IT Professionals

Calibration Discoveries

Posted by on Jan 13, 2009 | 3 Comments

I am not a printer expert. True, I am perfectly able to troubleshoot a problem printer that is not providing the expected end result, however calibration us just not an area that I have a lot of experience with unfortunately.

Then after doing some homework for my wife’s Epson Stylus Pro printer, I discovered a post that Chris did not too long back about software called PANTONE hueyPRO. The idea is simply enough, use the software bundled with USB device to make sure your monitor is displaying the colors that it should be. I also noted that hueyPRO supported bringing calibration over to the print side of things as well. I was thrilled, this is exactly what my wife needed with her iMac and printer! Well, it looks as if there might be another piece needed.

Jumping into next apparent piece of the puzzle it seems includes something called ColorValet custom profiling. I will admit that the idea of spending yet another $99 per profile for inkjet printers did not thrill me. But if this means that my wife can finally get her printer in better tune with her iMac’s display, then so be it.

Have an alternative? While I doubt that hueyPRO is going to be better matched, I am interested in finding a cheaper way to profile my wife’s Epson. If you have alternatives to share, then by all means hit the comments area with your solutions.

  • http://spyder.datacolor.com/product-pp-s3studio.php Joe St. Louis

    Although it’s not cheaper the Spyder Calibration system will provide a much better end result than the Huey products. I’ve used both and I prefer Spyder products, as do must photographers I know. This product has a monitor scanner like the Huey solution which sets up a monitor profile AND has a separate scanner that will calibrate your printer color profile. Having both profiles in sync provides the ultimate end result.

    -Joe

  • http://www.chromix.com Patrick Herold

    In most cases, either the Huey or the Spyder will do an adequate job calibrating a typical monitor. Your wife’s iMac is a different story, however. Modern iMacs are notorious for being too bright to be able to match what a printer’s output looks like in ordinary home or office lighting situations. I’ll bet your wife’s pictures look too dark compared to her screen. And unfortunately, you can turn down the iMac’s brightness controls to zero and it will still be too bright.
    I have an article on some of the options you would have to fix this:
    but it will probably involve buying new software and a different colorimeter than a Huey.

    You should get the screen brightness figured out before you look at the printer profile. If you are not that technically minded, you probably would want a service like ColorValet to make the printer profile for you. A couple of nice things about ColorValet is that we have technical support people available to walk you through the process & answer your questions – and we offer a 100% money back guarantee.

  • http://www.chromix.com Patrick Herold