What am I loosing if I disable Adobe Gamma?

SF
Posted By
Sergi_Feurio
Nov 11, 2003
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342
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4
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Closed
Can someone please explain this to me or give directions to where I can find explanation.
Thanks a lot.

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RP
Russell_Proulx
Nov 11, 2003
Hi Sergi.

Adobe Gamma assists you in adjusting your monitor so images look as they should on ‘your’ monitor. The Adobe Gamma utility walks you through a series of simple visual tests and adjustments to create a simple ICC profile of your monitor. This ICC (aka Colorsync)profile is used by Photoshop to adjust images it displays on your monitor ‘on the fly’ to try and display the same image on your monitor as everyone else sees on theirs (assuming their monitor is correctly adjusted as well…).

You should leave Adobe Gamma alone where it lives in your Windows startup folder unless you’ve invested in a 3d party monitor calibration tool (Colorvision, Monaco, Gratag, etc…). These more $$ tools recommend removing the Adobe Gamma utility shortcut from your startup folder since it interferes with their utilities. These more $$ tools do essentially the same thing as Adobe Gamma except that they rely on a hardware colormeter (instead of your eyes) to create the ICC profile used by Photoshop. Good monitor profiling is absolutely essential to viewing images with Photoshop.

Hope this ramble makes some sense <g>

Russell 🙂
JJ
Jerry_Jensen
Nov 11, 2003
You might mention that Adobe Gamma is worthless if you have a LCD display. There, the only hope is if the LCD unit came with its own calibration program.
G
Goti
Nov 11, 2003
On Mon, 10 Nov 2003 20:26:13 -0800,
wrote:

Can someone please explain this to me or give directions to where I can find explanation.
Thanks a lot.

You lose a pain in the arse. 🙂

So, disable it and save yourself the pain.

I tried the Adobe Gamma Calibration Wizard. It doesn’t work. All it does is mess up colors in Photoshop or off the printer. Once I disable Adobe Gamma, everything becomes normal and good again.

The problem with consumer color calibration is, even if you get it working, you have to keep recalibrating because monitors and printers degrade and change in output over time (all monitors become dimmer and ink may change formulas). Also, if you change your working environment lighting or even change light bulb wattage or type, you have to recalibrate all over again. Not worth the theoretical benefits.

If you don’t use Gamma, you will be much happier.

Wannabee hot shots tell everyone and their grandma to calibrate. The truth is, for most people, it’s not necessary and wastes time and messes up the printed image more often than not.

Wannabee hot shots then get deffensive and blame you by saying, "well, you didn’t do it right." Well, after completing the Calibration Wizard several times and reading Calibration Guides, with 20 20 eyes, and still seeing off colors (blue becomes teal and purple becomes blue) all the time, I can tell you that, FOR NOW, don’t bother with Gamma and Calibration.

There is still no general all encompassing standard that works. That’s why evey graphical software company keeps spawning new calibration techniques. But, they never work as promised because monitors, printers, ink manufacturers, and paper manufacturers are made by different companies who don’t abide by these calibration rules (or don’t do son accurately).

Besides, every graphic user has to fine tune colors when they go to professional print shops anyway (even the professional consumer calibrators, although they won’t admit this readily because that would be admitting that they’re wasting time calibrating).
L
LenHewitt
Nov 11, 2003
Nothging IF you have 3rd. party monitor calibration software/hardware. In fact, in those circumstances you MUST disable Adobe Gamma Loader.

If you haven’t got a 3rd party monitor calibration solution, you are losing all chance of consistent and repeatable output by disabling Adobe Gamma

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