Monitor calibration

Vegan.Hiker

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hey guys,

You guys got me snapping away a few years ago, and now for the first time I've attempted to print some 8x12's to hang at home. Problem is, I ordered prints from a reputable local print shop and they all look totally underexposed and the white balance balance, contrast and saturation is off as well. I didn't expect that photos printed on paper would look exactly like they do on a backlit screen, but I'm talking really far off here.

My laptop has very limited calibration settings so I'm thinking of getting one of these...

http://spyder.datacolor.com/portfolio-view/spyder5pro/

These things are about $140 and come in a few different models (express, pro, elite). I assume this will fix my problem so that I get exactly what I expect when I go from Lightroom to Print. Anyone have experience with this thing, or any other suggestions?

I read the other threads on this topic but didn't see any info on this particular calibration tool or specific suggestions on one.
 
I'm certainly no expert here, but I personally wouldn't buy a calibration tool.

I've found just knowing the difference from screen to print is helpful enough. There is a learning curve that works itself out through a little trial and error.

If I'm trying to get a great print, I'll often print a bunch small, make adjustments, and the prints come out how I expect (generally).

EDIT: I guess what I'm saying is; for $150, I'd put it towards a better monitor, instead of a calibration tool.

EDIT 2!: I get my prints from Costco (mostly), and I have to make sure they turn of their "Color Correction" setting, or my prints get really screwy. Maybe that helps you too?
 
Monitor calibration is one part. Home printer, if you use one, the next part.
I use spyder and now the 5pro since years. You can receive better results w/ external calibration, but a laptop monitor isn't the same like a monitor for photo work on a PC or Mac. These topic is a bit complex. Datacolor has a good consumer service via email and phone too.


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EDIT: I guess what I'm saying is; for $150, I'd put it towards a better monitor, instead of a calibration tool.

This is a pretty new laptop that I got specifically for better photo editing capabilities... It's got an i7 and an SSD, etc, so it's lightning fast with LR, however, it's a gaming laptop so the monitor is probably geared for that, rather than accuracy. In retrospect, I should have shelled out a little more to get the macbook pro w/ retina display. It'll be cheaper to pony up another $150 at this point then ditch the otherwise great laptop.

EDIT 2!: I get my prints from Costco (mostly), and I have to make sure they turn of their "Color Correction" setting, or my prints get really screwy. Maybe that helps you too?

That was definitely part of the issue. I went back and they removed their default "auto enhance" and that fixed some of the issues, but not all. My monitor is definitely part of the problem too.

Monitor calibration is one part. Home printer, if you use one, the next part.
I use spyder and now the 5pro since years. You can receive better results w/ external calibration, but a laptop monitor isn't the same like a monitor for photo work on a PC or Mac. These topic is a bit complex. Datacolor has a good consumer service via email and phone too.

Thanks Michael, so would you suggest the Spyder 5 for a laptop monitor?
 
...I should have shelled out a little more to get the macbook pro w/ retina display.

I was in the Apple store recently, a couple weeks ago, and those Macbooks with retina displays are nice! I've been using an iPad Mini 2 with retina display for a year now. That is the reason I was in the Apple store, for an appointment at the Genius Bar. My screen started to get a gray band across the bottom about an inch high. Phone support was great but did not resolve but they delved in further at the store and up and gave me a brand new iPad Mini 2 with only one week left on my one year warranty! Of course I got to see all the dazzling Apple stuff while in there.

but for my processing I'm still on a desktop PC because I've done that forever and own PS CS5 which gets the job done well. Now it is all Cloud subscription. I'm trying to avoid that as long as I can. When I did try to process on a laptop it didn't work for me but that was a long time ago.
 
Laptops are always adjusting their screen brightness depending on whether powered or not, and in response to the brightness in the room. Seems best to avoid this (or somehow get it under control) or else there's no way calibration can succeed.
 
hey guys,

You guys got me snapping away a few years ago, and now for the first time I've attempted to print some 8x12's to hang at home. Problem is, I ordered prints from a reputable local print shop and they all look totally underexposed and the white balance balance, contrast and saturation is off as well. I didn't expect that photos printed on paper would look exactly like they do on a backlit screen, but I'm talking really far off here.

My laptop has very limited calibration settings so I'm thinking of getting one of these...

http://spyder.datacolor.com/portfolio-view/spyder5pro/

These things are about $140 and come in a few different models (express, pro, elite). I assume this will fix my problem so that I get exactly what I expect when I go from Lightroom to Print. Anyone have experience with this thing, or any other suggestions?

I read the other threads on this topic but didn't see any info on this particular calibration tool or specific suggestions on one.

You can change your monitor profile to match a number of color profiles. sRGB or AdobeRGB, etc. An easier way to do it is to darken your monitor down and run a couple of test prints at various brightness levels. When your monitor display of a photograph matches what you have on paper, you can pretty confident that you have your monitor set to display your photos. This is a very common problem because most monitors and laptops are back lit, making photos brighter or exposed more than they really are.
 
