Printer Calibration Services

I have read that there are several services that create a profile for your printer/paper combination. Where can I find these services?

Here is one

http://www.drycreekpho​to.com/custom/custompr​ofiles.htm

Rick

Here are two.

http://www.cathysprofi​les.com/

http://www.drycreekpho​to.com/

Both have good explanations on their websites, DryCreek has more theory, if you're interested.

John

I think I will try http://www.cathysprofi​les.com/

I will let you know how I like it

Please do! I got a monitor calibrator (you do have one, don't you?). A printer profile is my logical next step.

John

A few years ago I bought the original Spyder with software (Optical) for calibrating the monitor. The package also had software (Profiler Plus) for calibrating printers - ANY printer. Works quite well.

This was from Pantone/Colorvision.

Was it a visual process? Or did it involve a scanner, Skip?

John

Be sure that your print driver/RIP can handle "generic" ICC profiles.
Sometimes a profile with "seret sauce" is required.

Scanner process profiling really...really sux. I spend better part of late 2003 and 2004 suffering from good paper+ink profile because of using scanner as the profiler... stay away.

I've read that from a lot of other posters, too. Frankly, at $40-50 for a professional printer profile, I can't be bothered fiddling with doing one at home. Having the monitor profiling kit is money well spent. The next thing I'm doing is a professional printer scan.

John

I meant that using your scanner as the spectrometer is pain staking. Since I purchased the Eye-One spectrometer, profiling my own has been a breeze. And with the Profile Maker v5.0 I have complete utter control of all my devices.

For the printer calibration, a flatbed scanner is required. The accuracy of the scanner isn't really all that important because you get tools that let you tweak colors and intensities so that the final result matches your monitor's colors (or original subject colors if you want to do that too). The scanner just gets an image back into the computer.

You are totally right.

But his is an inferior way to produce a profile.
Very time consuming and not nearly as accurate as one prouced with a spectrophotometer.
This is from personal experience with MonacoEZcolor and from interactions with clients who have used the same approach, not just my ramblings.

I suspect (not first hand knowledge) the difference between one of those printer profiles and one done by CathysProfiles or DryCreek would be at least as great as the difference I found going from an eyeball monitor calibrator like Adobe Gamma to a colorimeter with software.

That difference was tremendous, and that's an understatement. Eyeball "calibration" is better than flying completely blind. But not nearly as nice as flying on the latest instruments and autopilot.

JPC

Next week I am buying the ColorPlus monitor calibration package. I will calibrate my LCD monitor and afterwards I will get a printer profile at Cathy's. I will let you know how it works altogether.

I agree with you, John, about having a profile being done. After reading about the different possibities and pondering whether getting an inexpensive scanner profiling software, I have decided to have a professional make the profile for me. The equipment they have is far superior to anything I can afford.

Check this out: http://www.colorvision​.com …_spec_pf-rightforme.shtml