Screen Calibration Software

dankellys

dankellys

Suspended / Banned
Messages
221
Name
Dan
Edit My Images
Yes
I ordered some prints the other day (photoworld.co.uk were doing your 1st hundered prints for free, and thought I would give them a go) Anyway, i found that many of my prints were a little darker than they appeared on my monitor.

Now, this could just be that the prints were rubbish quality, but I would like to make sure my monitor is calibrated properly anyway. Can anyone recommend some decent software for doing this? I have tried Windows Calibration, but it didnt seem to do much... Incase your interested my monitor is the ViewSonic VIE 23" IPS.
 
Last edited:
There really isn;t a software only solution that will work well. You need teh hardware too.

I recommend the ColorMunki or i1 Display Pro

You can do a visual calibration by going to http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/ but it won't be as accurate... not even close. And you can't adjust things like gamma in your screen's OSD menu... you'll have to go into the video card driver control centre for that.
 
Cheers David, really can't afford a hardware solution at the minute, looking at least £70 for a colormunki... Will just have to make do with a software based solution for the time being. Cheers for the link, I will give that a go.
 
If your prints are not right, its due to the monitor not been calibrated. I recommend the colourmunki, its a matter of getting the screen right, or putting up with rubbish prints. The solution to your question is calibration, nothing else will sort it
 
Cheers for the advice. Trying to save money for a house deposit and a Wedding at the minute, and every spare penny I have is going towards those, so spending on my hobby is a no-no at the minute. Looks like I will just have to put up with it for the time being.
 
Crude and very crude method is to adjust the brightness of your monitor to match the prints you have had done. Not ideal but may work. Most monitors are a bit too right straight out of the box anyway.

Remember though this is a rough ( very rough) and ready solution and doesn't eliminate the need for proper calibration.
 
There is no software only solution to calibrate and profile a screen. You run the risk of making things worse if you try any.

Also, there are two parts to the process. Calibrating, which sets the screen defaults for brightness, contrast, colour temperate to a known standard; and Profiling which builds the display profile for use by colour management engines.

Software only may get you close or far away from the ideal calibration but it will not produce a profile. Only a hardware device can do both.

Display manufacturers may provide a default profile but these are generic and may not match your actual device.

Display calibration and profiling only ensures that what you see on screen is correct. It will not guarantee that prints will match the screen.

There are parts of the printing process that need careful consideration.

There is also a fundamental difference when comparing screen to print. Screens transmit light and prints are viewed by reflected light. If your print viewing conditions are not right, this can then skew colours and vibrance.

When sending out prints to a print shop you also need to be aware of whether or not they perform colour management. If not (and this is quite common) they assume an sRGB image. Also some shops may do auto colour correction for you, which may make things worse.

Colin
 
To add
Agreed software will not sort your problem.
However assuming you had calibrated your monitor you would really need d/l a profile from the print lab, this will ensure the prints are as close as possible to what you see on your screen.
I use http://www.proamimaging.com/index.php, very good prices as well as print profiling and good onsite information on how to submit your prints.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top