Displays for color management

Current recommendations for good performing monitors at a reasonable price?

It would be helpful if you narrow down what you consider "a reasonable price."
Of course it is essential that you tell us what kind of work you do and whether you have a good understanding of the theory and practice of color management.
Without any further information, the only recommendations I would have are:
NEC MultiSync PA241W-BK-SV 24.1" Widescreen LCD Monitor with SpectraViewII Color Calibration
and
NEC 24" Widescreen Professional Graphics Monitor with SpectraView II

Similar Messages

Working Space for Color Management...

Hello,
I'm working on a project with a series of still, all of which contain embedded sRGB color profiles (as these images were originally used for a web-based job). This video project will eventually go onto a SD DVD to be displayed on a SD NTSC television. When choosing my working space (for color management), should I use SDTV NTSC (or should I use sRGB and then specify SDTV NTSC in my output setting upon rendering? I'm leaning towards SDTV NTSC as my working space, but since I'm coming at this from a print background in color management, I'm wondering if someone could lend some advice?
Also, what should I select for these options (under Color Settings in Project Settings)...ie. should I or shouldn't I have them checked...
- Linearize Working Space
- Blend Colors Using 1.0 Gamma
Thanks!
Kristin.

> It didn't really touch on "Blend Colors Using 1.0 Gamma" though would I want this checked?
Generally, yes. It helps avoid problems that can occur with inter-layer blending.
> And pretty sure, for what I'm doing, I wouldn't want "Linearize Working Space" checked.
Also correct, unless you intend to work in a 16- or 32-bpc mode.
More information and additional helpful links are on the Help page for these topics:
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/AfterEffects/9.0/WS2A3CEB0E-F1A1-4035-9C62-CFF4A0527B11a.html

Numeric Value for Brightness Controle for color management purposes?

As a retoucher I am supposed to keep accurate color management. I create my ICC Monitor profiles with an X-Rites i1XT meter. The screen calibration includes a brightness adjustment to meet a desired luminosity value (I choose to work on a 120cd/m level). My issue is that apples "brightness slider" wont define a value or percentage which I could associate with my current ICC profile. If I would for instance watch a movie in full brightness I could never get back to my previous brightness settings in order to maintain my desired color accuracy!
- is there a way to read out or dial in a "brightness value" (maybe trough a script?)
- does anyone know about an external tool that could help me (without interfering the ICCs)
THX a lot,
TIM

I know of a way to recover that number from an Apple notebook's built-in display. Don't know if the same is true with an external display, but you can try. The value exists in the I/0 registry.
If you open a Terminal window and input the following:
ioreg -lw0 | grep IODisplayParameters
about 2/3rds through the output you will see a long line with all the display actual values. Near the end of that line you will find a line like:
"brightness"={"max"=1024,"min"=0,"value"=x
where x will be the actual brightness on a scale from 0 to 1024. At least that is how things are working from my Apple notebook.
I don't know of a way to set the value from terminal. But at least you can read it out.
If my command of Unix were better, I could figure out a way to refine the output using a command like sed, so that the output only returned the number you are interested in. Maybe someone can help with that. It would take me too long to figure out. Not a Unix guru.

Best monitors for color management

Wanting to buy a monitor that will display the RGB COLOR profile

There are many wide gamut monitors on the market which will natively reproduce most of Adobe RGB (I assume that's what you mean by "RGB").
But I wouldn't recommend that unless you are fully aware of the implications. Such a monitor can only be used in a fully color managed environment, and it must be calibrated and profiled to perform as intended. Without full color management there's no way it will display correctly and it's just a waste.
Taken at face value (what is the "best"), your question only has one answer: Either an NEC PA series, or an Eizo CG/CX series. They are expensive, but worth it. If you're on a tight budget, go down in size, not quality. Panel size is the single biggest cost factor and a good 24" is way better than a mediocre 27" or 30" at the same price point.

Calibrating display for color critical work

Anyone was able to calibrate iMac using i1 or Monaco Optix or something and is using for critical color work? How is your color match?
How would you compare to Apple Cinema Displays or other decent LCDs?

I was thinking of buying new silver 24" iMac. I have i1 and Monaco Optix. I bought already 20" iMac and I don't like it too much - very bright. I was able to calibrate it so-so at 124 luminance with both ColorEyesDisplay and Monaco Optix XR.

LED lightings for Color management?

With LED bulbs and lightings quickly replacing conventional lightings, I got curious and am wondering if there's any LED lighting (bulbs, tubes?, etc) that meet, or can be adjusted to, standardized prepress lighting conditions such as D50, D65, etc.
Has anyone came across such LED lights yet?

