Mike Chaney's Tech Corner

Technical Discussions => Computer Hardware => Topic started by: allanrube on March 28, 2010, 10:14:44 PM



Title: Prints dark
Post by: allanrube on March 28, 2010, 10:14:44 PM
I have been getting dark prints. I read that some people suggest profiling the monitor to 80 maximum dE instead of 120 so I am going to try that. Any thoughts?

Also, I used ColorEyes Display Pro and got this validation after my profiling. Can someone tell me what it means and if my profile is a good one based on the chart?
(http://www.allanrube.com/photos/821753102_Vr3Qp-X3.jpg)


Title: Re: Prints dark
Post by: Terry-M on March 28, 2010, 10:37:07 PM
Hi Allen,
Quote
I have been getting dark prints. I read that some people suggest profiling the monitor to 80 maximum dE instead of 120 so I am going to try that. Any thoughts?
I think you may be getting your units crossed here.
The numbers 20 and 80 refer to the luminance (brightness) setting of the monitor and have units of Candles/sq meter (CD/M2).
Certainly, lowering the brightness of your monitor can help in adjusting images on the monitor so that prints no longer appear dark relative to the monitor. Some are known to adjust the brightness to the prints and calibrate to make a profile after doing that.
Your dE figures are not really relevant to print brightness; they give a measure of the accuracy of the monitor in reproducing the calibration patch colours; it indicates an out-of-gamut amount . Your figures are very good by the way, anything below 1 is good according to what I was told by Gretag McBeth (now XRite) and up to 3 is satisfactory. What monitor do you have?
BTW. my comments have assumed you use a printer profile too.
Also, I have found that on some papers, my prints are a little dark in shadow areas (monitor at 120 CD/M) so I use a little Fill with a Qimage Print Filter.
Terry


Title: Re: Prints dark
Post by: rayw on March 29, 2010, 01:14:43 AM
Hi Allan,

The calibration software I now use is found here - http://hoech.net/dispcalGUI/  My colorimeter does not read ambient light levels, so I adjusted the white level to match as best I could the colour of the canvas that I normally print onto, viewed in the same ambient lighting as the monitor. I'm finding that the prints now match pretty close to what I see on the monitor. The monitor contrast and brightness settings are now at about 50%  which is much less than before.  It's all pretty subjective, however.

Best wishes,

Ray


Title: Re: Prints dark
Post by: ChasP505 on March 29, 2010, 03:29:47 PM
I've been using ColorEyes Display Pro software for over a year and the validation report you posted is excellent.  I question the Luminance value of 80cd/m2 unless you are using the highest quality of LCD monitors with high bit internal color processing.  I use a modest Dell 2209WA, which is a budget level IPS paneled monitor and I calibrate to 110cd/m2.  If your monitor is not capable of reaching 80cd/m2 by using the OSD Brightness control alone, the CEDP software will go directly to your video card and compress the RGB color tones there.


Title: Re: Prints dark
Post by: ChasP505 on March 31, 2010, 01:25:14 PM
Allan, I had an afterthought...  Are you using L* or 2.2 as your gamma setting in ColorEyes?  I know the software tells you L* is recommended but I found that 2.2 gives me a smoother profile in the deep gray tones without the sudden spikes.  On the screen, opposite to what they say about L*, 2.2 opens up my shadow areas and gives me smoother gradients with imperceptible banding.

According to the validation report, your profile is excellent, with all measurements under 1.0, but you may want to compare 2.2 vs L* and see which works best for you.


Title: Re: Prints dark
Post by: Roma on May 14, 2010, 02:56:43 AM
Hello Chas,

Does it mean you are happy with the monitor when use it for pictures? Based on your opinion I am thinking about purchasing it for pictures and text reading. What about calibration? I have EyeOne 2.

Regards,
Roma


Title: Re: Prints dark
Post by: ChasP505 on May 14, 2010, 03:59:38 PM
Does it mean you are happy with the monitor when use it for pictures? Based on your opinion I am thinking about purchasing it for pictures and text reading. What about calibration? I have EyeOne 2.

For the money, I don't think there is a better LCD monitor for photo editing.  It calibrates easily, with only minor OSD adjustments needed, with DataColor/Spyder or X-Rite products.  The thing to be aware of is this monitor is an sRGB display, NOT wide gamut.

Honestly, I had full intentions of stepping up to a high end NEC monitor, but I'm facing some unanticipated medical expenses and I'm quite content to continue using the 2209WA.


Title: Re: Prints dark
Post by: Roma on May 14, 2010, 05:07:11 PM
Hello Chas,

Thank you for your advice. Today I have learned that NEC is also manufacturing a wide colour gamut LCD2690WUXi2. See what I have found on the NEC web site:

Sporting a wide color gamut panel, the 26" NEC refurbished MultiSync LCD2690WUXi2 equips you with all of the features and benefits ideal for high-end graphics applications.
97.8% coverage of the Adobe RGB color space
With NEC's exclusive X-LightTM Pro backlight/sensor design, brightness and color settings can be held constant over the useful life of the display
ColorCompTM technology compensates for slight variations in luminance and color uniformity, providing even color across the screen
Superior screen performance (1000:1 contrast ratio, 1920 x 1200 native resolution, 320cd/m2 brightness)
Supports internal programmable 12-bit lookup tables (LUTs) for calibration
Ambient light sensor and automatic backlight adjustment allows for use in any lighting condition

Regards,
Roma


Title: Re: Prints dark
Post by: ChasP505 on May 14, 2010, 07:59:51 PM
Yeah...  NEC is introducing several new models (PA series) so I expect to see some special pricing on discontinued models.