PowerBook Calibration


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marklim

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Jan 4, 2006
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Bukit Timah
Hi guys,

I've noticed that whenever i print photos out of my printer, its alot different from what i am seeing on my computer. I've researched and found out that there is something called calibration. However, i've noticed that we need to purchase a star shaped equipment to attach to our monitor to calibrate. And i've also noticed that the star shaped thing is not cheap.

However, i would like to know if there is a free way to calibrate my powerbook and get my prints to be the same as what i am seeing on my monitor. Is it possible ? Kindly guide me along on doing it (if its possible).

Many Thanks,
Mark
 

Tiger has an inbuilt calibration tool. I forgot the name of the application already.

However, doubt it's as accurate as a hardware calibration that would last you a long time (read: worth the investment) like the Eye-One Display.
 

For a start, you might want to invest in the Gretag Mcbeth Display Calibrator. think it's only $199
 

marklim said:
Hi guys,

I've noticed that whenever i print photos out of my printer, its alot different from what i am seeing on my computer. I've researched and found out that there is something called calibration. However, i've noticed that we need to purchase a star shaped equipment to attach to our monitor to calibrate. And i've also noticed that the star shaped thing is not cheap.

However, i would like to know if there is a free way to calibrate my powerbook and get my prints to be the same as what i am seeing on my monitor. Is it possible ? Kindly guide me along on doing it (if its possible).

Many Thanks,
Mark

Great to see a fellow mac user enjoying his computer. Sometimes it really can be frustrating when print after print they all look different. Profile/Calibrate our monitors and that can save a ton of money from wasted ink and media.

I'm afraid there isn't a free way that works the best but if there are many people interested in getting their portables (Mac/Windows) profiled/calibrated properly. I may consider taking 1 week off and doing it for a reasonable fair amount for about $60 and will set up your PS color workflow altogether. Takes about 45 mins and you can drop it off at Simple Digital @ Bras Basah, grab a meal and pick it up after all ready to go and print those portfolio prints.

This price offer is only for Clubsnap members who are NON-PROFESSIONAL Photogs. Please do not abuse this. I'm only doing it as a special goodwill.


Cheers,
nic
 

ok. i might consider.

however, any other methods ?? :D
 

marklim said:
ok. i might consider.

however, any other methods ?? :D

probably borrow/rent a Colorimeter and DIY, i really do not rececommend any other way, not even the "Eye-Squinting" Adobe Gamma technique. Men generally can see less colors and more prone to color blindness than women so we don't make very good colorimeters ourselves!
 

One point to note... calibration is on going, you need to do it on a regular basis.
 

espn said:
One point to note... calibration is on going, you need to do it on a regular basis.

espn is spot on, it may be worth the investment to purchase a decent colorimeter if you intend to make prints by yourself or even send it out.

At least you will be able to give the "NO CORRECTIONS" instruction when you send it to a color-managed print shop/lab and won't expect shocking test print results.

As much as we hate it, the responsiblity actually starts with the creator, not the print shop/lab. If you can't manage your files, you can't expect people to do it for you the way you want it.

If printmaking is important to you, you should consider getting a Colorimeter.
 

Gamut Labs :thumbsup: CP also does calibration for people but over the time the cost amounted is not worth the effort and they rather people buy their own.

If you ask me, 12x calibration a year for 1 device @ $50ea, you can buy a Gretag MacBeth EyeOne Display2 near S$550. And you get to use it on every display you have - office/home/pc/laptop etc.

One thing I hate is that, as long as a colour setting/brightness/contrast is changed (accidentally or on purpose) you need to recalibrate the display.

In short, just BUY BUY BUY!!
 

haha TRY TRY TRY. if buy then red packet money all no more already. haha..
 