> It didn't really touch on "Blend Colors Using 1.0 Gamma" though would I want this checked?
Generally, yes. It helps avoid problems that can occur with inter-layer blending.
> And pretty sure, for what I'm doing, I wouldn't want "Linearize Working Space" checked.
Also correct, unless you intend to work in a 16- or 32-bpc mode.
More information and additional helpful links are on the Help page for these topics:
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/AfterEffects/9.0/WS2A3CEB0E-F1A1-4035-9C62-CFF4A0527B11a.html

Scripting Bridge for Color Management

Hi,
I need a script that instruct Bridge to Switch to a color Preset.
I have no problem using AS but Dictionary os Bridge don't have support to AS but only can invoke Javascript.
Somebody has an example about how to set Bridge (and Sync automatically all other Adobe APP) choosing a Color Preset name?
Stefano

I have looked at this before now and JavaScript does not have access to that app preference… It would have been handy IMO did not see it added to CS5 either…

Should I buy a 20" display or HD 23" display for color grading?

Even though I shot my film on HD (720p), the end result will be displayed on normal LCD/Plasma televisions, so wouldn't the 20" display be more comparable to do grading work on?
I guess what I'm saying is, I'm not sure I see the point in buying the 23" HD display when no TV out there can reproduce the quality of that image yet.
Any input would be appreciated (but budget is an issue, so broadcast monitors are not an option)
Thanks.
James

Jerry- to expand upon this question. I will be upgrading my hardware in the next few months to accomodate FCS2. I currently run 2 20inch Apple cinema displays. If I ad a Matrox box and 23inch display coming off of it, will I still be able to use my 2 20 inch displays to view my timeline, viewer, canvas etc. Or will I need to replace them with a larger display ie 30 inch cinema display? ,thanks.
Steve

Color-managed printing to Epson 870

I have never succeeded in getting a color-managed print workflow to my Epson Stylus Photo 870 printer using PSE5 (or 4 or 3). The prints are consistently darker than what I see on screen, though the colors otherwise seem about right.
I'm pretty familiar with color management generally, and I have read the tutorials in the Missing Manual and at computer-darkroom.com. I will describe my recent experiments.
Perhaps someone who uses this printer (or a similar Epson printer) can offer some insight. What is noteworthy about these Epson printers is that they come with only a single ICC profile, rather than one profile per media type. The processing to compensate for media differences occurs within the driver. This complicates the color management story.
1. Computer setup: Windows XP SP2, Samsung SyncMaster 193P LCD display.
2. Monitor calibration: This monitor has programmable internal color conversion. I used the MagicTune utility to tune the monitor to sRGB. I then used Adobe Gamma to confirm that this is essentially an sRGB monitor; that is, the profile produced by Adobe Gamma yields an appearance that is indistinguishable from the standard sRGB profile.
3. Photos are JPEGs tagged as sRGB by the camera. I am printing them from PSE5 Organizer. Color management set to "Print" (AdobeRGB). Paper is Epson Glossy Photo Paper. Media type selected in the driver is Photo Paper.
In the following experiments, I varied the Print Space setting in PSE's Print Options and the Custom > Advanced color settings in the Epson driver.
Experiment 1: Print Space: "Same as Source". Driver: "ICM". Result: somewhat dark prints.
Experiment 2: Print Space: "Epson Stylus Photo 870". Driver: "No Color Adjust". Result: even darker prints, with a slight color cast.
Experiment 3: Print Space: "Epson Stylus Photo 870". Driver: "ICM". Result: same as experiment 3.
Experiment 4: Print Space: "Same as Source". Driver: "PhotoEnhance". Result: by far the closest to what I see on the screen, and (subjectively) the best rendition of the original scene.
Of course, experiment 4 is depending on some magic processing in the Epson driver, rather than being a true ICC color-managed workflow. I'd like to figure out why my attempts at a color-managed workflow aren't working right.

"So it seems that Organizer and Editor do color management differently when
printing.... I would not have expected this; it seems like a bug."
My Epson 870 finally died. But, while it was working I did manage to get it
to work very well in a fully color managed workflow. I calibrated my
monitor with a hardware calibration device. The generic 870 ICC profile
that came with the printer gave me prints that were too dark compared to my
calibrated monitor. I had a custom profile made for the printer for each
specific paper I use and that made all the difference. For PSE 3, I always
printed only from the editor and used a fully color managed work flow
specifying the custom printer profile as the print space. The Epson printer
driver was set to custom and in the advanced tab, the "No Color Adjustment"
setting for color management was selected.
I didn't like to print from Organizer because I didn't care for the way it
handled things. The creations portion of Organizer didn't pick up all the
organizer color settings either if I recall correctly. The different
behavior is not so much a bug as it is two different programs that are
packaged together and loosely interact -- Organizer began life as Adobe
Album.
I don't know about PSE 4 and 5 as I went to Photoshop CS2 instead of
upgrading PSE. I still have PSE 3 installed, but I seldom use it anymore.
I would have thought that the newer versions would have done something about
the Organizer printing issues but it sounds like that hasn't happened yet.

