 BetterPhoto Member |
Calibration Causing Frustration I've been using a friend's MAC with Nikon scanner (older model). It's almost not worth it! When he scans in one of my photos, the color and brightness and everything is so off that it takes me an average of 30 minutes to fix each one in Photoshop. I think he's not set up correctly and needs serious calibration. He says that it's like that on everyone's computer, but I just think that his software is lousy and/or he's not very bright. I have to scan thousands of slides and I'm not going to do it if I have to spend 5 to 30 minutes on each one. 1) Is it possible for a scanner to scan the slide and show the image on the monitor that matches the light table? How is the calibration done? 2) Now, assume a picture being viewed on the monitor is sent to the printer. What does it take to get it to look like what's seen on the monitor? Do you tell the printer software what kind of monitor you have? Or does it let you tweek the colors, etc. until it matches and then saves this information for later use? 3) I own a PC and run my business with it. I have no interest in buying a MAC. Is monitor calibration really necessary and, if so, how is it done on a PC? Thanks for your help
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BetterPhotoJim.com - Jim Miotke  Contact Jim Miotke Jim Miotke's Gallery |
Yes - monitor calibration is a must and very few people understand this. Scanning is a very challenging art; scanning without being able to ensure that what you see in the prescan and on the monitor will look like what comes out of your printer is next to impossible. You can buy software products that take you through the calibration process. It is very confusing so I do recommend the software. In brief, you tell your computer what scanning device you are using, what monitor you are using, and what printer you are using. If there is one, you can benefit from a pre-defined profile, called an ICC profile. Calibration also involves a somewhat painstaking process of comparing a printed file to the electronic file (in white, natural light) and adjusting various controls on your monitor as well as in the software. You are in a tough place because it is your friend's Mac. However, you can buy image editing software for your PC, calibration software and rent or buy a better scanner (it sounds like a Nikon Coolscan II or thereabouts and I can't begin to tell you how much better the scanners are now!)
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