AZ JazzyJ
<font color=teal>The Talented One<br><font color=p
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2000
- Messages
- 1,945
You would think after getting a Nikon D300 for my birthday last week I would be here touting the virtues of that camera. I love it and have been having a blast taking pictures and playing with settings. But strangely enough that wasn't the toy that has caught my interest and time the most. It's funny; like when you bought your child what you thought was the ultimate Christmas gift only to find out on Christmas morning that the kid was more interested in playing with the box. I'm sure I've driven Trina over the edge on this one since all I talked about since it was announced was the Nikon D300 and now I am spending more time playing with something else. What's even worse is that Trina has no clue what this other thing even does so she definitely doesn't understand what all the excitement is about. So what exactly is that thing?
Well I picked up an X-Rite iOne Photo LT system. X-Rite has purchased Gretag McBeth and their product line. I've been wanting to get into color calibration and workflow management if for no other reason than to eliminate some of the frustration of differences between screen and print. I always seemed to find a reason why this was an unnecessary purchase and how color management was something photo labs did not photographers. But when X-Rite offered a $200 rebate on the iOne Photo LT system I figured it had reached a price point I could live with. I ordered the system and then promptly forgot I had ordered it (Trina refers to this as selective memory but I forget what she means by that). The iOne Photo LT arrived shortly after my birthday and one evening last week I unpacked it to see what all the excitement was with color management.
The iOne Photo LT consists of several parts. There is the iOne device that measures color, there is an adapter that will calibrate the unit to what white is, there is an adapter that will measure ambient light in a room, a device for measuring color from an RGB printer, a color card for scanning to calibrate scanners as an input device, and a CD with software to run the thing. The software was pretty straight forward to install and runs on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Mac OS (you can download either version from the X-Rite web site). After installing the software I calibrated the iOne device and placed it on my 24" LCD monitor. The software along with user intervention to adjust the monitor settings did its thing and within 5 minutes a custom color profile was created for my monitor. The software will install the color profile in the appropriate location in the operating system and set it as the default. It will also set a reminder to run the color calibration again at a predetermined time to evaluate whether the monitor is suffering from color drift.
I was amazed at what a difference the color management software made. The colors seemed much more natural and the monitor was easier to read and work on. This was exciting stuff. I had to try it again. I went to my secondary machine and again let the iOne Photo system do its thing. The second monitor is a 20 inch LCD encased under glass in a roll-top desk with an overhead light. I measured the ambient light of the room and adjusted bulbs and fixtures to make it easier to read. At the conclusion the monitor looked better than it did when I first bought it. I was running from the first computer to the second looking at identical photos to see if I could notice any difference. Trina and the kids were extremely confused why I was running from one room to the other looking at the same screen shot and getting all excited.
This was awesome, the images looked the same. I didn't have to explain that on my monitor the sky was a darker blue; the monitors matched. Well, this was something you just had to share. I took my iOne device down to Trina's craft room and calibrated her laptop. Then I went upstairs to each kids bedroom and likewise calibrated their monitors. I was like a mad scientist bringing monitors back to life and making their colors bright and brilliant. I was so proud of myself yet none of the family seemed to care that much. Couldn't they tell that the color on the screen was now a perfect Pantone match? Didn't they understand that we could now open a picture on any monitor in the house and it would look exactly the same? This is messed up!
But why stop at monitors? I now had the power to color match the universe! I pulled out the various gadgets that came with the iOne Photo and began printing color samples on all my printers. Then using the iOne device and the color table I scanned each one of the colored squares and before long the software had defined a color profile for a printer/paper combination. I grabbed every different type of paper I could find around the house and before long I had a room wallpapered with color splotches. It looked like the paint department at the local Home Depot. The point was that now I have color profiles for everything I print. I was excited and attempted to explain my accomplishments to Trina. She just stared blankly at me and asked, "Exactly why do we need a custom color profile for our color fax machine?" Well, I have to admit I have no answer for that except that we can now be assured that the print on our fax machine is an exact match to what I would see on the screen if I scanned in the fax. Hey, that might be useful to someone right?