Another color management question

Hi folks,
Apologies for yet another color management question, but Im getting very confused and could do with some help. I use a Canon 10D and Canon 30D. Ive come to LightRoom from Pixmantec Raw Shooter.
As Ive gotten more serious about producing high quality images for both the web and as prints, I thought Id invest in the Colorvision Spyder2 calibration product. So my monitor is now calibrated (quite a difference from what I was seeing!) and I have a calibration profile applied.
My needs are pretty obvious I want my images to look the same wherever theyre viewed including exported files (such as JPEGs) whether this be on my monitor (in LightRoom, a web browser, Paint Shop Pro, whatever) and on a printer.
Perhaps Im getting confused because Im trying to compare what LightRoom does with what RawShooter does.
In RawShooter, when exporting from RAW to JPEG, I can specify the RGB Working Space Im using and then select my monitor profile. I think that what happens is that the export mechanism takes this profile into account and, low and behold, the JPEG looks fine when viewed in any web browser - the colours are exactly the same as in RawShooter. In Paint Shop Pro they look fine too unless I enable Color Management in which case (Im guessing) the monitor profile is, essentially, applied twice! But the upshot is I seem to get the results I want.
What I cant figure out is how I do this in LightRoom. I can make the same adjustments to the RAW image as I did in RawShooter, but there doesnt seem an option for me to select my profile on export to JPEG only the standard 3 color spaces. Anyway the result is a JPEG that looks somewhat different when viewed in a web browser, or Paint Shop Pro with Color Management turned off. However, if I turn Color Management on in Paint Shop Pro, then it looks fine. So Im assuming that my profile isnt accounted for when exporting JPEGs from LightRoom.
So any pointers or explanations would be really appreciated. I also acknowledge that this is my first foray into color management, and feel free to tell me to go and read some introductory article (link please!) and then come back with a sensible question if thats whats needed!
Thanks in advance.
- Pete

Lightroom color management.
a.) Monitor profile used: The profile set as the default in your operating system (e.g. Windows xp). (your monitor profile software usually does this when you calibrate/profile your monitor).
b.) Working space: ProPhotoRGB
c.) Export color space: You can choose one of the following sRGB; Adobe RGB or Pro Photo RGB.
There is no option (afaik) to change a.) or b.) the option you choose in c.) will affect how the exported image will be displayed in color managed applications or non-color managed applications.
Non-color managed applications are not able to display Adobe RGB or Pro Photo RGB correctly. I guess if you wish a consistent display of your images in color managed and non-color managed applications then the only common factor is sRGB and you should export your images in sRGB color space.
The benefits of the other expanded color spaces are in printing and you also would have to get this end of your color management correct. Printing profiles to match your printer and each paper being used etc.
Until you can get this all sorted out you will get better results from sRGB, this is also applicable when using most commercial printing services.

Vista 64 bit and CS4 and color management

This is a question about Vista 64 bit and CS4 and color management. I scan 4x5 film and sometimes end up with up to or even bigger than 1 GB files. Obviously that needs as much memory as possible. Windows XP is limited in this regard and I am in the market for a new speedy computer which won't force me to stay at a snail's pace. In this month's Shutterbug, David Brooks in his Q&A column says to avoid Vista for color management reasons, but offers no explanation or support for his opinion. He implies one should wait for Windows 7 for some unstated reason. With a calibrated monitor and printer and Photoshop controlling color files sent to the printer, why would Vista be any different or worse than XP? Is he on to something or just pontificating? Does anyone know any reliable info about Windows 7 that would make it worth waiting for?
Thanks.

Zeno Bokor wrote:
Photoshop has direct access to max 3.2gb
On Mac OS X, PS CS4 can use up to 8 GB of RAM, but only directly accesses up to 3.5 GB. (Figures quoted from kb404440.) In using PS CS4 on Mac OS, though, direct Memory Usage maxes out at 3 GB even. If you set usage to 100% (3 GB), then plug-ins (including Camera Raw and filters), as well as actions and scripts, can access RAM above that 3 GB to between about 512 MB and about 768 MB total (seems to vary depending on which filters et al that you are using), leaving the rest up to 4 GB for the Mac OS. If you have more than 4 GB, then the amount of RAM above 4 GB is used by PS as a scratch disk. This increases performance significantly for most things because writing to and reading from the hard drive is much slower than doing so with RAM.
I haven't done the testing for actual RAM usage and such for PS CS4 on Vista 64, and Adobe's documentation is very much lacking in detail, but, based on the statement "If you use files large enough to need more than 4 GB of RAM, and you have enough RAM, all the processing you perform on your large images can be done in RAM, instead of swapping out to the hard disk." from kb404439, it seems that PS would be using RAM in very much the same way as I described above for Mac OS, except that the scratch disk usage in RAM wouldn't be limited to 8 GB (instead to how much you have installed). Has anyone done any performance/load testing to know for sure? I didn't see any such studies published, but I am curious if one has been done.
I will agree that there is a definite performance advantage when using PS CS4 (64-bit) on Vista 64, which I've experienced, especially when working very large compositions.
My initial recommendation to the OP to use Mac was based upon reading those articles about bad color management. As I stated before, I have never experienced that problem, and clearly the views of all that have posted here so far indicate that the problem may not be a real issue. (Perhaps this David Brooks fellow and Steve Upton both like to mess with their computers and broke something in Windows?)

