| Re: Monitor Calibration
My current computer was salvaged from a builder's skip and I found that the monitor colour was way out. For the past week I borrowed a monitor and that was equally faulty but I managed to do a reasonable job of correction using a basic freebie test card and comparing camera images to monitor image and prints. This led me to think that there are probably a lot of incorrectly adjusted monitors in use.
Once, I tried another free basic calibration programme but found it produced worse results than adjusting by eye. A long time ago I was a printer and think that I still have a reasonable 'colour eye'. I have considered purchasing a better system but getting a new monitor has set my new bigger lens plans back by a couple of months so that will have to come first.
Incorrect printer settings are certainly to blame for a great many bad print problems. I have tried third party ink but found that although it produced consistant results they weren't quite as good as the real thing; although there are probably wide variations between different alternative ink suppliers. There is certainly a lot of variation between different paper manufacturers which will produce widely differing results. I find that the results from anything less than the top grades is always disappointing. Cheap paper tends to fade quickly, the worst of them won't last a year unless they are behind glass and out of sunlight.
Mostly, I print using the Windows ICM colour control setting which I find to give slightly more acurate colours than the printer auto settings which tend to be a touch over saturated for my tastes. I wanted to produce A3 prints so I'm using a Canon Pixema 9000 and Canon Photo Paper Pro super glossy paper. Also use Ilford Classic Pearl when I want a softer finish. Some of the special paper profiles work and I usually use this setting for Ilford paper otherwise I set for the general type of paper being used. Wrong paper type or too low a printer resolution definitely produce inferior prints.
One thing that I did find with my new monitor is that the sRGB setting does produce truer colours than the standard control. So, as long as I am getting good and consistant results with prints, I will keep saving for that new lens and think about a calibration system later.
Hope there might be a few tips here for Bub-les to experiment with.  |