Profile Results

[The Hat]

I think you guys are introducing to many variables into the little problem that mrelmo is having
and it may only confuse him more, or worse discoursing him from continuing his profiling quest altogether.

The printed photo either matches the original photo or it doesnt whether you choose to use profiling, calibrated monitors or whatever
and helping mrelmo get closer to his goal is what this post is supposed to be all about..

 

[mrelmo]

rather than downloading a file and printing as a standard, i will get a photo from a color lab and adjust the monitor and prints off of that, that should limit the variables of monitor scanner etc

 

[crenedecotret]

that is a GREAT idea.. very important you ask the lab to do "no adjustments" on the picture. Most will do automatic adjustements like contrast, levels, etc. With a lab printed picture, you will at least have a basis to sort out your monitor, then your prints.

 

[barfl2]

Yes on my monitor not profiled except with Quick Gamma Loader crenedecotret picture is less saturated but in my view more natural. That's my take but others like their shots more saturated.

Its interesting that my view seems to be similar to emulator's which I find heartening on my own quest to improve my output.

On my Canon Pixma MP620 the printer drivers seem pretty good but perhaps I have been lucky. One thing I have noticed from printing multiple copies of the same digital dog image is how the amount of ink laid down varies depending on the paper selected. Some the examples have numerals included which only show up if the ink is laid down correctly.

 

[Emulator]

That's encouraging!

I came across this http://www.hughski.com/ in relation to monitor calibration.

Currently out of stock, but by the comment should be re-available shortly, no price, but may be a low cost way into monitor calibration and better than by eye.

 

[crenedecotret]

barlf2, I used Perceptual rendering for that photo. Relative Colorimetric would have been a bit closer to the original for this one and more saturated, but 99% of what I print, I do with Perceptual rendering. It never occured to me Relative Colorimetric would have been better with this one.

 

[Emulator]

crenedecotret

I don't think your image lacks colour, it is all a matter of personal choice, perceptual is probably the wiser choice.

 

[crenedecotret]

Oh, I was just mentioning that Relative in this particular case would have been a better match to the original. That being said, these test images often have a lot of colors out of printer gamut, which can cause a shift of certain colors in perceptual

 

[barfl2]

crenedecotret my post 11 was also in perceptual and I was very pleased with it. My point was that despite the huge mileages and different monitors etc my visual perception of these pictures was similar and not poles apart to what you and Emulatoro saw. I think the Quick Loader utilty is very useful and it loads up every time you switch on and sets the monitor Gamma to your selected one. I use 2.2 although Macs are usually set lower.

My pension will not stretch to monitor profiling hardware and my output is quite low and the downloads of good test images and tests of all my various papers have proved very rewarding.

 

[crenedecotret]

crenedecotret my post 11 was also in perceptual and I was very pleased with it. My point was that despite the huge mileages and different monitors etc my visual perception of these pictures was similar and not poles apart to what you and Emulatoro saw. I think the Quick Loader utility is very useful and it loads up every time you switch on and sets the monitor Gamma to your selected one. I use 2.2 although Macs are usually set lower.

My pension will not stretch to monitor profiling hardware and my output is quite low and the downloads of good test images and tests of all my various papers have proved very rewarding.

Some monitors are better than other out of the box . You were lucky to get one of the good ones My last two monitors were absolutely terrible without calibration. That being said, the quick Gamma app is certainly much, much better option than not using anything at all.

I started out the wrong way... bad monitor... ebay CIS on an epson with dubious quality inks. Everything was way, way off, I remember what should have been flesh tones was greenish, like being real sick or from mars. Prints were always too dark, or too light. I couldn't get good prints and was wasting a ton of ink and paper with adjustments that worked well with some shots, and no so good with others. After a couple of months, I got frustrated and was about to give up on 3rd party inks. I think the main point about profiles and calibration is that everything becomes controlled and predictable. No more wasted ink/paper and no surprises.

I got the Spyder2 for a very low price and originally did my profiles with Profile Prism (80$) which I still think is a great product, except maybe that the profiles aren't perfectly neutral with black and white. I think overall everything had set me back maybe 150$ or so, which at the time was not bad at all. Got those around 2007 and they've served me quite well. Honestly, I wanted to do some black and white printing, so that let me to the Colormunki purchase. I could have gotten a couple of custom profiles, but I got used to DIY and it will serve me for years. My Spyder2 ended up on ebay this week and sold for 20$ or so, i'm hoping whoever got it is someone from Nifty Stuff

So now when someones asks, I generally recommend to calibrate the monitor by any means possible.. can be free with something like Quick Gamma, then get a printer profile. Can be a custom profile for a specific paper for 25$ or so, or inexpensive if not as precise with a scanner-based paper profile. All you need for that is a 20$ IT8 target from Wolf Faust and Argyll, which is free.

mrelmo didn't have a bad idea at all.. get a print from a Lab, then adjust the monitor and printer to match.

Oh, to everyone..... Calibrating/Profiling is not necessary for EVERYONE. But if you're having a hard time, it's worth looking into seriously