Color Management in Java?

How I can do Color Management to an Image in Java?
Anybody can provide me sample code for Color Management?
Color Management is working in Safari Browser.

There is no built-in class to do this that I know of. You can use RGBImageFilter, but then you have to worry about ImageConsumer/Producer and converting to BufferedImage if that's what you started with.
Take a look at the first response in this thread:
http://forum.java.sun.com/thread.jspa?threadID=783073&tstart=135
Good luck

Print Setup says use Adobe Color Printer with No Color Management even though I have my .icc printer profile selected

I have a ColorMunki Photo and a Canon Pixma Pro 100 that I have been using on my Mac with Photoshop CC. No issues. I must have changed something because now when I go to print, a popup says "Please use Adobe Color Printer Utility if you need to print with No Color Management". It is telling me that my I am trying to print without color management and this method of printing isn't supported. So, I reprofiled my monitor and printer and have brand new .icc profiles and it is still doing the same thing. Can someone tell me the exact things that need to be changed in Photoshop in order to use my .icc profile for color managed printing? I have no idea what I have changed. If I change to a different profile that message doesn't pop up. My document profile says that it is the same as the printer profile I am trying to print from. Does the document profile need to be set to my monitor .icc profile or the printer .icc profile that I want to print from? Any help would be appreciated! It is driving me crazy!

Please read these very recent thread, as it applies to you in full:
Re: color settings after calibrating monitor with Spyder 4Pro

Problem with Epson 2400. No color management settings

All of a sudden when I try to print from Aperture (or Photoshop) and I select "Print Settings," the window that opens only shows Printer and Presets. There is no third menu for Color Management or Print Settings — which are crucial to my printing.
I have downloaded and installed the latest Epson driver for Leopard. Still I can't get the full menus.
(No trouble on G4 PB with Tiger)
I would deeply appreciate any assistance in solving this problem .
Thanks, Susan

Hi Susan,
Yea, I'm having the same problem. All of a sudden I can't get the printer settings button to work to get through to colour management and advanced print settings. It means I can't set up new pre sets. Only happened in the last few days???
Will

Windows Color Management in Control Panel Settings?

I know enough to disable color management in the printer driver when I enable my photo editing software (PS Elements) to handle color management.
However, what should thecorrect setting for Color Management be in the Windows 7 Control Panel.
Assuming I have selected my printer in the device setting and have uploaded the ICC profile for my printer in = Windows Color Management in the Control Panel
do I check the box next to "Use my settings for this device" ?
do I select "Automatic (recommended)" or "Manual" in the Profile Selection box ?
do I check "Use as Default Profile" for my paper's ICC profile ?
or will my graphics program automatically override all the settings in Windows Color Management in the Control Panel?
If the graphics program does not override the Windows control panel settings, what is the proper permutation of settings.
Thanks

Good question seweavermm.
Access to video card control (if available) is typically done through either System Preferences on a Mac or the Control Panel on a PC. The good news is that since you don't know how to do this then it is high probability it is in default mode and is a moot point. It is my understanding that not too many video cards have settings that are not reset by the by the actual calibration process itself yet put this step in for completeness. The more important and common condition that must be done is setting the monitor to a condition that is stable and allows access to its full gamut. I suggest to read the details of the instruction manual for the OSD controls for your monitor to verify that the default conditions meet those chacterisitcs. Typical gotchas would be defaulting to sRGB color space which would limit the colors you could see or having a mode set that does anything dynamic such as scene adjusted brightness. Another gotcha is when the monitor and software allow adjusting brightness for the ambient light - best to control the ambient light and have the monitor at a constant brightness so as not to invalidate any calibration/profiling done with the monitor. Note that changing any OSD settings and fiddling with monitor conditions invalidates the calibration done as the calibration is only valid for the fixed conditions of the monitor at the time of calibration. That was a lot more then the question you asked yet wanted to put things in perspective. Hope this helps.

Displays for color management

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