Color profiling beginner questions (colormunky etc)

[te36]

Ok, i am almost ready to buy a colorimeter or the like to profile my printers. But i did not want to take up a credit with my bank. So i am looking for some advise:

a) Is there no "cheaper" option for profiling than buying a multiple hundred dollar device ? Why for example can i not profile a printer sufficiently well with just the scanner of my printer. Eg: Is there no software that would just allow to print some color sheet, then feed it into the scanner, analyze it, and be done ? Worst case you'd need someone that upfront would have measured the particular scanner type output. Or better yet you'd have to just buy/rent a few well-known proof sheet (pantone color sheets or the like). I thought a few years back someone pointed me to such a program, but i can't find any pointers to that info anymore.

b) If i am going to buy sa colorimeter? what's the recommendation ? I am torn between ColorMunky and an ebay bought i1 pro or even older model. The i1 pro seems to be beneficial because of FWA compensation - but is that really important ? I don't know how much brightener there would be in normal foto paper (which is what i'm looking for). Also, used i1pro have the problem that it's almost impossible to know what software license keys are included. I'd assume that all those i1pro that sell between $300 and $500 would have no printer profiling software licensing key, and i do not have windows nor MacOS <= 10.6 to run the older software. Aka: How much would folks here pay for an i1pro if they could only ue it with argyll ?

 

[apetitphoto]

I've been asking the same questions. What I've found is software that will do what you want, but it's expensive. Scan a reference to calibrate your scanner, prin a target and scan that to generate a profile.

You could also go with a profile creation company and print their target and have them generate a profile. It's expensive.

You could also rent a colormunki for about the cost of one custom profile. Then you have it for a while to make as many profiles as you can. I'm leaning on this direction.

But, ultimately, you'll probably want your own.

 

[te36]

so what software did you find that does this ? Probably the one i can't remember, so i'm curious. Can not even remember the price...

 

[apetitphoto]

http://www.silverfast.com/ Is the one I found.

 

[apetitphoto]

Renting from places like borrow lenses is about $50 for week.

Profiling services are about $50 per profile.

 

[The Hat]

The problems associated with buying an older profiling device is it may have had quite a lot of use and be past its usefulness, the reason they are selling might be, just that...

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

there is some profiling software using a scanner and a target http://www.ddisoftware.com/prism/ but I don't know how good those profiles really get.
There is the ArgyllCMS freeware which needs a spectro to make the measurements, there are quite some people here in the forum using that software.
You can get the ColorMunki package which gets as well positive recognition, but much less some Spyder software by Datacolor.
You can run i1Pro diagnostics software http://www.xrite.com/service-support/downloads/i/i1diagnostics-v4_1_1 which gives you usage data and possible license keys. You can ask potential sellers to run that software and give you the test report and compare.
But if people upgrade their X-Rite software and hardware -e.g. to an i1Pro2 they can migrate the license keys from one device to the new one so the old and used one may not hold any license info anymore.
The issue with the optical brighteners is somewhat tricky, one problem is that they fade pretty quick, and it is a question whether they should be considered at all in the profiling process, I did some testing in this respect https://www.printerknowledge.com/threads/optical-brighteners-and-their-fading.11650/#post-98240
X-Rite offers quite a sophisticated process to handle those optical brighteners but I think that is more relevant to the printing industry . You may get as well these used i1Pro's with or without UV cut filter if you want to use such data.

 

[te36]

Thanks a lot.

I am a bit worried about the notion of The Hat about life expectancy of old eye-ones or even used ColorMunkeys. I guess this is mostly about the illuminant changing its emission spectrum to a point where the color space that could be measured shrinks ? Given that the better offers on ebay have return options, is there anything i could check when receiving the device ?

I guess i need to buy myself a black light to check out the optical brighteners of my papers ;-)

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

the i1Pro is self-calibrating via a ceramic white tile and as such usable for quite a long time for amateurs like us as I assume. The lighting element is a small halogen bulb which changes its characteristics barely but measurable , the minute amount of metal deposits in the bulb change the output of the UV/UV near part of the spectrum, measurable with more accurate M$ equipment , but the self calibration should be o.k. for all the typical and standard usage. If you are concerned you can send the device to X-Rite for a checkup/recal. As mentioned the i1 diags lists usage data like number of scans - lamp on time and more , data which let you compare between different offers. I got a used i1Pro via Ebay longer time ago, 3 of 4 sellers gave me that information after asking for it. And as mentioned optical brighteners in typical photo papers fade pretty fast

P.S. and please be aware that this UV lamp issue is only relevant at all if you use an i1Pro without UV cut filter, which does not filter the light from the lamp to prevent the optical brighteners to get excited and to spoil/change the readings at the blue end. the typical and mainly used i1Pro comes with that UV cut filter as standard, but it is not user removable/exchangeable.

 

[te36]

Great. Just bought a model B for $300 on ebay, 30 day return. Easier to try out and check myself the diag than belabor the point with the seller. And of course no UVfilter.

Thinking of the addict thread, i am not a printer addict (yet) myself, but worst case the i1 will enrich my collection of measurement devices where i am never sure if the valule i got out of them justified the price i paid (interestingly typically in the $300 range ;-).