Screen Calibration - Pantone Huey

[Lilserenity]

Hiya,

I was wondering who else has calibrated their screens properly? I have just bought a Pantone Huey device to calibrate my CRT in preparation for putting Impression Milton Keynes together ready for Blurb -- I have to say in some ways I was shocked at how out of kilter my screen was, particularly how warm the colour balance was! At first it looked like there was a cyan cast across the display after calibration; but now my pictures look a lot more satisfyingly 'neutral'

I heartily recommend doing so. Admittedly I still have an old CRT screen but until I can afford a bells and whistles LCD screen which doesn't have limited colour palette and good view angle then I'll stick with this old beast.

The Huey was also very easy to set up.

Vicky

[lacavol]

That is an attractive price on the Huey and Pantone is a respected name, if anyone knows about color they do. I haven't corrected my LCD except by eye which is always deceptive. Is the kit easy to use and are you so far pleased with the result?

[Lilserenity]

It was very easy to use. Basically you install the software, and then plug the device in. Then run the supplied software. You have to do something to your screen's brightness and contrast so you can see the different circles (for example on my screen one of the dark grey circles blended in with the black) -- once that is done you attach it to your screen, click go and off it goes calibrating.

When that's done, it's done, you just make sure you keep to the Web and Photo Editing preset and the screen is calibrated and ready to use. It has made a big difference to my photo editing already.

There are other devices like the Spyder 3, but the Huey has worked well and it also can check the ambient light at a user specified interval and adjust the display colour balance depending on the ambient light level and colour -- very clever.

A slightly unexciting £60 to spend, but a very worthwhile one. Here's a sample photo, the delicate colours of Reala really just work now on screen:



Overall I found the process very easy.

Vicky

[J J Kapsberger]

Originally Posted by lacavol

I haven't corrected my LCD except by eye which is always deceptive. Is the kit easy to use and are you so far pleased with the result?

It's easy to use, but the important thing is that your LCD monitor is suitable for photo editing, which many aren't. If it's unsuitable, you'll simply waste money on the Huey.

Many LCD screens, such as mine, a Samsung Syncmaster BW22, have built-in dynamic range enhancement (I don't know what the technical term is) that increases brightness in the shadow end of the tonal spectrum (which allows Samsung to claim an outrageous dynamic range). Dispaly on my Samsung, even after calibration, is brighter than the industry norm and as a result my images, when viewed on other monitors, tend to have blocked-up shadow areas.

If you have an LCD monitor that's suitable for photo editing (and those monitors tend to be very expensive), you won't suffer as I do.

My colours seem to be accurate, however.

[vdonovan]

I have been MUCH happier with my digital color printing since I started profiling and managing color. I also took a class in color management, which helped me understand the process of getting color from camera to Photoshop to printer much better.

I use a Spyder 3 express to calibrate my monitor. The monitor is a DELL 2209WA, an e-ips monitor, which is a budget version of the ips monitors recommended for editing. I calibrate every time I sit down to edit.

I also use the X-rite color checker passport to create a color profile for my camera, though I'm finding that the profile is not much better than the Photoshop default.

[Lilserenity]

Yes I had read that if you have a cheaper TN based TFT LCD panel that could cause problems; but as I am so behind the times using a CRT it wasn't an issue. Until I can get hold of an IPS based LCD I shall stick with the old screen.

I'm looking forward to testing the output from my saved files now that I have done the calibration to see if there is indeed greater parity to what I have on screen and what I get on print. Thankfully the printers I use have supplied me their colour profiles for Photoshop.

[robklurfield]

Can Huey or Huey Pro be used on a Mac laptop (ie, MacBook or Powerbook)?

[scottwallick]

Originally Posted by robklurfield

Can Huey or Huey Pro be used on a Mac laptop (ie, MacBook or Powerbook)?

The Huey Pantone and Huey Pro both are both Mac compatible. I know the Huey Pantone works with both Intel and PowerPC platforms. Can't say for sure about the Huey Pro.

[PKR]

I use one here. It likes to be re-calibrated weekly. Also, it has a mode that will adjust the monitor for room lighting. You need to leave the sensor plugged in to the USB port and the sensor in the cradle for this mode. I run a Cal. just before doing any critical PS or LR work and forget about the constant requests for running a Cal. Your monitor will age with use and this is the reason to update the Cal. settings. It's a great tool. Do your best to mate it to your printer profiles if you're making prints. I'm not on the exact match here, but close enough to make intelligent guesses. I can usually get a good print match in 2 or 3 runs.

[robklurfield]

thanks, Scott & Double Neg.

[not_in_good_order]

Originally Posted by Lilserenity

Hiya,

I was wondering who else has calibrated their screens properly?

Vicky

For the past couple of years I've used an X-Rite Eye One 2 to calibrate an Eizo CE210W. Neither is top of the line (the Eizo model was the low end of their line before it was discontinued), but I'm always pleased with my results--when I have prints made the color matches perfectly what I see on the monitor.