Importance of Calibration - Perfect from Image to Print

 

Believe it or not, many artists and photographers are not aware of the importance of calibrating their monitors before working with images. Today we will be talking about the importance of properly calibrating your monitors.

Keep in mind the following methods may be sufficient for basic web viewing and non-critical printing, but for serious design work and accurate color matching, you will likely need to use software or hardware calibration methods. If those are not an option for you (some of these applications can be quite pricey), the methods discussed below are better than nothing at all.

First, your monitor should be in 24-bit or high-color mode. Don’t over light the room your monitor is in, normal lighting is sufficient. Next, it’s important to make sure you haven’t got any reflections or glares from lights or windows landing on your monitor. Allow your monitor to warm up (for at least an hour) and adjust your Brightness and Contrast settings. For a CRT Monitor, we recommend Contrast at 100%, and Brightness between 10-50%. For a TFT Monitor with RGB Input, we recommend Contrast between 30-50%, and Brightness between 10-75%. If you are using a TFT Monitor with DVI Input, we recommend Contrast between 10-30%, and Brightness between 10-50%.

If your monitor is already calibrated using software or hardware methods, don’t use the following adjustments as they will change your monitor’s calibration settings.

Visual Monitor Calibration Tests can be useful as these provide instructions offering a variety of options for calibrating a monitor without using calibration tools or creating custom profiles. These are easy to find and involve different types of images or color bars as references for gauging your monitor’s color profile.

If you are planning on using Software or Hardware Calibration, you’ll need to know about ICC Profiles. These provide a way to ensure consistent color. When calibrating with software, you will go through a series of on-screen displays much like those found in Visual Monitor Calibration Tests, only much more detailed. Using this software, you will make precise adjustments and create a specific ICC Profile; however, some find they can achieve adequate results using generic ICC Profiles. Hardware-based calibration involves measuring of light using tools, in addition to software. For those in the digital art field, the above method is recommended.

Article Source: www.finerworks.com