An open discussion on Calibrators

[CanadianRocky]

I would like to start an open discussion on Calibrators. Which kind do you use? What kind of software are you using with it? If you where to buy another one, which kind would you get? Was the one you got worth the money you spent on it, and would there be value in spending more than you did?

And anything else you would like to add to the discussion that is not listed above.

It is not so much a discussion on how color management works, but the tools you use to get you color management working and how those tools affect your digital work flow.

From the camera, to scanners, to the software you use and on to the printer.

[iconoclast]

Hey Canadian Rocky, we meet again.

For monitor calibration I use an HP branded Eye One Display 2 that I got used off ebay; like 60$ if I remember. I use windows and the eye one software is pretty good I think; it has basic and advanced modes; it installs the profile automagically; it reminds you to profile again in x number of days; the manufacturer also has a diagnostic app to let you know your device is functioning properly. this particular model also calibrates multiple monitors; some do not. I think some won't even let you do single monitors on multiple computers but this one will.

the only other monitor calibrator ive used is my own eyes and those little gamma apps; not really good I discovered. haha

I have a cis and 3rd party inks but havn't started using them. Its my birthday soon and I'm angling for a spuder3 print for a printer profiler. this one is quite cheap but pretty good if you put some hard work into it. it also gives special attention to b&w. this one uses an optical device to measure your printed swatches. from what I gather it's mid range performance and affordable.

another option ive read about and heard gives acceptable results for some peoples purposes is Profile Prism. its actually just a piece of software that profiles your printer; it works by scanning your printed swatches. I've heard good things about it but I don't have a scanner, let alone a good one.

Nothern Images is a great place to get reviews on calibration tools, its very articular and the reviews are thorough. 2 reviews I will further point out, for the colormunki and the spyder3/datacolor; these are very cost effective items but from reviews and research i went with other options due to poor performance.

as for software........... I'm not 'married' to any particular image editor but photoshop is winning me over. gimp I like and is under good development but its color management seems a little immature. ive actually had some success printing with a bundled vista cm program called windows photo gallery. i was really surprised when i discovered its cm options.
for raw importing i use ufraw for gimp, also light room and canon ddp.
the same company that makes profile prism has a printing cm program called QImage. if you've done some windows printing you'll notice that it dosnt like to save settings in the printer driver, even if you set them as default! QImage seems to take care of this and is pretty straight forward and does a great job. Its free to try but I dont do a ton of printing so I'd never buy it.

[oldugly]

I'm not sure what the "real pros" use for calibration, I use an eye-one Display LT. It worked very well on my desktop, but had a problem getting it to work on my HP laptop. Contacted Xrite support and "Bruce" 'splained to me the problem was with Vista. Told me where to download the newer software and fixed the problem. On both machines there is a noticable difference between the original profiles and the new ones. The real improvement ? Now I don't have to make any corrections before I send files to the printer.

For processing I'm using CS3. Considered CS4, but heck "3" is already smarter than I am. I shoot RAW and have found the RAW processor to be the best of those I have tried. I had considered Lightroom, but for the relativily few photos I process, it is overkill.

[CanadianRocky]

Originally Posted by iconoclast

Hey Canadian Rocky, we meet again.
Nothern Images is a great place to get reviews on calibration tools, its very articular and the reviews are thorough.

This is a great resource. I have already spent a few hours reading their material.

Thanks for the heads up.

I can see that the i1 XTreme is something I am going to be very interested in. I like that it does Printer profiles also. Expensive, but I might be able to turn calibration into a bit of a sideline as there is no one in my area doing anything like it at all.

[CanadianRocky]

Originally Posted by oldugly

The real improvement ? Now I don't have to make any corrections before I send files to the printer.

Nice.