Monitor calibration


SkimMilk

New Member
May 1, 2008
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West Coast
stephentgs.blogspot.com
I've just returned from a trip and am making a Photobook in LR4, planning to print it out.
Question: Do I need to get a device to calibrate my monitor?

I've tried searching in the digital darkroom section but couldn't find a definite answer...

Can anyone point me in the right direction to more info on monitor calibration?
My LG LCD is about 3 years old, is it necessary to calibrate it? Can it be calibrated?
Is a hardware device a must or are there software to do it?

Say if I invest in a spyder4pro, is it worth it? (I've got a few laptops and a desktop at home, so if I'm going to get a calibrator, might as well get one that can calibrate all of them? :p)

How about home printers? Does it mean if I calibrated my monitor and use the same ICC profile on the printer, it should produce similar colors?

Lots of questions, cos I really don't know about this topic. :sweat:
 

Yes, you need hardware. This is mentioned repeatedly. Getting a good calibrator will also help you with your printer calibration.
 

Please read the existing threads in Digital Darkroom. It is hardware + software. The older your monitor the more likely that colours start shifting (which does NOT mean new monitors won't need calibration).
 

How about home printers? Does it mean if I calibrated my monitor and use the same ICC profile on the printer, it should produce similar colors?

No it won't. Printer's will have their own profiles, depending on the paper type you use. You need a spectrophotometer to create a profile for the specific paper you're using. The cheapest that I know of is the colormunki photo. If you're using well-known papers, they do provide icc profiles for free.
 

Get the i1display pro or spyder 4 from amazon uk. It way cheaper than what they sell in SG
 

hammie said:
Get the i1display pro or spyder 4 from amazon uk. It way cheaper than what they sell in SG

These two are colorimeter, they cannot calibrate printers.
 

Can it be used to calibrate hdtv? My mac mini is connected to a hdtv.
 

Use the Spyder4 by datacolor... its very accurate espcially if you need to print out your stuffs
 

Must it be the hdtv version? Or can i use the spyder pro 4?
 

kaixinxuan said:
Must it be the hdtv version? Or can i use the spyder pro 4?

HDTV version only for calibrating tvs, Pro version only for monitors. To calibrate tv with pro version, buy the upgrade pack. There's no bundle for tv n monitors together, even elite also don't allow.