Monitor calibration program vs. Adobe gamma

I'll be expecting a new monitor shortly - either the NEC 20WMGX2 or a Dell 2007WFP. I am wondering how essential it will be for me to buy monitor calibration software. I use Adobe CS2 and have access to Adobe Gamma.

I don't print my photos - I prefer to view them on the big screen. I share them by posting them to the web. I realise programs like Spyder are essential for those who want prints to match the color representation they have achieved onscreen. But will not Adobe Gamma be sufficient for someone like me who views their digital shots online?

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1004&message=21713091&q=adobe+gamma+icc+profile&qf=m
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JJMack

There's absolutely no reason to use Adobe Gamma on an LCD. You probably would be better off if you don't use color management at all. It adds a level of complexity and is pointless without measurment instruments.

I don't agree ..............
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JJMack

JJMacks said:

I don't agree ..............
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JJMack

Click to expand...

Why would you screw around with videocard LUTs without even having an option to measure the output? You end up with less than 256 values on each channel without any tangible benefit (like an accurate profile). People go to great lenths to avoid LUT adjustments (such as buying expensive monitors plus buying additional software that works with them using DDC).

If you have a bunch of monitors that look different and for some reason don't want to invest into a hardware-based solution then an LUT-adjusting utility like Adobe Gamma or similar can be useful. But for a single monitor it's pointless.

Get your self a hardware calabration system. Your eyes can not do a very good job.

http://epaperpress.com/monitorcal/

Morris
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http://qcpages.qc.cuny.edu/~morris/POD

Use something like Pantone Eye-1. Adobe Gamma simply wont word well on a LCD.
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Steve Bingham
http://www.dustylens.com
http://www.ghost-town-photography.com

a hardware/software solution...

While Adobe Gamma was designed for CRT Displays it can be used with LCDs. On the Adobe Web site You will find statements like it can not be used on LCD in the PSE 5. Section and In the Adobe Classroom book you will find the following.

"Using Adobe Gamma utility with LCDs

Although the Adobe Gamma utility will adjust some features of a liquid crystal display monitor (LCD) the utility is designed primarily for calibrating and profiling cathode ray tube monitors (CRTs). If you use the Adobe Gamma utility for your LCD, skip the contrast step, because many LCDs lack a contrast control. For these you can adjust only the intensity of the backlight. If you don't use Adobe Gamma, then either use the factory-supplied ICC profile for your LCD or consider a hardware-based product for profiling. ColorVision, ColorBlind, Gretag Macbeth and DisplayMate are a few of the manufactures who provide calibration and profiling solutions specifically for LCDs."

Now I have four LCD and never felt the need for a hardware-based solution. My LCD connected via DVI connectors have their contrast controls grayed out those connected via VGA connectors do not. My prints compare well with my displays images. Display images and Print Images will never look the same for one image is emitting light and the other reflecting light.

My approach to color calibrating my display takes into account the following facts.

1.) LCD are quite stable and do not need to be recalibrate as often as CRTs.

2.) Adobe Gamma loader does not support multiple, however Adobe Gamma Calibrator does and I have two displays on my machines.

3.) Often ICC profiles provided by the manufacture do not contain the data needed to load into the video cards look up table.

4.) LCD are normally too bright and I like them like that.

Here is my solution.

1.) I download the manufacture's ICC profiles for the displays I have. Sometimes the ICC profile download is miss labeled device driver. I reality the download is an ICC profile that gets installed and associated with the display and place into the device driver color management as the default color profile.

2.) Create ICC profiles for the displays with the information needed for the video card LUT. I use Adobe Gamma for this. The first thing I do in Adobe Gamma after dragging it window to the display I wish to calibrate is to load the manufactures ICC profile as a starting point. This may be all I do. When I click on finish in Adobe Gamma calibrator wants to save the new profile. I save the ICC profile under a new name. Adobe Gamma saves the new profile installs it associates it with the display and set the default color management profile for that display in the device driver.

3.) Once all the Displays on a system are calibrated I remove Adobe Gamma Loader from being executed when the system boots. I download and install Microsoft Windows Color Applet which can load multiple LUT. I place in the All users Startup folder a shortcut to execute Microsoft color applet with the " L" parameter in other words "C:\Program Files\Pro Imaging Powertoys\Microsoft Color Control Panel Applet for Windows XP\WinColor.exe" " L".

