What You See Is What You’d Like To Get

Achieving accurate color output has always been a challenge for photographers. Even before digital camera files, photographers exposed various color film materials and then worried about achieving an output color that would please themselves or the client. Photographers quickly learned that results varied widely depending on the film choice made and the selection of the processing lab. To achieve reliability, photographers migrated to one lab that they found most consistent and utilized a small number of film types with known qualities.

Today photographers have a huge selection of digital cameras available to them and each camera model may have a different color output. Many photographers have become their own processing labs, operating with a multitude of different computer and software systems. Then the work is output or printed on a host of different printers and papers. Output may be on a dye sublimation printer, laser printer, or on a flood of diverse inkjet styles using dye or pigmented inks. The consistency found in a single lab and a few films is now left in the hands of each novice color lab / computer system operator.

Capturing, processing and outputting digital files with so many variables thrown into the mix makes an industry standard impossible. An image that looks great on one camera may look different on your monitor or display and different again on someone else’s monitor. The image file will surely appear different again depending on the printer and print media used. It’s every man for himself in this game. To achieve any semblance of consistency each individual must come to terms with their color calibration and monitoring of the process much earlier in the workflow.

While dealing with digital color has become much easier and no longer requires the assistance of a rocket scientist, there is still a lot for most of us to figure out. There has been much research and many programming efforts completed on our behalf. It is most helpful to know that what you see on your monitor or LCD display will be exactly what you get out of your printer. Calibrated systems reward the user with a consistent production cycle, which saves a lot of time and several dollars worth of materials. There are a number of calibration packages available, Gretag Macbeth’s Eye-One being one of the most versatile. Eye-One may be purchased in several modules so you only have to purchase the sections you need at the moment. The Eye-One Display software/hardware packages are immediately available at pictureline, for your convenience and all other modules may be ordered without delay. The whole system selections may be seen at www.i1color.com/products/i1_display.asp.

The Eye-One Display package includes a USB powered colorimeter for emissive color measurement, which easily attaches to either a monitor or LCD display. The package also includes the Eye-One Match 2.0 software with a new easier to use interface. The software now steps the user through the process so that no manual is even needed. The Eye-One Display package is Mac and PC compatible (Classic, OS X, Windows 98, 2000, ME, XP). Currently there is an upgrade voucher available towards the purchase of other modules you may wish to obtain.

The monitor or display calibration begins with a light reading puck (colorimeter) suspended to a given position on your screen or display. The software walks you through the process so that the puck can detect any discrepancies between the known colors in the software and how they are projected on the display. Adjustable monitors are altered to display a corrected color set and LCD displays have a new set of color lookup tables sent to the system display card. The new lookup table alters the way video data is sent to the screen thus there is a calibration of sorts for the LCD.

Calibration and monitoring your process is not a one-time thing. New CRT’s will drift a lot in the first few months of regular use, making re-calibration every two weeks necessary. After six months of usage you may be able to extend re-calibration out to once a month. Test results show that on several different Apple LCD displays color drift was minimal, however brightness increased over time. Re-calibration on displays should also be carried out monthly. Despite everything I have heard in the past about PC gamma to be set at 2.2 and a Mac at 1.8, the current best advice now is to set your Mac at 2.2. This will initially make the view a bit dimmer but over time it will be better on re-calibration.

Now you should be able to see things in a whole new way. Color won’t be the problem it once was. Consistency will be increased in your process workflow and in your personal output lab. From pictureline, helping you enjoy your photography.