Digital Calibration

[Kirk Gittings]

I recently bought an Epson 4000 printer and I need to get up to speed in the next few months so I can print the color images in a retrospective exhibit of mine next year.

Question: what experience do people have with the calibration software/hardware that is out there? Monaco Macbeth etc.? I use a CRT monitor and have not made any decisions about paper etc.

[Guy Tal]

I use a ColorVision Spyder and had no problems with it to date, though I've heard others report issues. Gretag MacBeth is generally considered to be a superior product.

Guy
Scenic Wild Photography

[Ken Lee]

You need to calibrate your monitor on some regular basis (they drift), and for every different combination of paper and ink, you need to print through a specific profile.

Since every printer is different, I recommend getting a custom profile made (for eack paper/ink combination), and have had excellent luck at Chromix.com

[Greg Miller]

For monitor calibration the ColorVision Spyder is a fine product but the Gretag MacBeth system is superior if money is no object.

For printer profiles don't bother with anything less than the Gretag MacBeth. If you plan to use only a few paper/ink combinations then its cheaper to purchase custom profiles (chromix.com, imagingrevue.com, kathysprofiles.com) rather than creating your own.

[David F. Stein]

Kirk, wander around Luminous Landscape. I think you would want something like the Sony Reference Monitor reviewed there. I agree that it's better to buy select profiles and also endorse chromix.com-when I purchased, the profile was guaranteed. I have not had consistent results with WiziWYG or Monaco-in my hands, the scanner based "spectrometer" doesn't work well enough and I have an excellent flatbed scanner. GOOD LUCK.

[Ellis Vener]

Kirk,
As I recall you are in New Mexico. You should call Andrew Rodney. Andrew is in Santa Fe and is one of the 4 or 5 best people in the USA on this subject. He also runs www.imagingrevue.com. That is a great forum dedicated to high end digital photography. It is staffed by really knowledgeable folk like John Paul Caponigro (yes that is Paul's son), Bruce Fraser, Jeff Schewe, Katrin Eismann, Tim Gray and others. I think you'll get a lot out of being a member, including having your specific printer/ink/paper combination accurately profiled.

[Kirk Gittings]

Thank you all for the help. This is such new territory. It is a little scary and invigorating at the same time.