I know there is a windows gamma option somewhere. There may well be a way to adjust your gamma under calibrate though.

stcstc

actually macs used to use a different gamma

thats not the case anymor, they all use 6500k 2.2.

the biggest issue with a mac screen is the brightness, its waaaaay to bright for accurate image editing when in set to default

bmcgrath

stcstc wrote: »

actually macs used to use a different gamma

thats not the case anymor, they all use 6500k 2.2.

I think they still use a gamma of 1.8 AFAIK. But thats soon to change in 10.6.