Posted by Andy Brehm on March 15, 2009 at 10:39 PM
So I made the move from PC to Mac and for the most part it has gone very smoothly. Kinda wished I did this a bit earlier, but that is beside the point. Anyway, I have a HP LP3065 which does not have RGB controls on the monitor. On my PC I was able to go into the graphics card software and make changes to the RGB levels and calibrate my monitor using the i1display2. Unfortunately I cant figure out how to do this on a Mac. The Mac I have has a Nvidia card in it just like my old PC but I cant figure out how to make RGB adjustments. All I can find is the cheapo calibration in System Preferences.
So, for those of you using a Mac, how can I calibrate a monitor that dosent have RGB controls. I assume this is possible since Apple's own 30" dosent have RGB controls on it to my knowledge.
Thanks,
Andy
Posted by Brad Beeler on March 16, 2009 at 1:36 AM
There are two methods of calibration on the mac... First I currently use the EyeOne Display Two, and it has software for the MAC, it just creates a color profile w/o asking to adjust the monitor. Secondly under the System Preferences -> Display-> Color you can click the calibrate button and calibrate the monitor manually. Please forgive me if you have already tried this second method, but I did not see it mentioned.
Thanks
Brad
Posted by Bill Brennan on March 16, 2009 at 1:44 AM
My experience is similar to Brad's. There is also tutorial info on the Apple site. Suggest that you make a test print, however, as even after calibration, my experience with Epson 2880 has been that prints tend to be darker than the monitor suggests.
You might also search this site as there have been a few discussions about printing.
Bill Brennan
Posted by Nat Coalson on March 16, 2009 at 12:13 PM
To accurately calibrate and profile any display you must use a hardware calibration system. The provided software is not sufficient.
I recommend X-Rite Eye One (i1) Display 2.
For the best results, you also should consider buying a new display with RGB controls. Currently, NEC is the only game in town... all the other "high-end" manufacturers (Eizo, LaCie etc) use NEC hardware. You can pick up a very good NCD LCD for around $500.
I would not even consider an Apple display for professional color work.
Posted by Phillip Noll on March 16, 2009 at 12:46 PM
I would not even consider an Apple display for professional color work.
I made the mistake of getting an iMac. The display is ridiculously bright and cannot be turned down to anything even close to 120 cd/m2--see this thread. I did find an app that allows me to turn the brightness down but sometimes it forgets to load itself and I forget to check!
Do as Nat says and get an NEC and an Eye-One!
Posted by Jesse Speer on March 16, 2009 at 1:31 PM
The Mac system doesn't provide a route for what you want to do. It's generally considered a "no-no". And it's basically a monitor-dependent issue these days. And the built-in calibration lets you eye ball it and manually adjust, but you still don't have individual channel controls.
As stated previously, NEC monitors are best all around - but especially for hardware customization. They let you adjust RGB as you please (even via buttons on the front of the monitor) - although that generally defeats the purpose of something like the Eye One. I highly recommend their Spectraview II software (a combo that features extensive hardware control and dead-on calibration). I've never been happier with monitor calibration and control.
Posted by Kalin Wilson on March 16, 2009 at 1:40 PM
I'll echo Nat and Jesse, I use a NEC 2690 with hardware calibration through NEC SpectraView II software and an Eye-One Display spectro for ICC profiling. Neither of those chunks of harware are on the inexpensive side, but I REALLY like the performance and results. When using a high quality semi-gloss paper like Ilford Gold Fiber Silk (and even Epson Premium luster) my non-adjusted soft proofs nearly match my prints. Highly Recommended.
Thank you all for your comments. I currently have hardware based calibration in the form of the GretagMacbeth i1display2 so I should be good there. I down loaded the Mac version of their software but didnt go any further since on my PC I needed RGB adjustments for a proper calibration. I was very pleased with the results of the LP3065 and i1display2 combination which is why I am trying to do the same on the Mac side.
As you say, having RGB controls on the monitor is certainly best but after a Mac Pro purchase Im not sure I can drop anotherh $2000 on a monitor at this time.
If I just use my current i1display2 on my LP3065 and let the software do the rest will I get a reasonable calibration? If not I might have to start saving for a new monitor, such a shame though since my current one worked so well on a PC.
Andy
Posted by Jesse Speer on March 16, 2009 at 2:32 PM
Andy, you should certainly be able to use your current display and your calibration setup, without any need for additional tweaks. Or so the calibration theory goes. You can adjust white point and luminance values to your liking. Just curious, what kind of adjustments did you have to make?
