Calibration for Monitors and
Color Workflows
In order to accurately view images from a digital camera or
scanner on a computer monitor the monitor must be adjusted to
properly display the full range of tones in the digital photos.
Getting accurate color and tone through the entire process (shooting/scanning,
image browsing and editing and finally printing) can be a very
complicated process called Color Management.
In order to implement a fully working Color Management system
special hardware (called a spectrophotometer or colorimeter)
and software is needed to physically read the color values from
the monitor or printer and then create special files called profiles
which "teach" the computer how to convert from one
color space to another.
A fully Color Management workflow is beyond the scope of this
site, which will discuss basic visual monitor adjustment to ensure
proper tones. Many times the monitors on monitors are not set
properly and images will always appear too dark or light even
though they look good on the camera's preview monitor. If this
is the case, the following instructions will need to be used
to adjust the monitor Brightness and Contrast to properly display
images.
Adjusting the Monitor Color Depth
Before proceeding be sure
that your computer is set to display the maximum number of colors.
If the computer is not displaying the full range of colors and
tones it will be impossible to properly display digital images.
Windows (all version)
Right click on the desktop and
choose "Properties"
Click the "Settings"
tab
In the Color Quality area choose
"High 24 bit" or any setting labeled "True Color"
(the higher "bit" the better) Names may be slightly
different depending on exact OS version.
Mac OS 8.x-9.x
From the Apple Menu choose "Control
Panels" and then "Monitors"
In the "Color Depth"
section choose "Millions" if available, if not choose
"Thousands" Names may be slightly different depending
on exact OS version.
Mac OS X
From the Apple Menu choose "System
Preferences" then click the "Displays" button
In the "Colors" pop-up
choose "Millions" if available, if not choose "Thousands"
Adjusting the Brightness/Contrast
If your monitor has been
calibrated previously or you use a hardware device to adjust
your monitor do NOT follow these steps.
Now we need to adjust the
physical brightness or contrast controls of the monitor. How
to do this changes greatly depending on what hardware you have.
Some computers (mainly laptops) have buttons on the keyboard
to increase or decrease the settings. Some monitors have dials
or switches on them. Consult the manual for you computer or monitor
on how to make these adjustments.
The image above consists
of 17 different blocks of grey. Step "1" is pure white
(255 RGB) and step 17 (and the surrounding area) is pure black
(0 RGB). Adjust the monitor brightness and contrast until you
can see as many steps as possible. With the proper settings you
should be able to see a clear definition between each step. After
making these adjustments well-exposed digital images will look
good on the screen.
If the Brightness and Contrast settings
are turned all of the way up and you still can not see the differences
between the steps then the monitor tube may have reached the
end of it's life and will not be able to properly display images.
Monitor tubes generally only last for several years of normal
use and after that they begin to lose brightness.
Calibation
Software
Macintosh OS have builtin monitor calibration
software.
On Mac OS 10.x: open "System
Preferences" and click "Displays". Click the "Color
tab", then click "Calibrate". The Display Calibrator
Assistant walks you through calibrating your display.
Mac OS 9.x: open "Control Panel"
Click on Monitor, make sure you have Colors and Millions chosen,
click the Calibate button, and follow the onscreen directions.
More Info:
The
International Color Consortium The International
Color Consortium....promoting and encouraging the standardization
of an open color management system
Color Management: What's Needed for Printing &
Publishing? David McDowell Apr 29, 2000
(International Color Consortium) I would like to step
back and look at color management and try to see where it fits
within the larger printing and publishing industry workflow to
understand its potential benefits and/or impact....
Out
of Gamut: Color Management Made Stupid Bruce Fraser
Oct 11, 1999
Using a color management system to get predictable color from
one device to another is often way more difficult than it need
be. ...
Out
of Gamut: Photoshop, Previsualization, and Print Prediction
Bruce Fraser Jan 9, 2002 (Staff Report) Color management
can't change the physical limits of your printing process. What
it can do, though, is to get your monitor to show you how your
print will appear, and let you take any corrective action necessary
to optimize the appearance of the image on the print. Photoshop's
Proof Setup feature is capable of providing very accurate previews
of your prints....
Out
of Gamut: Setting Up Color Management in Photoshop 6
Bruce Fraser Sep 5, 2001 (Staff Report) Color-management
wizard Bruce Fraser kicks off his two-part article on color managing
in Photoshop 6 with this guide to calibrating your monitor and
optimizing Photoshop settings....
Out
of Gamut: Getting a Handle on Color Management
Bruce Fraser Jun 20, 2001 (Staff Report) Color-geek
extraordinaire Bruce Fraser spells out the basics in this primer
on color management systems....
Eye-One
Pro with Eye-One Match Bruce Fraser May
1, 2002 (Macworld.com)
GretagMacbeth Provides Easy-to-Use Color-Management Tools...
MonacoEZcolor
(MacWorld Review) Bruce Fraser
MacWorld / One of the biggest obstacles to the widespread use
of Apple's ColorSync color-management software has been the expense
and difficulty of building output profiles. ...
Monaco Systems, Inc. color compensation
and workflow tools for color-critical environments.
Color Management for Your Digital Workflow
Free Online Seminar on Color Management