You can change your monitor profile to match a number of color profiles. sRGB or AdobeRGB, etc. An easier way to do it is to darken your monitor down and run a couple of test prints at various brightness levels. When your monitor display of a photograph matches what you have on paper, you can pretty confident that you have your monitor set to display your photos. This is a very common problem because most monitors and laptops are back lit, making photos brighter or exposed more than they really are.

I should have said also that you then brighten up or change exposure of the photo with confidence that it will not be too bright. Imperfect for sure but I have had good luck with this method.
 
You can spend all the money you want but if you send out your work there is no control over print settings.

I remember coming across something a year or two ago for work. I'll try and find it but don't hold your breath.

I totally agree with previous comments about Costco. They do really good work for the money.

Also, I send a lot of work to prodigitalphotos.com. They are based in Utah. You can actually talk to a live person when you call as well as get proofs mailed super fast.

As for monitors I use big ones 24+ or a Mac. Experience and a good monitor have worked for me. If you do get that program I would like to know how it goes.
 
I always got great results from Borge Andersen in SLC, a really first class outfit. He died a few years ago and the place changed name but they still offer the same services:
http://www.atelierafa.com/
 
So if I were to look into getting a desktop monitor to dock my laptop off of, does anyone have any particular monitors they recommend? I'm leaning towards giving the spyder calibrator a try though since $140 is way cheaper than a good calibrated monitor I assume.

An easier way to do it is to darken your monitor down and run a couple of test prints at various brightness levels. When your monitor display of a photograph matches what you have on paper, you can pretty confident that you have your monitor set to display your photos. This is a very common problem because most monitors and laptops are back lit, making photos brighter or exposed more than they really are.

I really like this idea. I can order cheap 4x6's for each brightness setting and put in a note for each one to write "xyz" on the back. Then I'll know which pic belongs to what setting. I might try this first, but this will only help me calibrate for exposure though right? Won't help with white balance, contrast, and saturation being off right?
 
So if I were to look into getting a desktop monitor to dock my laptop off of, does anyone have any particular monitors they recommend? I'm leaning towards giving the spyder calibrator a try though since $140 is way cheaper than a good calibrated monitor I assume.



I really like this idea. I can order cheap 4x6's for each brightness setting and put in a note for each one to write "xyz" on the back. Then I'll know which pic belongs to what setting. I might try this first, but this will only help me calibrate for exposure though right? Won't help with white balance, contrast, and saturation being off right?

I've had good luck calibrating monitors by hand using the special calibration images and associated processes, as outlined in some of the links people have posted above. After doing this, the stuff that I've had printed (at Borge Andersen / Atelier) has always come out looking almost exactly like I wanted it to look.

I've never been sure how much of my success with prints has been due to good calibration and how much has been due to using a high-quality photo lab. And I don't really care. I don't do a ton of printing so the cost of using a good lab has not been an issue.

Regarding monitors, my wife does a lot of work at home and she does not have a good monitor right now. I was thinking about getting her one of these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L3KNOF4/?tag=backcountrypo-20
It is a monster and seems to be well reviewed. If you search on the model number and "photo editing" a number of sites will come up that appear to say good things about it. Seems like a bargain for $400. Maybe I should replace my own crappy monitor too!
 
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I use Bay Photo and learned the hard way by doing a metal print without test proofs on paper. Under exposed and there goes a hundred bucks down the hole. They are great for printing on various types of media and prices are competitive. Just remember: Paper first.
 
If you get a new monitor you'll need to calibrate that too so that won't really solve your issue. I do think it's worth some kind of real calibration (I use the xrite colormunki display and like it fine) and also worth learning how to use the histogram in whatever software you're using.

If you are really interested in printing, printers are pretty crazy cheap these days for the quality. Epson P400 (up to 13x19) is like $350 right now with rebate and will let you pick your own papers and really get things dialed in in addition to being better quality than a lot of labs.
 
No great solutions if you are sending your work out. If you have control over every solution of the workflow then you can get to a point where you can get perfect results every time, but otherwise it's always a gamble. As a general rule expect your prints to come back about 20% darker then what you are used to seeing on your monitor. Most default monitor setting are WAY to bright out of the box, if you use a calibration tool the first thing you will notice is how dark your monitor is after calibrating.

Personally I never print my own stuff as the cost to benefit ratio was just never worth it. I rarely print anything smaller than a 16X20 so it just ends up being more cost effective to send everything out.
 
image.jpeg image.jpeg I'm not sure if you use Mac or Windows but Macs have a built in calibration tool
System Pref>Displays>Color>Calibrate...

If you use Windows just search Calibration and click on the results. It will walk you through the process.
 
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No great solutions if you are sending your work out. If you have control over every solution of the workflow then you can get to a point where you can get perfect results every time, but otherwise it's always a gamble.

I saw in a Spyder5 review that many of the bigger labs (like Adorama) make their color profile available for you to download on so you can really dial it in.

View attachment 48203 View attachment 48204If you use Windows just search Calibration and click on the results. It will walk you through the process.

Unfortunately, I did that before ordering prints but it didn't help much. Click until the blacks match, whites match etc.

I'm leaning towards just ordering a calibrator although I'm leaning towards the Colormunki smile which got better reviews on Amazon than the Spyder5 and is about $50 cheaper.
 
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