Hi all,

Btw, if any of us are using the printout as color proofs do consider my experience with color accuracy -

I was on a Spyder for few years and got the colors spot on for the screen. But I still had a slight magenta cast for my Epson2100 printout, tried to tweak it for years then gave up and got a Gretag Macbeth EyeOne Photo to calibrate BOTH monitor and printer. Almost cried when we got a 99% close color printout with all the right hues and color. Yes, the EyeOne Photo is very expensive but if you are going to do it on a semi-pro or pro basis, please do consider that or get Cathay to calibrate both devices, it's about $400+ I think. Btw, likely you only need to color calibrate printer only once, there are some people who calibrate for every batch of paper they buy but that's up to you.

Please also note that after 3 years or so (or even earlier), the screen color generally gets more and more off from factory calibration. Btw, I am running a Apple 20inch LCD from a Windows XP machine, so it's still possible to get accurate color from PC and Macs.

Best
Wesley
 

wesley said:
Hi all,

Btw, if any of us are using the printout as color proofs do consider my experience with color accuracy -

I was on a Spyder for few years and got the colors spot on for the screen. But I still had a slight magenta cast for my Epson2100 printout, tried to tweak it for years then gave up and got a Gretag Macbeth EyeOne Photo to calibrate BOTH monitor and printer. Almost cried when we got a 99% close color printout with all the right hues and color. Yes, the EyeOne Photo is very expensive but if you are going to do it on a semi-pro or pro basis, please do consider that or get Cathay to calibrate both devices, it's about $400+ I think. Btw, likely you only need to color calibrate printer only once, there are some people who calibrate for every batch of paper they buy but that's up to you.

Please also note that after 3 years or so (or even earlier), the screen color generally gets more and more off from factory calibration. Btw, I am running a Apple 20inch LCD from a Windows XP machine, so it's still possible to get accurate color from PC and Macs.

Best
Wesley

Yo Wes, it's me, Nic. All of us have been thru the heartaches haven't we?

Just to clear up some confusing terms here.

Using a Colorimeter (Reads light only) Displays can be
- Profiled (Take readings as is, without adjusting anything settings prior or during operation using)
- Calibrated (Whitepoint [RGB sliders] / Contrast / Brightness, if available, is Resetted to Factory defaults before and manually adjusted during operation)

Printers can't really be calibrated by us, coz that means to mechanically linearize the machines.

Using a Spectrophotometer (Fires light and reads reflected light) Paper/Media can be
- Profiled (Figure out paper Whiteness) each time we receive a new batch of paper even if we already have made the profiles(critical jobs) by printing color boxes then reading the results.

I would advise against using a "All in one" device even though the claims is that they can do the job as well. It's best to use a colorimeter when Profiling/Calibrating displays and a spectrophotometer when Profiling media.

Hope this clears it up a little for you guys.


Cheers,
nic
 

Gamut Labs said:
probably borrow/rent a Colorimeter and DIY, i really do not rececommend any other way, not even the "Eye-Squinting" Adobe Gamma technique. Men generally can see less colors and more prone to color blindness than women so we don't make very good colorimeters ourselves!
My Eyesquintingadobegamma has allowed me to print correct colour on an Epson 4800... score one for the men...
:sticktong :) ...

seriously, sometimes it's not just colour blindness, but even for those not colour blind, training the eye to make fine colour differentiation is also important... but in the end, it's still better to get some proper equipment to profile your hardware.

ColorVision, the people behind Spyder, is coming up with a package called PrintFIX PRO Suite that packages a colorimeter and a spectrocolorimeter so that both monitors and printers can be profiled accurately... available on the net now... donno about locally... should be cheaper than Gretag Macbeth EyeOne Photo :thumbsup:
 

Hi Nic,

Thought Gamut Labs sounded familiar. :) Happy New Year.

I do agree that the PhotoOne is somewhat overpriced but I have used the spyder software for calibration, it's a far cry from PhotoOne, just an fyi. The PhotoOne software is unbelievable, it was so easy to use that it didn't feel that expensive.