Andy, you really don't have to have RGB adjustments on your monitor to get a good profile on an LCD. In fact, some software producers recommend against using them. If you are using the buttons on the front of an LCD monitor to go into the OSD screen and adjust the red, green and blue - all you are doing is changing a software interface. You're not adjusting hardware.
I think some manufacturers put the RGB adjustment in there just because people are used to seeing them on CRT monitors, but LCD's make color in a completely different way, so it's really not necessary. Also, most LCD's native white point is relatively close to 6500 Kelvin where you want it to be.
One of the seldom documented differences between high end displays and the more basic models is the way in which the liquid crystals block the light. The cheaper displays are not as precise in how they do that. So using the LCD monitor's RGB controls to set a white point can lead to uniformity problems.
Some monitor profiling producers recommend to set the monitor's color (RGB) adjustment to the factory default, or "native", or whatever gives it the brightest white. Then tell the monitor-profiling software to hit the aim point you're looking for (6500 K). That means that your video card will take the brunt of your white point color adjustment instead of your panel.
A consequence of this solution is that you might see more banding in your display. What should be smooth gradations from one color to the next (blue sky for instance), are broken up by bands of color. Which then leads to why some manufacturers make displays with 10 or 12-bit internal graphics cards, to take care of banding.
And other Apple displays do not suffer from the "too bright" problem, and can be profiled well and easily with normal profiling equipment.
-Patrick Herold
Tech Support, www.chromix.com
Posted by Andy Brehm on March 16, 2009 at 10:50 PM
Awesome, thanks all for your help. I just stuck the "puck" on there and let the software do its thing. I usually tweaked with all the settings to get them into the acceptable range but this seemed to work alright. my white point was a little high (6600 instead of 6500) but things look a bit better. I guess I wont really know until I print something!
Discussion
10 repliesSo, for those of you using a Mac, how can I calibrate a monitor that dosent have RGB controls. I assume this is possible since Apple's own 30" dosent have RGB controls on it to my knowledge.
Thanks,
Andy
Thanks
Brad
You might also search this site as there have been a few discussions about printing.
Bill Brennan
I recommend X-Rite Eye One (i1) Display 2.
For the best results, you also should consider buying a new display with RGB controls. Currently, NEC is the only game in town... all the other "high-end" manufacturers (Eizo, LaCie etc) use NEC hardware. You can pick up a very good NCD LCD for around $500.
I would not even consider an Apple display for professional color work.
Do as Nat says and get an NEC and an Eye-One!
As stated previously, NEC monitors are best all around - but especially for hardware customization. They let you adjust RGB as you please (even via buttons on the front of the monitor) - although that generally defeats the purpose of something like the Eye One. I highly recommend their Spectraview II software (a combo that features extensive hardware control and dead-on calibration). I've never been happier with monitor calibration and control.
As you say, having RGB controls on the monitor is certainly best but after a Mac Pro purchase Im not sure I can drop anotherh $2000 on a monitor at this time.
If I just use my current i1display2 on my LP3065 and let the software do the rest will I get a reasonable calibration? If not I might have to start saving for a new monitor, such a shame though since my current one worked so well on a PC.
Andy
I think some manufacturers put the RGB adjustment in there just because people are used to seeing them on CRT monitors, but LCD's make color in a completely different way, so it's really not necessary. Also, most LCD's native white point is relatively close to 6500 Kelvin where you want it to be.
One of the seldom documented differences between high end displays and the more basic models is the way in which the liquid crystals block the light. The cheaper displays are not as precise in how they do that. So using the LCD monitor's RGB controls to set a white point can lead to uniformity problems.
Some monitor profiling producers recommend to set the monitor's color (RGB) adjustment to the factory default, or "native", or whatever gives it the brightest white. Then tell the monitor-profiling software to hit the aim point you're looking for (6500 K). That means that your video card will take the brunt of your white point color adjustment instead of your panel.
A consequence of this solution is that you might see more banding in your display. What should be smooth gradations from one color to the next (blue sky for instance), are broken up by bands of color. Which then leads to why some manufacturers make displays with 10 or 12-bit internal graphics cards, to take care of banding.
We put out a couple of articles on monitors in our newletter a year or so ago:
http://www.colorwiki.com/wiki/Monitors_Part_One
Incidentally -
The iMac are too bright, as Phillip said. But there are ways around that if you're stuck with them.
http://www.colorwiki.com/wiki/My_Printer_Is_Too_Dark
And other Apple displays do not suffer from the "too bright" problem, and can be profiled well and easily with normal profiling equipment.
-Patrick Herold
Tech Support, www.chromix.com
Andy