Posted by Danny Laureys on December 21, 2011 at 9:16 PM
Bought another one, I returned the last one last summer, still the same problem, monitor way to bright, anything that was send over the web is now all over exposed, which looked great before on screen and was close to the actual print, I give up, I've set my monitor back to my eye. I use Win 7, Dell 22" HD monitor with DVI hook up. Called X-rite, they told me to set Luminance at 90 , what I think seem to be the problem is the contrast setting, I set it at 100% as asked to do but after calibration its at 85% which I think is still to high,and luminance is at 56% any suggestion? I 've tried everything, different Luminace settings, bypassing the contrast settings, Adjust the RGB channels manual and as preset. But still to bright. Thanks.
Posted by Keith Bauer on December 21, 2011 at 10:15 PM
Danny: When X-Rite said to set the Luminance at 90, they mean 90 cd/m2 (candelas per square meter). That is a measurement and adjustment that should be in the software that you use to calibrate your monitor. They are not talking about using the on screen controls to set it to some percentage. I can't speak to the contrast setting issues. In general I would suggest setting those to neutral via any on screen controls, setting the luminance value in the calibration software and making sure when the calibration is complete that the resulting ICC profile is being used by the operating system.
What gamma setting are you using, Danny? It should be set at 2.2. Luminance, as Keith mentioned, should be set between 90 and 110 cd/m^2. Also, check the color temperature of the monitor (monitor white point). A setting of 6500K is recommended. If the X-rite software allows it, set the contrast ratio (which controls black point) to around 200:1 (= black point of 0.5) as a starting point. Note that contrast ratio is not the same as a 'percentage' setting on the monitor's on screen menu. A 100% setting setting of contrast on the monitor will give a contrast ratio approaching 1000:1--way to high.
Also note that the values I've given are good starting points. You will likely have to tweak these values to get the best results. I've used X-rite software and the older Monaco Optix-XR, as well as Spectraview II with a iOne. It took took some experimenting to get things just right.
Posted by Danny Laureys on December 23, 2011 at 9:43 PM
Keith, Preston, Thanks for the response, Gamma was set at 2.2, Luminance was set at 90 Cd/m2 in the software per X-rite recommendation, I choose 6500K, The contrast was set at 100% per the software recommendation with the monitor contrast settings, after the calibration the sotware set the Brightness on the monitor at 56% and the Contrast at 85%. Since then I've reset the contrast at 58, which seem to help when I print now and the monitor is not as bright. Anyway thanks for the input, my next step is taking one of my files to a lab and see what happens there. Thanks.
Setting a lower contrast makes sense because prints are inherently lower in contrast than a screen. Keep in mind that it will be quite difficult to get an exact match between screen and print. There are two reasons for this. First a screen is transmissive, and a print is reflective. Second, you need a custom profile for the paper/ink/printer you are using.
Soft proofing in PS can help, but it's not a be-all-end-all method to check accuracy. The best way to see how your print looks is to make a proof. Before you ask the lab to make a full size print, have them make a small one for you. You can then go back to your image file and tweak it for the final print.
I hope you have a great Christmas holiday!
--P
Posted by Danny Laureys on December 24, 2011 at 6:18 PM
Discussion
5 repliesAlso note that the values I've given are good starting points. You will likely have to tweak these values to get the best results. I've used X-rite software and the older Monaco Optix-XR, as well as Spectraview II with a iOne. It took took some experimenting to get things just right.
Take a look at Hardware Calibration Target Values from Image Science. Maybe they will help.
I hope this helps,
--P
Setting a lower contrast makes sense because prints are inherently lower in contrast than a screen. Keep in mind that it will be quite difficult to get an exact match between screen and print. There are two reasons for this. First a screen is transmissive, and a print is reflective. Second, you need a custom profile for the paper/ink/printer you are using.
Soft proofing in PS can help, but it's not a be-all-end-all method to check accuracy. The best way to see how your print looks is to make a proof. Before you ask the lab to make a full size print, have them make a small one for you. You can then go back to your image file and tweak it for the final print.
I hope you have a great Christmas holiday!
--P