Mike Boyce
02-12-2008, 02:12 AM
I don't know about the rest of you, but I've struggled to obtain consistent results from monitor to inkjet printer output. Add more than one monitor and send your digital file to a custom professional lab, and you really compound the problem!
I know that ColorVision and others make hardware and software that will assist with, or eliminate, the problem. And I've read George Lepp and others who basically say you must first calibrate your monitor to an industry standard first, and then use printer profiles for the given paper, printer, and ink you are using.
Here are my questions:
1. Is it necessary (from a practical stand point) to purchase hardware & software to calibrate ones monitor(s)?
2. Is it worth the money to buy such hardware and software, and if so, how much must you spend to get something worthwhile?
3. Do printer/ink/paper profiles from manufacturers (or any other source for that matter) generally give one acceptable results, or do you need to purchase hardware and software to develop your own printer/ink/paper combination profiles?
4. What products do you have experience with that you would (or wouldn't) recommend
What I would ultimately like to have is confidence that the colors, tonalities, contrast, shadow and highlight detail, brightness, etc. remains relatively consistent from laptop monitor to desktop monitor, to inkjet printer output, to quality custom lab output.
It would seem that ColorVision has most of the market, and offer multiple "solutions" ranging in price from $80 for a simple "express" monitor calibration "Spyder" and software, to $600 "pro" version that includes printer profiler hardware and software, to a $3500 for a so called Complete Color Management System for Professional Photographers and Studios. Have any of you used any of these products? What are your experiences or suggestions?
I am currently photographing with a Nikon D200, I use a Toshiba laptop, I have a ViewSonic standalone CRT monitor and an Acer LCD standalone monitor, an Epson R1800 Inkjet printer. Any comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated. I am especially interested in hearing from those who have experienced such problems and found solutions.
<O:p</O:p
I know that ColorVision and others make hardware and software that will assist with, or eliminate, the problem. And I've read George Lepp and others who basically say you must first calibrate your monitor to an industry standard first, and then use printer profiles for the given paper, printer, and ink you are using.
Here are my questions:
1. Is it necessary (from a practical stand point) to purchase hardware & software to calibrate ones monitor(s)?
2. Is it worth the money to buy such hardware and software, and if so, how much must you spend to get something worthwhile?
3. Do printer/ink/paper profiles from manufacturers (or any other source for that matter) generally give one acceptable results, or do you need to purchase hardware and software to develop your own printer/ink/paper combination profiles?
4. What products do you have experience with that you would (or wouldn't) recommend
What I would ultimately like to have is confidence that the colors, tonalities, contrast, shadow and highlight detail, brightness, etc. remains relatively consistent from laptop monitor to desktop monitor, to inkjet printer output, to quality custom lab output.
It would seem that ColorVision has most of the market, and offer multiple "solutions" ranging in price from $80 for a simple "express" monitor calibration "Spyder" and software, to $600 "pro" version that includes printer profiler hardware and software, to a $3500 for a so called Complete Color Management System for Professional Photographers and Studios. Have any of you used any of these products? What are your experiences or suggestions?
I am currently photographing with a Nikon D200, I use a Toshiba laptop, I have a ViewSonic standalone CRT monitor and an Acer LCD standalone monitor, an Epson R1800 Inkjet printer. Any comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated. I am especially interested in hearing from those who have experienced such problems and found solutions.
<O:p</O:p