 Dawn Penso |
calibration for perfect prints Will buying monitor and printer calibration software, eg. the Monaco Optix Bundle, really make a noticeable difference to my prints? Would this be $350 well spent? Dawn
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chrisbudny.com - Chris Budny Contact Chris Budny Chris Budny's Gallery |
As I understand it, calibrating your monitor will allow you to see a truer representation of your image, before you print it, so that the output matches what you saw onscreen. Otherwise, if you're way off, you run the risk of making edits to your image, liking the results (as they appear on your off-calibration monitor) only to be disappointed that your print doesn't look like that at all! Naturally, it won't do anything to improve your source image quality.
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robert G. Fately |
Dawn, calibrating your monitor is half the battle - you also need to calibrate your printer. Actually, that calibration is often called a profile - and there are different profiles for each printer/ink/paper combination. Color is subjective. Also, the underlying technologies of display (RGB) and print (CYMK) are fundamentally different, never mind the more subtle differences between different monitor types, etc. The whole concept of calibration is to "teach" the computer that when it sends a signal of XR,YG,ZB (in RGB) to the monitor it should equate that setting to whatever the appropriate values are for CYMK to match the color the monitor displays. So, first, if you don't use a printer that uses a profile (many can be downloaded from the manufacturer websites - and again, there arre different profiles for each ink/paper combination because that all has effect on the colors printed), calibrating the monitor won't do a lot. Also, if your monitor is a CRT type, be aware that it can shift colors subtly over time. Some monitors change from morning to night (due to theheating up during use), some also change over a few years (though this is less of a problem with newer models). And LCD monitors are notorious for having colors appear different if you change the angle of view. On some larger LCD monitors, if you display one single color across the entire screen you might see different shades from the center (where your angle of view is perpendicular) to the edges. So, short answer - calibrating the monitor alone will not be sufficient.
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Dawn Penso |
Thanks for your replies. I've calibrated my laptop with the mac tiger calibration tool and the results aren't too bad. Not many people point out the need to profile the printer so I'm very grateful for that information. I think I'll continue my present method i.e. making a small test print before doing the final print and tweaking it if necessary.
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BetterPhoto Member |
Dawn, only if you set up the calibration to your printer's (the shop, not the thing with paper in it) specs so that you will see the image that they will print for you. Chris Walrath
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Dawn Penso |
Chris, I don't quite understand your comment - I don't send my photos to a printer but do them on my own Canon Pixma ip8500. I like to try different papers and just want to know if spending £350 on a Monaco calibration bundle (for monitor and printer) is going to save me time, frustration and money. So far from the comments I've received I don't think it will make all that much difference!
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