Monitor calibration

[LERsince1991]

Hi,

I would like to calibrate my acer P223w monitor to better resemble what my work will look like printed. As well as improve the image on my screen.

Specifically for photography, and print work in indesign.

I've tried to calibrate it using the apple monitor calibration but I'm actually partially colour blind so find it hard to tell whats going on all the time. So the calibration doesn't work that well.

I was wondering what people suggest as a good way of calibrating without costing anything?

Suggestions:
Maybe I can borrow an automatic calibrator for a one time use?
- Location: Lincoln, UK

Maybe someone has the same monitor and can calibrate it and send me the calibration or something?

Thanks,
Luke

 

[OreoCookie]

Forget about software calibration tools, spare yourself the time and effort. I've gotten a Color Spyder 2 Express for a mere $65 a few years ago. I'm sure you can get the successor at a similar price point.

 

[LERsince1991]

would buying a huey pro pantone actually help or is the printer profile to important that its not worth getting the calibration device?

I'm at university just wanting better prints of my presentations and photos, they are often too dark. I can't change anything on the printer as they are networked.

cheers
Luke.

 

[OreoCookie]

There is no point calibrating your printer or using printer profiles if your monitor isn't calibrated. For me, calibrating the monitor made the biggest difference since upgrading to a modern dslr. I would recommend a Color Spyder instead of a Huey, though.

 

[LERsince1991]

I'll check it out, cheers.
Any particular reason?

 

[bzollinger]

From the research I've done the Spyders are considered better mostly because they've been around longer? Also the software that comes with them is better I think.

 

[steve-p]

I calibrated my 30" Dell for the first time recently with a Spyder3Elite. It did make a difference, but having used the software calibration in OS X previously, not as much as I was expecting perhaps. Nevertheless I feel it's worthwhile if you are serious about digital photography, because if you are post-processing pictures on a monitor with a colour cast or incorrect brightness or contrast for example, it's going to work out badly.

You can't really share profiles even with the same monitor by the way. Every monitor with the same model number could be subtly different, may even contain a different revision of the LCD panel, different firmware etc. Also they change with age. You are supposed to recalibrate every few weeks, although I think every few months may be nearer the mark. The Spyders have software with a registration key so it's unlikely you would be able to borrow one. There's a review here which explains a bit about how it works, and a feature comparison of the different Spyder models:

http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/reviews/profiling/spyder3elite-v4.html

I can't comment on the Huey ones, they may be better/worse/the same for all I know.