So now my whole house is color managed and calibrated. Trina says that unfortunately that color calibration thing doesn't work on my closet. I still dress like a bum and nothing seems to match. I thought that was why Granimals brand clothing was for but I was afraid she might throw away all my Diamondbacks jerseys and replace them with matching Giraffe clothes so I just had to match the animals to make sure my clothes coordinated.
Well I picked up an X-Rite iOne Photo LT system. X-Rite has purchased Gretag McBeth and their product line. I've been wanting to get into color calibration and workflow management if for no other reason than to eliminate some of the frustration of differences between screen and print. I always seemed to find a reason why this was an unnecessary purchase and how color management was something photo labs did not photographers. But when X-Rite offered a $200 rebate on the iOne Photo LT system I figured it had reached a price point I could live with. I ordered the system and then promptly forgot I had ordered it (Trina refers to this as selective memory but I forget what she means by that). The iOne Photo LT arrived shortly after my birthday and one evening last week I unpacked it to see what all the excitement was with color management.
The iOne Photo LT consists of several parts. There is the iOne device that measures color, there is an adapter that will calibrate the unit to what white is, there is an adapter that will measure ambient light in a room, a device for measuring color from an RGB printer, a color card for scanning to calibrate scanners as an input device, and a CD with software to run the thing. The software was pretty straight forward to install and runs on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Mac OS (you can download either version from the X-Rite web site). After installing the software I calibrated the iOne device and placed it on my 24" LCD monitor. The software along with user intervention to adjust the monitor settings did its thing and within 5 minutes a custom color profile was created for my monitor. The software will install the color profile in the appropriate location in the operating system and set it as the default. It will also set a reminder to run the color calibration again at a predetermined time to evaluate whether the monitor is suffering from color drift.
I was amazed at what a difference the color management software made. The colors seemed much more natural and the monitor was easier to read and work on. This was exciting stuff. I had to try it again. I went to my secondary machine and again let the iOne Photo system do its thing. The second monitor is a 20 inch LCD encased under glass in a roll-top desk with an overhead light. I measured the ambient light of the room and adjusted bulbs and fixtures to make it easier to read. At the conclusion the monitor looked better than it did when I first bought it. I was running from the first computer to the second looking at identical photos to see if I could notice any difference. Trina and the kids were extremely confused why I was running from one room to the other looking at the same screen shot and getting all excited.
This was awesome, the images looked the same. I didn't have to explain that on my monitor the sky was a darker blue; the monitors matched. Well, this was something you just had to share. I took my iOne device down to Trina's craft room and calibrated her laptop. Then I went upstairs to each kids bedroom and likewise calibrated their monitors. I was like a mad scientist bringing monitors back to life and making their colors bright and brilliant. I was so proud of myself yet none of the family seemed to care that much. Couldn't they tell that the color on the screen was now a perfect Pantone match? Didn't they understand that we could now open a picture on any monitor in the house and it would look exactly the same? This is messed up!
But why stop at monitors? I now had the power to color match the universe! I pulled out the various gadgets that came with the iOne Photo and began printing color samples on all my printers. Then using the iOne device and the color table I scanned each one of the colored squares and before long the software had defined a color profile for a printer/paper combination. I grabbed every different type of paper I could find around the house and before long I had a room wallpapered with color splotches. It looked like the paint department at the local Home Depot. The point was that now I have color profiles for everything I print. I was excited and attempted to explain my accomplishments to Trina. She just stared blankly at me and asked, "Exactly why do we need a custom color profile for our color fax machine?" Well, I have to admit I have no answer for that except that we can now be assured that the print on our fax machine is an exact match to what I would see on the screen if I scanned in the fax. Hey, that might be useful to someone right?
So now my whole house is color managed and calibrated. Trina says that unfortunately that color calibration thing doesn't work on my closet. I still dress like a bum and nothing seems to match. I thought that was why Granimals brand clothing was for but I was afraid she might throw away all my Diamondbacks jerseys and replace them with matching Giraffe clothes so I just had to match the animals to make sure my clothes coordinated.
