Calibrating monitors - the best approach?

[Redstone]

Hi folks,

I currently shoot on film, scan the negs, process in photoshop/lightroom using an lcd screen and print through my friendly online digital lab. The trouble is that the prints that come back are never quite the same as what I see on my monitor. Either the lab is to blame or it's that my monitor is not calibrated correctly. I strongly suspect the latter...

I'd like to get some ideas from people about how you handle screen calibration for accurate colour and tone. I'm aware that there are hardware/software bundles on the market for doing this. Has anyone had any experiences with using them? Are they worth the investment? If not, what are the alternatives?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts...

 

[Henk]

Hi,

If you print, you should certainly calibrate your monitor with an eye device !
I use a spider pro. My online lab also provides their ICC profiles for their different
papers. That way i get VERY good results (practicaly WYSIWYG).

Before, when I did not use color management, I had the same problem as you have now. Unless you are extremely lucky, you will not get far if you don't use
color management. I learned all about it here : www.drycreekphoto.com

 

[Steve Litt]

I use colorvision spyder 2 express-cuts out the guess work. and saves ink and paper.

Regards
Steve