YOUR # 1 GUIDE TO BETTER DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY
Google
pcphotomag.com www










 

Name:

Address:

City:

State:

Zip:

Email:





Foreign subs click here



A special service for PCPhoto Readers powered by

Get The

Best Price

On Photo Gear!

Search The Country's Top Retailers In One Place

The best souce for current savings on most popular products

Compare features, specs, prices, customer comments before you buy


...and many more!





 

Trade Tricks Color Management Quick Tips

 
     
 

Achieve Matching Color From Monitor to Print

By Zachary Singer

  
     
  Digital imaging allows you to tweak an image until it’s exactly the way you like it. Sometimes, though, we’re chagrined to discover that our prints don’t match what we saw on the screen. It’s useless to have the perfect image appear on your monitor and watch a poor cousin of that picture come out of your printer. Here are some quick and simple steps that you can use to achieve matching and accurate color.  
     
   
     
  1.Calibrate Your Monitor! If you’ve ever seen a department store display of color TVs, each with its own variation of hue and contrast, then you’ve seen an illustration of the problem. Which TV is the “right” one? Calibrated monitors are set to a particular standard so that what you see on your monitor is the same as what everyone else sees on theirs, and also what you’ll see in your prints.

Use a calibration utility to help you. Adobe Gamma comes free with Photoshop, and will guide you through a simple visual calibration that will get your monitor in the ballpark. For more accurate calibration, use a third-party calibration package, like DisplayMate, ColorVision’s Spyder or Monaco Systems’ OPTIX XR. Whichever utility you use, recalibrate periodically because your monitor’s display shifts with time.

2.Keep The Lighting Environment Around Your Monitor Consistent. Shut the window blinds to block stray light. Also, position your desk lamp so that it doesn’t strike your display.

3.Set Your Computer’s Desktop To Middle Gray To Help You Judge Colors Accurately. The way your eyes perceive a given color depends on the colors surrounding it. The same white rose, for example, will appear differently when viewed against a blue background than it would when viewed against a yellow one. Using a neutral gray background on your desktop helps prevent these unwanted shifts in color perception.

4.For The Same Reason, Set Up Your Computer In A Room With Neutral-Colored Walls. Gray is best, but white’s okay. Avoid placing brightly colored objects near your computer.

Resources

ColorVision
(800) 554-8688
www.colorvision.com

DisplayMate
(603) 672-8500
www.displaymate.com

Monaco Systems
(978) 749-9944
www.monacosys.com
5.When Making Prints With Your Inkjet Printer, Be Sure To Set The Printer Driver For The Appropriate Paper Type. Glossy photo paper absorbs printer ink differently than matte photo paper, and both surfaces absorb ink differently than the plain paper you use for word processing.Tell your printer which type of paper you’re using so that it can apply ink correctly for that particular paper surface.

6.Make Test Prints To Develop A Sense Of How The Prints Compare To Your Screen. Even with perfect calibration, the monitor and print may not have the same “feel” because your monitor is a glowing light source, and the print can only reflect the light falling on it. The monitor’s display can seem brighter than your prints, even when your system is calibrated.		  
     










Receive 1 RISK-FREE Issue of PCPhoto!
Enter your trial subscription and you'll receive 1 Risk-Free Issue. If you like PCPhoto, pay just $11.97 for 8 more issues (9 in all). Otherwise, write "cancel" on the bill, return it, and owe nothing.

Name:
 Address:
Address 2:
 City:
State:
 Zip Code:
E-Mail Address:
Canadian/Foreign residents, click here.

Home | About Us | Contact Us | Subscribe

PCPhoto Magazine is a publication of the Werner Publishing Corporation
12121 Wilshire Boulevard, 12th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90025
Copyright© 2006 Werner Publishing Corp.