Color Calibration For Dummies

[nightfly]

Just got an Epson 3800 to make prints for a show I have in early November. I've recently started shooting color as well as black and white and realize I know nothing about color management and how to get the prints to look like what I'm seeing on screen. Basically what I'm seeing on screen is much lighter when printing black and white and much darker and less saturated when printing color.

I'm using a Macbook Pro hooked up to a 23" Apple Cinema display and an Epson 3800 and printing on Ilford Galerie Gold Fibre Silk with Photoshop CS3.

In the simplest terms possible what do I need to buy, download or steal to get things looking at least closer.

Is it necessary to buy some sort of color calibration hardware/software?
When printing in the Photoshop dialog box, what color mangement options do you choose?

So far I went through this:
http://www.atpm.com/13.03/photoshop.shtml

And chose semi gloss paper and Epson Vivid Color for printing.


I wasn't sure if I needed to download the paper profiles, a printer profile, a monitor profile or what. Too many variables.

Basically I need color mangement for dummies.

 

[kully]

This gave me a massive head

ache a few months ago too.

I bought a Spyder3 calibration tool to calibrate my monitor.

I then downloaded the paper profile from Hahnemuhle and put it where the included instructions told me to put it.

Then when printing in Photoshop I select the downloaded paper profile, tell the printer driver to not mess with any colours and tell Photoshop to handle colours (for a while I was wondering why it wasn't working properly until I realised the printer driver _and_ Photoshop were messing with the colours).

So here is your checklist:

- Colour calibration tool (Spyder3 or ...)
- Paper Profile for your printer (from the paper manufactures website.
- Turn off colour management in the printer driver
- Turn on colour management in Photoshop & select the downloaded paper profile (this is done in the print dialogue box).

and that's it.

Let me know if you need a walkthrough, I can be in front of my home computer with the same windows open as you.

 

[nightfly]

Thank you. Exacltly what I needed to know.

Do I want the Spyder3 Express, Pro or Elite?

 

[majid]

You might want a solution that allows you to profile the printer as well, not just the monitor, although the Epson 3800 is from their pro series and thus much more consistent than, say, a 2880 or 1900. The Colormunki and Eye-One Photo fit the bill, as does the Colorvision PrintFIX Pro suite.

 

[Ranchu]

Thank you. Exacltly what I needed to know.

Do I want the Spyder3 Express, Pro or Elite?

Elite, it has the software with all the options, Express is dumbed down. I'm very pleased with the Elite, perfect. Don't know about the Pro.

Or the full monte with those options Majid mentions, never used them but Eye One Photo gets a lot of respect from what I've heard.

Might want to ask around over here -

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/forum/

 

[specpro]

My experiences with color management

My experiences with color management

Color management used to be a mystery to me but it is no longer thanks to some tips along the way. So in the spirit of giving back here's a beginners tutorial: http://adventuresinphoto.com/2009/10/28/color-management-part-1/

 

[Pherdinand]

apparently the express cheap version can only calibrate one monitor, if that matters to you.
I think that is supposed to mean one monitor per machine.

 

[specpro]

two monitors

two monitors

I've got a Cinema display attached to my MacBook Pro and the Spyder 3 Elite can calibrate across both screens. Haven't tried it with 3 monitors but then again I don't have 3 🙂