Btw, if anybody is reading this, Nic's $60 price is really really good, considering that it's quite a bit of work actually to scan the color patch for the printer.

RBK, your 4800 series has very good profiles already, am not surprised with the great color. Seems that anything machine from 4800 and up has been individually calibrated at the factory. I have also tried calibrating the 4800 for a friend, not much difference between the packaged printer profile and the PhaseOne. And if your Mac and LCD is under a year old, the default calibration should be very very close to standards.

Best
Wes
 

Thanks Wesley! GXFC to you too!

Hmm, after going through all the brands and makes and comparing profiles made, I only trust one brand. We are not gonna advertise here but looking at the progress made by that company so far. It's hard to go wrong.

And I do not normally do enduser, I only setup Pro Photog and Digital Labs so I really have no idea about CP's offer.

Wesley, Kaychin's and Eugene's Eye-One acted up recently, making weird profiles. I think the device needs periodic servicing to ensure tip top performance. the bulb is a replacement part i think.

Great Job theRBK! I remember doing that in school, made me see stars for awhile!

Wesley+theRBK, the article below may just explain why the canned profiles are so good to being with!

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2005_Sept_10/ai_n15381417


Cheers,
nic
 

Hey Nic,

Hmm, interesting, am curious about the weird profiles, this is with the EyeOne Photo spectrometer, not the EyeDisplay right? Any chance you can share?

I read the user manual, it did mention something about maintenance.

Best
Wes
 

marklim said:
Hi guys,

I've noticed that whenever i print photos out of my printer, its alot different from what i am seeing on my computer. I've researched and found out that there is something called calibration. However, i've noticed that we need to purchase a star shaped equipment to attach to our monitor to calibrate. And i've also noticed that the star shaped thing is not cheap.

However, i would like to know if there is a free way to calibrate my powerbook and get my prints to be the same as what i am seeing on my monitor. Is it possible ? Kindly guide me along on doing it (if its possible).

Many Thanks,
Mark

Not sure if this issue was delt with but you should take note that calibrating your monitor may not be all you need, printer calibration may also be necessary. but... Who want perfection anyway?

Also, you can do a simple calibration from your system preferences menu, under the displays section there is a button in the color tab. Its not the best calibration, but better than none.

You may also want to look into getting an external monitor, as the calibration units are a lot cheaper then the ones for the powerbook. If I remember correctly, the powerbook needs a certain calibrator which is much more pricey than the rest.
 

wesley said:
Hey Nic,

Hmm, interesting, am curious about the weird profiles, this is with the EyeOne Photo spectrometer, not the EyeDisplay right? Any chance you can share?

I read the user manual, it did mention something about maintenance.

Best
Wes

Hey Wes,

The gamut of the profiles created gets smaller as time goes by making you think that your display is failing fast. when i used my colorimeter to test out, the profiles created are much larger, by about 12-15%. So i suspect that the Eye-One Spectro needs servicing. Yes it's not the Eye-One Display.

Since you are profiling/calibrating the display more often then profiling media, you should think about getting a colorimeter to do the job instead.

FLIP- there are colorimeters that can handle the PB's LCD display as well as external displays. I don't trust the mid-range "one click" devices that are flooding the market now. you are better off getting it done professionally once in awhile than buying one that does half the job all the time.


cheers,
nic
 

wesley said:
RBK, your 4800 series has very good profiles already, am not surprised with the great color. Seems that anything machine from 4800 and up has been individually calibrated at the factory. I have also tried calibrating the 4800 for a friend, not much difference between the packaged printer profile and the PhaseOne. And if your Mac and LCD is under a year old, the default calibration should be very very close to standards.
That's why they are so expensive... :eek: ...anyway, its my boss'... ;) ... I believe they are also fitted individually and not from production line so the tolerances are tighter, and that they can actually trace the person/s who fitted the machine...

My year old PC and LCD still holding together well... LCD still needs calibration regularly though, out of good practice ;p
 

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