We have come a long way since the days of film and darkroom developing but the digital photography age has brought upon us some important issues that need to be addressed and understood by everyone that desires accurate color rendering and accurate print outs.
Most photographers are familiar with the light table used to view negatives and slides in old days of film. Today we have monitors and computers that have replaced the darkroom. However one of the most common and least understood problems related to the digital workflow is that you must have your system profiled in order to be able to achieve predictable color output on your monitor.
A good analogy is to imagine there are 2 people speaking 2 different languages; therefore they cannot understand each other without the help of a translator. Well that is what a profile does. It acts as the translator between your monitor, video card, and computer's operating system. This step is a must if you plan to have your monitor and computer display proper, predictable color so you can accurately display and make adjustment to your digital images.
Without a profiled or calibrated monitor the operating system has no way of correctly interpreting the color information being rendered on your computer's operation system along with Photoshop or any good imaging software.
Profiling your monitor will guarantee that you can see on your monitor what you are going to get on your printed output. Furthermore by performing soft proofing in applications like Photoshop, you can accurately perform adjustments to your images while displaying it correctly on your monitor, which is your modern day light table.
Calibrating your monitor is simply a matter of purchasing a monitor calibration system which consists of a color meter sensor and software bundle. Once you install the software you will be guided through all the necessary steps to build your monitor profile. In most cases the calibration software will prompt you to calibrate every 30 days.
All LCD monitor as well as the older CRT monitors should be calibrated periodically for proper color rendering.
It would be wise to check with your monitor vendor to see if your monitor can be profiled. Some of the less expensive LCD monitors with inferior panels may not hold a proper calibration.
Once you calibrate you monitor, it will be able to communicate with your computer and in turn produce truthful output on most imaging software.
If you are serious about improving your digital workflow and producing accurate prints from your images and also have a universal standardized workflow, you defiantly need to consider calibration for monitor.
It is the first most important step towards realizing proper color management on any digital imaging system whether you are on a Mac or PC.
Marco Rodrigues is the owner of
Marcormedia Inc. --- A printing and imaging studio located in Toronto Canada. Marco resides in Toronto, Canada and is an expert in color management and digital imaging techniques.
