iMac Calibration

[TootysMom]

So about a month ago I got the iMac with the 27in lcd monitor and totally fell in love! I just ordered some prints from WHCC for a client and I got them back and they are really dark. It didn't even dawn on me to get new test prints...I opened the same files on my PC that I used to edit on and the files look really light....but when I called WHCC they said the files they were looking at looked really dark. Does anyone have any advice calibrating this monitor? HELP!

Thanks!
Britney

[srwatters]

This is a known issue with pretty much all of the Intel based iMac machines. The standard brightness control does not allow you to achieve the correct output. There are a couple of third party programs that will allow you to reduce the output. I believe one is called "shades" (Shades | Software | Charcoal Design). In addition to that, I would highly recommend a colorimeter to accurately set the display. That's really the only way you're going to get consistent results. I currently use the X-rite (formerly GretagMacbeth) Eye One Display II device. There are others as well, just make sure you don't purchase the very low end device. It has been known to be less accurate.

If you can't afford one, then I suggest starting with the 'eyeball' method. Read this page for a good tutorial on manual calibration. It's better than nothing...

Monitor calibration and gamma

Good luck!

[ChristopherCoy]

I've got the 21.5" and I haven't had a problem between my monitor and WHCC. I dont calibrate either, or haven't up until this point yet.

[srwatters]

So Chris, how pray tell, do you set the display brightness? Do you use some kind of a gamma target image? If you have the box checked for auto brightness, I would be amazed that you could get a print that is even close to what you see on the display.

[d2creative]

From what I've heard the imacs can not be properly calibrated.
They are consumer machines, not pro.
But I have not tried to calibrate one myself.

[Jake]

Originally Posted by srwatters

.....There are a couple of third party programs that will allow you to reduce the output. I believe one is called "shades" (Shades | Software | Charcoal Design).....

Thanks for the link Scott!
I just got the 27"iMac(i7) and that screen is crazy bright! It's absolutely gorgeous, but very bright. Figure I'll just get the adapter to hook up my Lacie monitor.
This is by far the fastest computer I've used. Faster then the quad 2.66 mac pro I use at work by a lot.

[srwatters]

With regard to iMac calibration: I have two iMac's in the house; an old 20" G5 and a newer 24" Intel Core2 Duo. Both calibrate perfectly with Eye One Match. My 12 year old uses the 24" machine and we have the brightness turned nearly all the way down to get to 2.2 Gamma with an output of 120 cd/m2. Some consider that just a little bright, but that's what is used by most D65 tests on white paper. Consumer machine or not, there is no reason to think they cannot be calibrated using the right software and process.

[ChristopherCoy]

Originally Posted by srwatters

So Chris, how pray tell, do you set the display brightness? Do you use some kind of a gamma target image? If you have the box checked for auto brightness, I would be amazed that you could get a print that is even close to what you see on the display.

I dont know. I have enough to worry about than a check box. I edit it, order, and receive it, and they look fine. Haven't had a problem yet, nor a complaint from my customers. And I've printed multiple 16x20's..... My assumption is that most people don't notice the 1/1000th of a degree of a slight color shift that pixel peepers do.

[srwatters]

Originally Posted by ChristopherCoy

I dont know. I have enough to worry about than a check box. I edit it, order, and receive it, and they look fine. Haven't had a problem yet, nor a complaint from my customers. And I've printed multiple 16x20's..... My assumption is that most people don't notice the 1/1000th of a degree of a slight color shift that pixel peepers do.

I'm not talking about a color shift. I'm referring to the ability of you to distinguish shades of white to gray to black. Having the color calibrated will indeed make your colors more accurate from monitor to print, but if your monitor is too bright or the contrast isn't set correctly, you will end up with either blacks that are too black or lose the ability to see subtle differences in contrast at either end of the spectrum. Your display should be set to 2.2 gamma with an output near 120 cd/m2. Most iMac displays pump out closer to 200 cd/m2 even when turned down nearly all the way on the brightness slider.

Do yourself and your customer's a favor and bring up the making fine prints page I linked above. You'll find your output will be even better when you work with a correctly set up display. Or you can just keep on guessing if that suits your purposes...

[ChristopherCoy]

I dont know what to tell you Scott. I've printed tons of images over the last few months, and haven't had a brightness issue. What I see on my monitor, in reference to brightness, is what comes from the printer. I've simply not had any issues. Maybe its cause I haven't complicated it so much.

[srwatters]

Does this look as it's supposed to?

[ChristopherCoy]

What's it supposed to look like?

Column A fades to solid black around 2.0, Column B fades to solid black around 1.6

[srwatters]

From the website I referenced above (making fine prints):

Originally Posted by Norman Koren

Black level (brightness) Your monitor's brightness control (which should actually be called black level) can be adjusted using the mostly black pattern on the right side of the chart. This pattern contains two dark gray vertical bars, A and B, which increase in luminance with increasing gamma. (If you can't see them, your black level is way low.) The left bar (A) should be just above the threshold of visibility opposite your chosen gamma (2.2 or 1.8)-- it should be invisible where gamma is lower by about 0.3. The right bar (B) should be distinctly visible: brighter than (A), but still very dark.
There is considerable interaction between the brightness and gamma settings-- increasing brightness decreases gamma-- so you may have to go back and forth two or three times. There is less interaction between Contrast and gamma. The vertical bars correspond to normalized luminances of 0.002 and 0.006 at the specified gamma.