Hi Kurt
seefeldt[AT]umich.edu (Kurt Seefeldt)25/11/03-0500
sorry for the long reply, I hope you can take the time to look it over.
>Hi,
>
>I'm getting ready to get into color management and am looking for cost
>effective alternatives for calibration/profiling of my Apple 17" LCD
>attached to my G4 OS X 10.2.8 machine. I may be upgrading to a G5 10.3
>machine, but will likely keep the 17" LCD, if that makes any difference.
I'd propose that good accurate calibration is considerably more
important than the latest Apple processor. A good solution will be fine
with both once you upgrade.
But then I would say that, wouldn't I - as I am an imaging and colour
management consultant.
I moved over to helping others with image integrity and colour after a
long and enjoyable careeer as an Ad. photographer - it's very
fulfilling. But watch out, there are those out there who as useful
chimney sweeps with a long stick and a lot of chat but no brush on the
end.
I did an installation with basICColor Display and eyeOne Monitor x 2 at
City of Westminster College here in the UK. They have over 40 systems
Mac and Win to calibrate. A very mixed bag of screens are behaving in a very
similar manner.
>
>I heard that the Spyder with PhotoCAL had problems on the Apple Cinema
>Displays, but nothing specifically on the 17" model.
same problmes I'd say. I've not been happy with that solution.
>I know there are many happy Spyder users out there, but I'd like to
>hear from users about their experiences.
the confused tech support and <secret> upgrades along with having to
return too many Spyders caused me to cease recommending them a while
back.
>Is the Gretag-McBeth EyeOne Display worth the
>extra money? Is the BasICColor unit good? Are there others in the <$300
>(USD) price range I should consider?
I'm a big fan of the basICColor Display application. lot's of user
options, good accuracy, many more points on the grey axis (13) than
any competitor I'm aware of. Many others use about 5. You can use the
application with many harware devices.
I'm pasting in a fairly lengthy note about screen calibration tools. I
hope it's useful.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SPECTROPHOTOMETER AND A COLORIMETER
(for monitor / display - calibration / profiling. non technical quick
overview).
DEVICE TYPES:::
GretagMacbeth eyeOne Display, basICColor Squid, Monaco Optix, LACIE
BlueEyeVision are all Colorimeters
eyeOne Monitor, eyeOne pro/Photo/Publish, Specrtrolino and Spectrocam
are all Spectrophotometers.
EXPLANATION::
The <<eyeOne Monitor>> (a full emissive spectrophotometer, ie reads
screens but can't read prints) is still the best monitor calibration
device at a reasonable cost.
GretagMacbeth have stopped selling the eyeOne Monitor and now provide a
colorimeter (eyeOne Display) for base level monitor
calibration/profiling. This is OK, but a colorimeter is not as good for
multiple displays, especially if they are of mixed makes / types - or
for multiple LCD's. If you want a high end Spectrophotometer from
Gretag themselves then entry level is iOne Photo at about 1200 pounds.
WHY IS A SPECTRO(PHOTOMETER) BETTER?
With a colorimeter, the manufacturer has to [basically] come up with
filters to match the phosphors of a CRT or the characteristics of an
LCD. This is not an easy task as screens differ considerably, resulting
in a compromise. In practice this means that a row of CRT screens with
different phosphors will not be easy to match, same goes for a group of
LCD's or mix of CRT's and LCD's.
A spectrophotometer like the eyeOne Monitor (or eyeOne Photo) doesn't
use filters but takes <spectral> readings every 10 nanometers, thus
resulting in a considerably more complete description of a display's
characteristics. In mixed display situations this will result in a better
inter-display match.
On a single screen, when used correctly - with a grey screen
background, the eye is so good at accommodating small differences in
greybalance and compensating for them, a colorimeter (we like
basICColor Squid and eyeOne Display) will normally give a very
satisfactory result.
Although GretagMacbeth have discontinued selling the eyeOne Monitor,
Color-solutions, makers of basICColor, favour the eyeOne Monitor spectro
so much they still sell it - under an agreement with Gretag.
SO, WHO MAKES ALL THESE DEVICES?:::
GretagMacbeth get their new colorimeter (eyeOne Display) from Sequel.
(actually, Gretag now own Sequel).
Sequel supply the same colorimeter device to Monaco (sold as the
Optix), LaCie (as the latest BlueEyeVision), Sony (for the Artisan) and
basICColor (the basICColor Squid). Between all these colorimeters I
prefer the Squid, since it works withb the basIColor SW which I like
best. But I still prefer the eyeOne Monitor spectrophotometer over all
of them.
MY PREFERENCES:::
Personally, after a LOT of testing, I prefer the calibration from
basICColor Display SW, it is a proper pro-level calibration/profiling
software. To my eye bICC Display gives a much better match to a
correctly printed piece than any competitor and has the advantage of a
considerable number of useful user options - the only disadvantage is
that they charge for their (pro level) software whilst Gretag give away
their (entry level) SW to corimeter buyers (eyeOne Display that is).
The eyeOne Monitor is 550 UK pounds nett, with one licence for the
basICColor Display SW, ie for one seat. The Squid with basIColor
Display SW is 210 pounds nett and it works great for single screen
installations. Gretag's eyeone Display colorimeter with their Match SW
is 199 nett.
The eyeOne Photo is 1185 pounds and for monitor calibration is the SAME
as the eyeOne Monitor, however, it also works as a reflective
spectrophotometer since has a lightsouce added so can also read from
relective objects - so can also be used for making basic printer profiles.
One advantage with the GretagMacbeth Match software is that once you
own the device you can use the software on as many of your own machines
as you like. But I still prefer the basICColor calibration so much I'm
happy to pay, per computer / seat. My clients agree.
Yes, I resell basICColor. There are other manufacturers who shall
remain nameless but who offer almost twice the retail mark-up for those
who sell their wares. I'll leave you to work out why I sell the one I
find works best - not the one which would make me a better living.
Regards, NeilB. Apple Solutions Expert
colourmanagement.net :: Consulting in Imaging & Colour Management
custom scanner and printer profiles, training on Imacon Scanning
supply Gretag + eyeOne, ColorSoloutions basICColor : Display etc. XRite
www.colourmanagement.net/ :: www.apple.com/uk/creative/neilbarstow/
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