Is your Monitor Calibrated?

oshead

I have a couple of machines that I use on a daily basis. One is a PC which I use only for editing images, printing and related stuff. The monitor on this machine is calibrated. The other machine is my laptop. I use this for all other stuff and the monitor is not calibrated.

I find that while viewing images on my uncalibrated laptop, the images look a little washed out compared to the ones on my PC. What percentage of people are viewing images with calibrated monitors? Is it really worth while, calibrating my monitor, if most of the time, I PP for the web? I know that on average, there are probably more calibrated monitors here because you are all photographers. But it would be interesting to get the numbers, I think.

Sleepy

Nope, using a laptop and do very little printing so never really saw the point.

Kbeg3

I do my desktop about once a month but have never done this laptop. I got an iMac for Christmas and haven't calibrated that yet...

.Longshanks.

I never done it.
Although images on my iMac & iPhone look identical. However on my work PC (when seen online) they do look a little washed out

trishw78

I have a laptop, & it's calibrated about once a month. I use a Hueypro

Rb

I just use my laptop screen, although I'll probably buy a nicer external monitor sometime later in the year, and the closest to calibration I've got it having used the Apple Display Calibration Assistant, but I can't really comment on how good it is.

stcstc

errrrr never bothered meself really :-)

no actually my 4 desktop computers are calibrated and my laptop

i tend to do my main desktop once every 2-3 weeks, depending on having time

oshead

Rb wrote: »

the closest to calibration I've got it having used the Apple Display Calibration Assistant, but I can't really comment on how good it is.

Neither can I. Windows has the same, similar thing. I suspect its wildly inaccurate, depending on the eye of the person doing the calibration.

oshead

stcstc wrote: »

errrrr never bothered meself really :-)

You got me there for a minute.

Nisio

I do my laptop I've one of the spider ones and it reminds me to do it every now and then; got it cause I'd started getting stuff printed and saw big differences between screen and print

Paulw

My monitors (2 on my desktop) are calibrated, my laptop screen is calibrated, and I even calibrated my work machine, so I know the picts I browse in work are accurate too. Mind you, I use the same monitor in work as I have at home.

It does make a big difference between non-calibrated and calibrated, especially if you're going to print.

I use a Spyder 3.

ceoltoir

I borrowed a copy of the Eye One Match 3 calibration system a few months ago and calibrated my Mac monitor. Or at least I thought I calibrated it; the printed colours are still pretty different from those on screen. Not sure if I did it right though. It seems to be a difficult science.

unreggd

Never done it, I just use the auto-set button on my screen, that's about it

What do you callibrate it to? your printer?

sineadw

ceoltoir wrote: »

I borrowed a copy of the Eye One Match 3 calibration system a few months ago and calibrated my Mac monitor. Or at least I thought I calibrated it; the printed colours are still pretty different from those on screen. Not sure if I did it right though. It seems to be a difficult science.

Monitor and printer calibration are two very different things unfortunately...

Effects

My printer always prints darker than my monitor, even though I have the correct printer profile. Luckily I don't print my stuff myself that often.

Paulw

Effects wrote: »

My printer always prints darker than my monitor, even though I have the correct printer profile. Luckily I don't print my stuff myself that often.

Or is your monitor brighter than your printer??

It's one of those things.

Sleepy

[stupid question]If you're not calibrating your monitor to your printer are you calibrating it to an international standard for professional printing or what?[/stupid question]

Paulw

I think (not fully sure) that what you see on your monitor depends on a number of factors, including what your monitor is capable of showing (light, darkness, and all the colour combinations).

Background light and ambient light also have a large factor to play with what you see on your monitor.

Your monitor is being calibrated to the "standard" that your calibration device sets. Each will vary slightly.

I think it's a lot more complex than even I'm making it out to be.

Effects

Paulw wrote: »

Or is your monitor brighter than your printer??

It's one of those things.

Yeah I sometimes think that might be the case. But I use a huey pro and it looks alright. It's also had stuff printed professionally from images I've worked on with my calibrated monitor and they have always printed how they look on my monitor.

stcstc

you calibrate your monitor and your printer to an international colour standard

if your prints are coming out darker, almost certainly your monitor is ust set to bright

Effects

You've printed stuff for me before and they have come out how they looked on my monitor. Same thing on my printer was a good bit darker.

stcstc

oh right

so monitor not the problem

must be some setting in the printer driver, there are a bunch of settings bit long to explain here but happy to try

ValueInIreland

Effects wrote: »

My printer always prints darker than my monitor, even though I have the correct printer profile. Luckily I don't print my stuff myself that often.

This is a common complaint when monitors are not calibrated - especially with newer MACS which have superb monitors - but display everything far too bright. Something that a lot of people don't realise is that once you calibarate your monitor you must NOT adjust your Monitor's Brightness or Contrast (obvious wnen you think about it!). The Spider has a good reputation, but the slightly dearer Gretag MacBeth Eye One, Display 2 is the one that most professional Colour experts use.
Regarding Printer Profiles: Make sure you are using the EXACT Profile for each paper, using Epson's Premium Gloss setting for a PermaJet or Ilford Gloss paper will give CRAP results as the papers behave very differently. Companies like PermaJet offer FREE Profiles that can be download and also FREE custom profiles that will further improve the results, as it is specific to your Printer, Ink & Paper.

Heebie

To get print and screen to match, you have to profile your monitor, and you have to profile your printer(s).. each different type of paper actually needs it's own calibration, since the ink wicks differently into each paper type and they have different "whiteness" levels.
Then.. you also have to remember to convert your images to the print profile for the printer & paper combination that you're using before you actually send it to print.
Also, you have to recalibrate your screen often. (at a minimum weekly with a CRT and monthly with an LCD)
You can go longer with printer/paper combination color profiles IF you are using good, stable inks. If you're using cheap-ass after-market inks, or refilling your cartdriges, you should recalibrate every time you change or refill your cartridge, and expect to re-print your pictures every few years.

ceoltoir wrote: »

I borrowed a copy of the Eye One Match 3 calibration system a few months ago and calibrated my Mac monitor. Or at least I thought I calibrated it; the printed colours are still pretty different from those on screen. Not sure if I did it right though. It seems to be a difficult science.

stcstc

depending on what application you are printing from, you dont generally convert in any manual way your image to the print profile

for example from photoshop

you tell photoshop to manage colour, then tell it the print profile you want to use

it then does conversion on the way to print

and VERY IMPORTANTLY you tell your print driver to do nothing with the colour

this is not the same as either assigning or converting to a profile from within photoshop as such.

ie if you image is in srgb you dont change that, let photoshop deal with the colour gamut changes at the print stage

Barname

if this text is black in colour then your monitor is as good as mine

alexlyons

stcstc wrote: »

and VERY IMPORTANTLY you tell your print driver to do nothing with the colour

was just about to say this. can't be stressed enough tbh. so many people think that the computer and printer both need to handle the colour, when really you should just tell the printer to p*ss off, mainly because the computer does it much better...

Saint_Mel

ceoltoir wrote: »

I borrowed a copy of the Eye One Match 3 calibration system a few months ago and calibrated my Mac monitor. Or at least I thought I calibrated it; the printed colours are still pretty different from those on screen. Not sure if I did it right though. It seems to be a difficult science.

I've used that one before on 1 monitor and 2 laptops ... never noticed any difference in them afterwards