MOnitor settings?

I have talked with many of you regarding monitor calibration before, however I have yet to go down that road entirely with buying the gear/software. It just isn't a good time...What I would like to know from the folks out there that might be using a simple HP laptop for there work is are there some standard Brightness, gamma, contrast settings that I could use to help me get my prints from the local shop (or costco) to match closer to what I am seeing on my screen. I do have the ICC info from costco and I think it helps, but my prints still come out a bit dark. I am pretty sure my laptop is a bit bright. Sometimes when I look at my shots on computers elsewhere they seem a little dark (not always). Thanks...

The best you can do when using a laptop alone, is only edit your photos in the same place, with strictly controlled lighting. You must also figure out a way to ensure the same viewing angle every time you open the laptop lid. There are many "stepwedge" type images posted online and you should adjust your backlight intensity (Brightness) so you can clearly differentiate between the the brightest and darket steps. It's far more important to differentiate between the brightest levels than the darkest.

http://www.northlight-images.co.uk …oadable_2/test-ramp_2.zip

If by stepwedge you mean the charts with the 26 (I think) different levels or brightness or gamma, I have looked at many of these and I can clearly differentiate between all of them. I think I may take my comp over to the print shop and pull up some shots from it and compare them to how they look on their monitor. I just don't want to spend the next couple years editing photos to my taste only to have them all too dark when I buy a new computer down the road. Thanks

As i mentioned, it's far more important to differentiate among the lightest steps, as most of a digital image's data lies in the bright end of the scale or histogram.

Try lowering your brightness to the 50% (halfway) level, than use the contrast setting until you can clearly differentiate between the brightest steps. That should put you in the ballpark for fair print to screen matching.

perfect...will do. Thanks

Prior to getting my first calibrator, I set up a laptop by making a handful of trips to a print shop and printing off a few 4x6 prints, bringing them home, adjust monitor, repeat process. I was just getting things figured out, early days, newbie at the process and all, but it actually got me in the ballpark. I hadn't yet set up my home photo printers and photo workstation and gotten into calibration and all, that was to come, but it did get me some nice prints from the shop.