4.) Compensate for having my LCD being brighter then it should be. Because I have my display set too bright like I like when I edit a image the image file will really be too dark. This Image will look fine on My LCD and just about every other users LCD. For in general LCD are Bright. However when I print one of these images the print will be too dark the colors will be right on but on the dark side. To compensate for this I add an adjustment layer brightness and contrast on top of the image and boost the brightness around 20% when printing. The image prints great and closely matches the displayed image with the adjustment layer turned off.

l
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JJMack

Displays, Cameras, and Printers all have different color capabilities.

Displays can not Display the many of Colors a Camera can record and some of the colors a printer can print.

Because of that Photoshop uses color management and uses you displays color profile to render the image being displayed in colors that are close to the colors in the image as best that your display do. Again because you printer has different color capabilities also Photoshop has a soft proofing function the can identify areas the are out of you printers gamut and will render an image on you display as to what the image may look at printed on your printer using the printer/paper profile and your displays profile.

Even if all had the same color capabilities display images and print images will never look the same for one image is emitting light and the other reflecting light.

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JJMack

For color managed apps to render colors the way they are supposed to look like on the monitor they need to have accurate information about how the monitor looks like. Chances are manufacturer's default profile will be more accurate than whatever you get after adjusting LUTs with visual utilities. Using videocard LUT adjustments without measuring the output is counterproductive, especially when some stages of the process are 8 bit.

Just the fact that you resort to using adjustment layers in PS to match printer output indicates that your color management doesn't work. You can do all sorts of color adjustments in a number of stages of the workflow if you don't use color management (videocard drivers, printer drivers and so on)... That's one way to approach matching device output, but it's not the way the device-independant color management is designed to work.

The idea of color management is to provide applications with accurate devices profiles and let them do the gamut conversion work to insure that the output is reasonably device-independant.

That does not mean that a colorimeter is absolutely necessary for a reasonable non-professional LCD-based workflow. Most problems people have are probably related to printer profiles and other parts of the workflow, not the monitor profiles.

klinikl said:

For color managed apps to render colors the way they are supposed
to look like on the monitor they need to have accurate information
about how the monitor looks like. Chances are manufacturer's
default profile will be more accurate than whatever you get after
adjusting LUTs with visual utilities. Using videocard LUT
adjustments without measuring the output is counterproductive,
especially when some stages of the process are 8 bit.

Click to expand...

Yes I start with the manufacturer's profile for they do calibrate their displays and LCD are quite stable unlike CRT's

klinikl said:

Just the fact that you resort to using adjustment layers in PS to
match printer output indicates that your color management doesn't
work. You can do all sorts of color adjustments in a number of
stages of the workflow if you don't use color management (videocard
drivers, printer drivers and so on)... That's one way to approach
matching device output, but it's not the way the device-independant
color management is designed to work.

Click to expand...

Say what you want. I want my Display brighter then it should be. Most LCD ship way too bright and I do dim them some. However I find most use their LCD too bright like I do.

klinikl said:

The idea of color management is to provide applications with
accurate devices profiles and let them do the gamut conversion work
to insure that the output is reasonably device-independant.

Click to expand...

Yes that is why I use it. Display profile and Printer Profile from the manufacturer's may be all the is needed. My Epson 4800 documentation states that all Epson professional printers are calibrated at the factory and burned into the machine. I very happy with the print quality from the 4800. Epson supplies quite a few Profile for the 4800 and other Paper manufacturers supply profiles for their paper used in the Epson 4800.

klinikl said:

That does not mean that a colorimeter is absolutely necessary for a
reasonable non-professional LCD-based workflow. Most problems
people have are probably related to printer profiles and other
parts of the workflow, not the monitor profiles.

Click to expand...

That is all I stating a colorimeter is not absolutely necessary for a reasonable color managed workflow. Nothing More. I put my money into a professional printer rather than a colorimeter to tweak my display color a bit. Good prints are what I want.

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JJMack

A little confession about myself. One in ten men are color blind I fall into the 10% group so I can not trust my eyes color processing ability for judging color when post processing. I can trust the numbers they resolve. I feel even people with normal vision should learn that neutral colors are their friends and learn to use Photoshop's Info Pallet to process these. Correcting neutral colors like black and white can do wonders for all the colors in a image. You have to use some knowledge for white can easily pick up other colors and highlights deep shadows should be considered off limits when correcting colors.

Most color blind people see colors quite well. My colored world is beautiful. Maybe as good as yours I'll never know for I can't see yours.
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JJMack