Color Profiles

12 years 1 month ago #205292 by Phil0
In a nutshell i am having a problem with the colors of prints I get back from various print companies and have got myself confused.
I have a Spyder3 monitor calibrator and use it quite easily enough but the image i see on the monitor is always different to what i get back from the printers. I use a pro print company by the way so it is something i am doing wrong.
The company tells me to send my images to them saved in the sRGB color space which i think i am doing?
I use photoshop cs5 and Lightroom 3 for editing so can someone point me in the right direction so i can set up cs5 and lightroom correctly.


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12 years 1 month ago #205300 by Ms. Amy
It's a problem of side by side comparisons. Your monitor is a self-illuminating sources. Your print is not. Your monitor will typically have a dynamic range quite different to that of a print. To accurately compare them side by side you need:

1. Monitor calibrated to a specific white balance, gamma curve, and with the brightness and black point values carefully clamped to a certain dynamic range not exceeding that of the print.

2. Room lighting that is dark enough not to contribute to any changes in colour balance of what you see on the screen.

3. A calibrated lightbox set to a brightness that compares with the monitor brightness and a white balance that is often set to the monitor - some adjustment value to compensate for the fact that inkjet paper is actually slightly blue in colour.


The poor mans version is set your monitor to around about 5000-5500 kelvin and stare at your picture for a little while. Then walk outside and have a look at your picture in the sunlight.

The most important part your calibrator does is make sure that your colours are consistent across the tone curve. So that light grey and dark grey are both neutral, so that your value of pure blue is a very specific blue. Beyond that, white balance and contrast are heavily dependant on the viewing conditions of the print.


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12 years 1 month ago #205302 by Cyber geek


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12 years 1 month ago #205304 by Phil0
Thanks for the advice everyone. I have looked at the link to the website and done my own research, what a minefield the topic is!!
Just about got it cracked now apart from the brightness. As silly as it sounds i think maybe that is caused by me looking at my monitor at a funny angle.
Anyway a new monitor is on its way to me


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12 years 1 month ago #205305 by Cyber geek
Not silly at all. TN film panels change both in brightness and tone with viewing angles. That's why some of us spend $1000 on high end IPS LCDs from Eizo or NEC


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12 years 1 month ago #205322 by Baydream
One thing I discovered is that some print services default to "color correction". I have turned that option OFF when I submit and my colors are better. Even the one-hour shops have the ability to turn off color correction but many don't offer any training to staff on the "how and why".

I had a vivid shot of a lighthouse near sunset with the light behind it so the sky was brilliant orange. It was a film shot and when I got the 4x6 it looked terrific. I took the negative to a "pro" shop to get an 8x10 printed. I had to take the 4x6 to them to use as a "guide" photo and get if reprinted.
This is a similar shot from that evening along with a version that is sort of like what they did to it.




BTW - An old CRT dinosaur often rendered better photos than some of the low end LCD monitors.

Shoot, learn and share. It will make you a better photographer.
fineartamerica.com/profiles/john-g-schickler.html?tab=artwork

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12 years 1 month ago #205454 by Henry Peach

Baydream wrote: BTW - An old CRT dinosaur often rendered better photos than some of the low end LCD monitors.


:agree:
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