Monitor calibration

dazdmc

dazdmc

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long and short of it is my monitor isn't the same as my prints. I have been researching and the first, and probably most important, thing I need to do is calibrate my monitor. I have tried to do it using on-line tutorials but it's still not right so I started turning my attention towards a calibration tool. While looking into this I came accross a spyder pro 3 on ebay that was brand new and unused. I made an offer of £35 which was accepted and it is now on it's way to me. It's obviously quite old compared to todays technology but in the current climate and with both my wife and I being on furlough I couldn't really justify any more. I don't want to make prints at home to sell, just for the odd print I might hang on the wall. With that in mind will it do a reasonable job? Does anyone in here have one that can shed some light on them and if they are any good? I can always stick it on evilbay if it's no use but they got good reviews when they were released so I'm hoping it can at least get me in the right direction.
 
My Spider Pro 5 works well for me using an iMac.
The only issue I can think of with an older version is compatibility with your operating system. Keep your fingers crossed that there is a suitable driver available. I had to ditch my Eye-One calibrator because no updated drivers were available.
 
There aren't drivers for win10 but I have checked and it works using DisplayCAL which I have downloaded,
 
I also use the Spider Pro 5 on an iMac and it's a fantastic piece of kit...very straight forward to setup and use.
I can't imagine your version will do anything other than an excellent job.

I'm sure you'll also be aware that installing paper profiles is equally important in the process of printing images at home. I use Fotospeed paper and they will carry out a personal profile free of charge.
 
Thanks for the replies gents, I'm sure it will be fine for now and at least until I get back to work and can justify something newer. From what I've read so far it works fine but isn't quite as easy and straight forward as the Pro5
And yes Tim I am am aware of that (although only very recently!) Once I get the monitor calibrated I'll be trying some decent paper and inks, in the meantime I've given up as it's just a waste of time and resources. I'll have a look at the Fotospeed paper shortly, thanks.
 
When you do calibrate your monitor make sure its at a reasonable brightness. I suggest 80 cd/m. Some monitors do struggle to stay linear down this low as they sell on being able illuminate the neighbourhood ! If it's too bright the prints will come out dark because you reduce the exposure in your editing s/w.
 
it's enough to drive you quite quite mad!

Calibration is part of the story but as no doubt Martin will tell you there more to it than that

I calibrate my minotaur and have produced some horrible prints

I got the (very expensive) IMAGEPRINT RIP and still I got crap prints (because I still wasn't actually 'seeing' what was on screen

Yes check screen brightness that's one place to go wrong, but other than image print and lots of experience I can't tell you what to get . All I can say is I agree its very frustrating , but hopefully Martin and Ian will come to the rescue
 
In a previous life I tried to “calibrate my minotaur” - it didn’t end well :) Some said it was a dangerous pet to keep. At least I was reincarnated as a photographer !!
 
Digital Finger said:
it's enough to drive you quite quite mad!

Calibration is part of the story but as no doubt Martin will tell you there more to it than that

I calibrate my minotaur and have produced some horrible prints

I got the (very expensive) IMAGEPRINT RIP and still I got crap prints (because I still wasn't actually 'seeing' what was on screen

Yes check screen brightness that's one place to go wrong, but other than image print and lots of experience I can't tell you what to get . All I can say is I agree its very frustrating , but hopefully Martin and Ian will come to the rescue
Click to expand...
On a slightly more helpful point. The monitor itself needs to be of reasonable quality. I’ve never successfully calibrated a laptop screen. They are designed to minimise power consumption (turning down brightness dynamically) and you get colour shifts at different angles of view.

Suggest you stick with a paper supplier that provides printer profiles, like fotospeed and use them. They will get you 90% of the way there. I’ve recently picked up imageprint cheaply on eBay and it’ll give you another 10%.

You also need to realise that images from a monitor emit light. Prints reflect light. They are very different - you won’t get the range of tones and colours from light reflected from a print that you can get emitted from a monitor. Laws of physics Captain !
 
I’ve got a small ring binder with some of Martins prints in and I can tell you they have a full range of tones and a luminosity that is an example of what can be achieved in print
 
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