Monitor Colour advice

[Neare]

I've got two monitors setup.

One is HD with a slightly Coldish tint.
The other is non-HD with a Warmer tint.

I'm not quite sure on the standard, however which monitor should I be looking at the scans in?

Up until now I look through the non-HD, the images appear more correct. Images with warm colours look incorrect on the HD monitor, reds seem to have too much green in them etc. But perhaps that it only because my eyes have become used to the wrong monitor.

I have already balanced out the monitors colour as much as I can to neutral.

Which colour rendition would be more 'Standard'?

 

[Ranchu]

Go to "Monitor and Printer Profiling" on this page

http://www.dinagraphics.com/color_management.php

The article linked at the bottom of the page that appears should get you started, start on page 6 to get to the monitor specific part. I prefer 5400K-5500K color temperature...

 

[sevo]

Calibrate them, or forget it! A calibration device line a Spyder3 or Huey is not expensive, and essential. In absolute standards, 6500K is the reference white point.

But your appropriate white point colour temperature may be influenced by your environmental lighting and even the colour of tapestry, furniture etc., which all may bias your eyes away from the monitor white point, and usually are not up to standard unless you are living in a lab. Start out with the default 6500K - if your prints should turn out consistently too cold, increase the white point, if they are too warm (more common), decrease it.

Sevo

 

[Bruin]

Cheapest way to go is Pantone Huey using Argyll CMS (free software). You get all the functionality of the Huey Pro at a lower price (hardware is identical).

A cheap colorimeter is a lot better than none at all, but going to more expensive models might not make as much of a difference as when you started calibrating your monitor in the first place.