Monitior Calibration..

[redangel]

I have been reading with interest the monitior calibration issues. I have a samsung lcd. Its highest quality is 1440x900 32bit. When I do editing the resultant image appears much poorer in print than the image saved onscreen. I have much trouble with skin tonings. I have this rare shot of my autistic son....he has a grin (LOL) but I cant seem to edit it right for print. It is taken in raw format....slightly cropped prior to editing. Im sure its got more to do with me than the monitior but I guess Im trying to improve the odds of getting it right.

[kja]

Doesn't matter what kind of monitor you have, you have to calibrate it.

There are a lot of calibration software/hardware options available for a range of budgets. I use Spyder.

you also need to be sure you're working in the right colour space for your output - sRGB for web use and for many printers, too.

[redangel]

Doesn't matter what kind of monitor you have, you have to calibrate it.

There are a lot of calibration software/hardware options available for a range of budgets. I use Spyder.

you also need to be sure you're working in the right colour space for your output - sRGB for web use and for many printers, too.

Hmmm.....I assume my monitior is rgb yes? Would printers include those at processers outlets? Totally confused now...please forgive my ignorance Basically the result im after is the image on screen is the image in print. Oh...and if anyone is willing someone to try and get the colors right in my pic.

[kja]

In order for your screen to match your print you must calibrate your monitor to match your printer. If you have an at home printer, then there are settings that you can enter to line em both up. The settings are called profiles and they vary from printer to printer and also with paper type.

If you use a lab, they'll tell you the profiles to get the best from your prints. I use DigitalWorks with my Spyder calibrated monitors. I have never bothered with their profiles and my prints come out spot on every time so I know that my monitors are calibrated correctly and that this calibration plays nicely with my chosen lab. I have also had images printed at Snapfish, BrilliantPrints, TheEdge and several other pro labs - all came back very very close.

Forget about what your monitor is, as it doesn't really matter. You need to use software/hardware to read what your monitor is putting out and then adjust so you are sure everything is as it should be. Monitors lie. What looks good on the screen may not have any bearing on reality At the very least you can use Adobe Gamma, though I found it screwed things up more than it fixed.

rgb is a colour space. When you edit your images or even just shoot them on your camera, you are in a colour space. Most things on the web are sRGB colour space. If you put up a photo that has something else, it is likely that many people will see it as "off" as some browsers do not support other colour spaces. It's all very complex and blah blah blah, really. Basically, stay away from ProRGB and CYMK (this is used to print brochures and the like so it's a specialty colour space). sRGB works the best for so many things, AdobeRGB would be the next best but will be funky on the web and at some printing places (Kmart, pro labs unless specified etc)

Some of these links may help you see where your monitor is screwing. Calibration needs to be done at regular intervals, too.

LCD monitors

Colour chart

General test

Brightness is often a culprit with either the blacks going blocky (not being able to tell them apart) or the whites blowing together. It can really muck things up.

OK, crap, just reread this - I hope I didn't confuse you too much.

What printer are you using? one at home? and what exactly is wrong with the image? If you upload your RAW file to the web I can download it and take a look. Pop your jpeg in here so we can see, too.

Edited January 12, 2010 by kja

[redangel]

This is the jpeg....of theoriginal TIFF file. I use pb to upload. If you let me know how to post RAW file I will gladly do.

Just checked my settings on camera- set for srgb...would that have any effect??? I have never had this problem before ( started thinking id inadvertedly changed a setting somewhere?????) Use TEDS for printing. Digital Works is basically a stones throw away but I dont have the workload. Thanks

[kja]

I'm on my laptop today and it's a bit, erm, quirky for editing - it's ok for my own coz I know what I mean, but I might not be as right with yours lol. I'll look when I get home if no one else does.

If you didn't shoot in RAW - you said original is TIFF?? - then you won't be able to upload it. If you can upload the original file without edits and full size, we could edit it ready for printing. To do this you'll need to upload it to your website. I use WinSCP as it's free. It pops up two windows - on the right your destination (web page) and on the left your computer - then you just drag the file across from your computer file to the right-hand window. It needs to be in your main web site folder so the address looks something like this www.mywebsite.com/myimage1.jpg (or dng or cr2 or whatever your original extension is). Then we can click it, download it to our machines and have a go.

Right now, this looks a touch orangey/pinky to me. How does it print that is different to what you want?

Oh, and my camera is set to sRGB, too.

Edited January 12, 2010 by kja

[Linda K]

does look a bit off on the skin tones, maybe a bit too much red / pink?

[redangel]

Thanks for the input (and patience) I was crook as yesterday spending most of the time in bed. Your asessment is as it prints...heavy on pink and yellows. Now...the original tiff referred to unprocessed...other than exposure. It was shot in RAW...but I dont have a website...any ideas????