Setting monitor gamma

DF
Posted By
Dean Fritzel
Sep 12, 2003
Views
717
Replies
9
Status
Closed
On my computer at work, we have most Adobe products loaded. I went into my control panel to bring up the monitor gamma settings to make some adjustments, and I can’t find it anywhere. Is there another way to get at that? I doubt it has ever been set since I just "inherited" this computer.

Thanks,

Dean
Related Tags
gamma monitor settings

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Y
YrbkMgr
Sep 12, 2003
You should see an applet in control panel called Adobe Gamma. If it’s not there, you may have to reinstall. Reinstallation isn’t painful since your preferences aren’t overwritten.
DP
Daryl Pritchard
Sep 12, 2003
Hi Dean,

If you don’t see the Adobe Gamma control panel applet, that doesn’t necessarily mean it isn’t installed. Even the readme file for Adobe Gamma implies this might happen:

"Adobe Gamma Readme
——————-
The Adobe Gamma control panel has been installed into your Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Calibration folder. To run Adobe Gamma, first navigate to this folder on your desktop. Then double-click on the Adobe Gamma control panel to begin calibrating your monitor."

If you don’t find the control panel file there as "Adobe Gamma.cpl" then you will have to reinstall Photoshop as Tony suggests.

Regards,

Daryl
Y
YrbkMgr
Sep 12, 2003
Good catch Daryl.
DF
Dean Fritzel
Sep 12, 2003
Yes, very good catch. Thanks. But the link is dead for some reason. Time to re-install.

I am amazed at how fast the Photoshop forum people reply. Thanks again!

~D
MS
Mike Saxon
Sep 13, 2003
I would be interested in other Photoshoppers’ opinions on an alternative monitor profiler (free), downloadable from <http://www.hex2bit.com/products/product_mcw.asp>

I tried it, and it does offer more precise visual profiling than Adobe Gamma, by profiling at several different luminance levels. So, am I now using it instead of Adobe Gamma? No, because a standard test image just somehow did’nt look right in the mid-tones. I am probably doing something wrong. Maybe there was "double-profiling" happening, although I was careful to disable Adobe Gamma in msconfig>startup. Also it saves the profile as a proprietry file type in its own folder, and not as a standard ICC or ICM file in the usual profile folder.

However, it is a simple (and cheap!) monitor profiler with potential, before jumping to the much more expensive hardware-based profilers. It seems to be what Adobe Gamma SHOULD be.

Mike
Y
YrbkMgr
Sep 13, 2003
Mike,

Fwiw, I saw this in the feature request forum and went: "what am I trying to fix?" In other words, what’s wrong with what we have?

I think your post pretty much sums up some of the reasons that I wouldn’t want to futz with my carefully created profiles. <shrug>
MS
Mike Saxon
Sep 13, 2003
Tony:

OK I admit being rather anal about colour management from monitor to my Epson 1270 print output. (It’s a personal fetish of mine, resulting from too many long days in the darkroom doing ring-arounds for Cibachrome prints, and sniffing developer fumes!)

I presently use Adobe Gamma for profiling my Samsung 900IFT monitor , custom paper profiles for the various Epson papers, and follow Ian Lyon’s excellent tutorials on colour management. There’s nothing "wrong" with what we have in Adobe Gamma; it is easy to use, and it has gotten me in the ball-park with monitor profiling.

But my prints are still slightly darker than my screen image, so I was hoping to find a better monitor profiler without going down the expensive hardware path. It seemed that the software I mentioned took the simple Adobe Gamma approach, but tweaked the profile more finely, and was free. How difficult would it be for Adobe to set up a dialog box with six luminosity matches to be made per colour, rather than the present one per colour?

Just trying to get my colour prints one step closer to "perfection" (ahem), that’s all. Still searching and learning!

Mike
Y
YrbkMgr
Sep 13, 2003
Mike,

Ah, I understand. I’m somewhat in the same boat as you from an "experience in color management" perspective – it’s not quite to the point of knowing what I don’t know, but close.

Somehow, in my mind, I’ve divided the world into two pieces: Lower end applets or Professional Profiling System. Monitor Calibration Wizard seems like it’s in the same general category of Adobe Gamma – maybe better in some respects, maybe not, but "lower end" if not "low end".

So as a photoshopper, my personal opinion is that it’s interesting, but if Adobe makes a move in better profiling, rather than do a weak improvement, I’d rather see them move to more industrial strength. Kind of "If your gonna do it, then do it, if you get my meaning.

As a matter of fact, I’m considering purchasing a mid-range to high end solution in Monoco, but the jury’s still out in terms of cost v. benefit. But the thing is, from what I’ve read, the more accurate the system, the more costly it is (makes sense right?). So the bottom line is, how much is one willing to spend for accuracy? Or do we "hit and miss" until we find something suitable? Either way, costly.

Finally, in regards to your prints being dark, I don’t know if you caught it or not on Ian’s site, but if you haven’t, the following might be useful.

Ian says that the way Epson controls dot gain (or spreadability) is via the media choices in the driver drop down box. Further, he says that many Epson owners complain of prints that are too dark. He suggests that one mechanism to compensate for this is to reduce the dot gain by selecting a different media type – specifically, film. So I’ve personally found that since I have changed my media type to Photo Glossy Film, my prints are significantly lighter and a better match to what I expect.

Peace,
Tony
MS
Mike Saxon
Sep 13, 2003
Tony:

Thanks for the info re Epson media settings – had missed that, and will try it.

Mike

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