Hey there...sounds like you are a designer since you use the Adobe CS Apps. How is the screen color accuracy on the iMac in your opinion?
I know that is a concern for me in purchasing an iMac since I would like to give my clients color images that are remotely close to what intended them to be.
Yet I also know that color will almost always shift going from screen to print no matter what monitor you use.
would love to hear your thoughts.
Hi timgman,
your right, color accuracy is a problem on monitors. And more so with computers in general. The good news is that clients seem to be less color critical these days. It bummed me out for years, I would always push the importance of getting Match Prints (high end color proofs made from the actual film thats been output) but no one wants to pay anymore. I have found that color is getting better from computer to print. This is surprising and good news for me since the quality of the imagery is very important to the success of the overall piece.
Theres a new profile people are using for sheetfed offset printing called GRACoL. Its being accepted by the whole industry so you wont be on the bleeding edge of color profiles, its well tested. In short, its just a better profile than the standard "U.S. Sheet fed" color profile. You would use this in the "Color Settings" > "CMYK" dialog in PhotoShop. You should be able to download the profile from the web (if you cant find this profile, just use the standard "U.S. sheetfed" and choose coated or uncoated. But if your printing to a web press, like for a magazine or a publication, then choose the "U.S. Web" profile. Check here for that new GRACoL profile:
http://www.idealliance.org/industry_resources/branding_media_and_color/gracol
Also, turn down your monitors brightness. Paper white is never as bright as a monitor. I usually hold up a piece of the paper i know im going to be printing on and try to adjust my monitors brightness to match. And make sure your calibrations white point setting is between D5000 and D65000. Its going to look bad but its more realistic to what you'll get on paper. And when you print, try to get the brightest paper you can if you want colors that pop. You need that extra white to broaden your contrast range. The brighter the paper white, the more contrast your images will have.
All that being said, the imac or any apple monitor isnt the best for color correction. The old CRTs are still better. I'll probably get this device one of these days. It calibrates your monitor, but this device seems a bit weird. I think you have to have the software running all the time. Still, people like it. I dont know, for now i just calibrate by eye.
http://www.amazon.com/Pantone-MEU11...3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1288065167&sr=1-3
If money is no object you can get the designer version:
http://www.amazon.com/Pantone-MEU11...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1288065278&sr=1-1
Just a recap: your right imac and lcd's in general arent good for color correction. But does your client require color critical results? Just calibrate your monitor (by eye or with a device) and make sure your Photoshop settings are set for sheet fed or web printing. Try to turn down the brightness of your monitor to match the paper (dont go crazy on this, just something lower than full bright. Also, learn to trust photoshops "info pallet" when color correcting, go by the percentages, not so much what you see on the screen. Make sure neutrals are balanced and you should be alright. Use your best judgement, if its a sunset scene then if you balance the neutrals, the picture will look weird cause they SHOULD have a high percentage of yellow in the neutrals. So in that case, its not best to balance the neutrals.
I didnt watch this but it could help:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PweW75-K84
Thats it for now. Good luck and if you have a specific question, ask.
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