BetterPhoto Q&A
Category: Printing Digital Pictures

Beth Howe		Monitor Calibration Problem Hi Everyone: I'm using a new iMac with Leopard (OS 10.5). And I've just calibrated my monitor using Spyder 2 Express. Now, I realize that although I just bought this version of Spyder 2 Express, this software was created in 2005. So, I'm wondering, do I need to get some sort of software update from ColorVision? Although I followed the directions implicitly, the calibration has not helped my print quality at all. The colors I see on my monitor are quite different on my prints. This is so frustrating. I should mention that I'm fairly handy with Macs and am doing my photo editing in Photoshop Elements 6 for Mac. Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions! To love this question, log in above July 21, 2008

- Carlton Ward Contact Carlton Ward Carlton Ward's Gallery		Howdy Beth, How are you? Do you have your printer set to the same profile as your monitor ? When I run Spyder2, I set the profile created (I name mine "Spyder2") on my Imac (also running Leopard) and then also designate my Canon 9000 printer to use the same color profile and my prints match perfectly. One thing about Spyder2 is to run the calibration for the light you usually work in. I do most of my work at night, so I keep the room pretty dark and then run Spyder2 calibration. Then when I tweak images, I try to keep the room lit the same as I had it when I ran my calibration. If I try to tweak images in the daytime, they do look very different on my monitor and I could run calibration again with daytime lighting but choose just to wait til it gets dark again. I calibrate every 30 days but some people do so every 2 weeks. My Spyder2 from 2005 is working just fine, and I have not yet seen a need to upgrade. Hope this helps! To love this comment, log in above July 21, 2008

annswinfordphotography.com - Ann E. Swinford Contact Ann E. Swinford Ann E. Swinford's Gallery		HI Beth and Carlton, Thanks for starting this link. I was just starting to deal with calibration. In the meantime I have a question: Does CS3 work okay in the leopard environment? I'm in OS 10.4.11 (another cat- I forget which one) and I cannot decide if I should upgrade- I would hate for CS3 to fail in the leopard environment. thanks, Ann To love this comment, log in above July 30, 2008

Beth Howe		Hi Ann: I don't use CS 3. But I've heard that it does work with 10.5. If you go to Adobe's web site, they'll have info there that'll let you know for sure if it does work with Leopard. You can also 'Google' the question: "Does Photoshop CS3 work with Leopard?" And see what answers you get from that. Re: Calibration. Carlton is the expert on that and has been tremendously helpful to me (via e-mail). On his advice, I purchased the Spyder 2 Express monitor calibration product. After many hours of frustration, and a long call to Canon tech support (my printer manufacturer), I got it to work. But only in a darkened room, with almost all the lights out. The next morning when I went to print, the results were awful. So, I became totally fed up with all the hassle and sent the product back to the retailer. I'll just stay with the factory calibration that came with my iMac. Good luck with your ventures. Cheers, Beth To love this comment, log in above July 30, 2008

Beth Howe		Hi Ann: I don't use CS 3. But I've heard that it does work with 10.5. If you go to Adobe's web site, they'll have info there that'll let you know for sure if it does work with Leopard. You can also 'Google' the question: "Does Photoshop CS3 work with Leopard?" And see what answers you get from that. Re: Calibration. Carlton is the expert on that and has been tremendously helpful to me (via e-mail). On his advice, I purchased the Spyder 2 Express monitor calibration product. After many hours of frustration, and a long call to Canon tech support (my printer manufacturer), I got it to work. But only in a darkened room, with almost all the lights out. The next morning when I went to print, the results were awful. So, I became totally fed up with all the hassle and sent the product back to the retailer. I'll just stay with the factory calibration that came with my iMac. Good luck with your ventures. Cheers, Beth To love this comment, log in above July 30, 2008

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