Monitor calibration spyders

[JCalvert]

Colour management wizards:


Which one is the best value for the money?

I have no clue what to look for. Also, how important is the software that comes with it? I rarely use an LCD at this point but maybe in the future.

Thanks

[MediaMagic]

jcalvert wrote:
Colour management wizards:


Which one is the best value for the money?

I have no clue what to look for. Also, how important is the software that comes with it? I rarely use an LCD at this point but maybe in the future.

Thanks

I have had excellent results with the Colorvision Optical/Spyder combination. It will calibrate CRT's or LCD's. I've never used it for an LCD screen but it's spot on for CRT. There is also a print calibration unit available, though I have it, I've not needed it.

info here:
http://www.colorvision.com



Others have used and swear by a less expensive solution, MonacoOPTIX Monitor Profiler:

http://www.dtgweb.com/store/product.php4?code=30100001

[openspace]

I like Gretag Macbeth's Eye-One Display. Spot on.

[slejhamer]

2nd vote for a Spyder, but with the less expensive PhotoCal software.

[w10d]

3rd vote for the Spyder/Photocal. Have heard some complaints about reliability though. Gretag always highly recommended by users.

[mrbobco]

i'll chime on on the spyder...i purchased the sypder with optical and use it regularly on my LCD display...works perfectly!

bob

[John_T]

Chime, chime on Spyder. Though it works pretty much idiot proof, it is good to read up a bit on color managment before hand.

http://www.colorvision.ch/beta/support/01b98f93220b0d007/index.html

[gkas]

I just recently picked up one for myself. They had a $50 rebate until Oct 31 on the Spyder with PhotoCal. I like it soo much that I picked up a second one for my son, who is a Brooks student.

After much previous messing around with color management with my Epson printers I could only get good prints by configuring my printer to match the crt via Color Controls. This was a major pain to configure each paper. I now get near perfect color match to the CRT with ICM color in PhotoShop. I can now swap papers, use the new Epson profile, and I instantly get a great color match. AND the added bonus is that the LCD on my laptop now matches my CRT.

Also, I've having lots of problems with my Viewsonic monitor.... back to the factory 3 times. Each time I swapped in a temporary monitor would have normally caused havoc with my printing. Now I calibrate with the Spyder, and I'm back in business in 10 minutes with a perfectly calibrated monitor.

I should have done this a long time ago.......

[scottbergerphoto]

I use Spyder/Optical to profile my monitor. I use an Epson 2200 with Epson Ink and papers. Epson is nice enough to supply ICC profiles for the 2200 for the Epson Premium Papers(Glossy, Matte, Semigloss, Lustre)located on the Epson installation disk.
I follow the following procedure:
1. Monitor profiled with Spyder/Optical and profile saved as default monitor profile.
2. Turn off color management in the printer driver-No Color Management.
3. In Photoshop Elements 2.0, Print Preview, I set the source to: Adobe RGB (1998 ) which is the color space I shoot in, I set the output to: Epson ICC profile for the appropriate paper.
The prints are virtually identical to the monitor image. No tweaking needed.
Scott