Adobe gamma adjustment or spyder newbie questions

TM
Posted By
Todd Mathews
Feb 16, 2004
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343
Replies
2
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Closed
I just bought a Epson 2200 and my first few prints were pretty good. Then I started reading about how important it was to calibrate the monitor. The cheapest way was Adobe gamma but prone to user error. I can confirm this since now my prints are darker. The next option was to purchase a CMS package which ranges from about 200 to 400 for the base packages which are in my price range. I heard the Epson profiles are pretty decent so I might not need the printer profile but the more I read it sounds like I should calibrate scanner (Nikon 4000), monitor (Hitachi 4 years old) and printer to maintain accuracy throughout the process. I tried a third option which will probably sound crazy to most. Like I said the prints were coming out darker than what I saw on the screen. So I tried calibrating the screen to the print and then did my adjustments in Photoshop. The prints are coming out closer to what I see on the screen now. Just wondering if this backwards approach makes any sense or should I purchase the CMS?
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AQ
Aaron Queenan
Feb 16, 2004
In the absence of proper calibration tools, use sRGB for the scanner (Nikon LS4000 uses this anyway), and printer colour management (without "image optimisation" or any fancy features). If your screen supports sRGB, then use it, otherwise install the profile that matches your monitor.

Regards,
Aaron Queenan.

"Todd Mathews" wrote in message
I just bought a Epson 2200 and my first few prints were pretty good. Then
I
started reading about how important it was to calibrate the monitor. The cheapest way was Adobe gamma but prone to user error. I can confirm this since now my prints are darker. The next option was to purchase a CMS package which ranges from about 200 to 400 for the base packages which are in my price range. I heard the Epson profiles are pretty decent so I
might
not need the printer profile but the more I read it sounds like I should calibrate scanner (Nikon 4000), monitor (Hitachi 4 years old) and printer
to
maintain accuracy throughout the process. I tried a third option which
will
probably sound crazy to most. Like I said the prints were coming out
darker
than what I saw on the screen. So I tried calibrating the screen to the print and then did my adjustments in Photoshop. The prints are coming out closer to what I see on the screen now. Just wondering if this backwards approach makes any sense or should I purchase the CMS?
F
Flycaster
Feb 16, 2004
"Todd Mathews" wrote in message
I just bought a Epson 2200 and my first few prints were pretty good. Then
I
started reading about how important it was to calibrate the monitor. The cheapest way was Adobe gamma but prone to user error. I can confirm this since now my prints are darker. The next option was to purchase a CMS package which ranges from about 200 to 400 for the base packages which are in my price range. I heard the Epson profiles are pretty decent so I
might
not need the printer profile but the more I read it sounds like I should calibrate scanner (Nikon 4000), monitor (Hitachi 4 years old) and printer
to
maintain accuracy throughout the process. I tried a third option which
will
probably sound crazy to most. Like I said the prints were coming out
darker
than what I saw on the screen. So I tried calibrating the screen to the print and then did my adjustments in Photoshop. The prints are coming out closer to what I see on the screen now. Just wondering if this backwards approach makes any sense or should I purchase the CMS?

Re-run Adobe Gamma and see if you can improve the profile. The single biggest mistake people tend to make is they set the brightness too high – you really need to squint to make this work well. Will a calibration package give better results, using a 4 year old monitor? Maybe, maybe not. That’s getting long in the tooth for any monitor. Go here, and follow Ian’s suggestions to the letter (look over his whole site -tons of great information, including how to accurately use PS with your 2200 printer): http://www.computer-darkroom.com/ps7-colour/ps7_1.htm

If the monitor is capable of being accurately profiled, you shouldn’t have any serious mismatch using the Epson paper profiles. They are far from "perfect", but a lot people use them regularly and like the results. OTOH, adjusting your monitor to match the prints is definitely *not* the way this is meant to work. But, if you are never, ever going to send out images to be printed on another device, you don’t care how other folk’s images might look on your screen, and you’ll keep the same montior and printer forever…it will work. People do it, but it isn’t recommended.

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