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Profile Your Monitor




If you want to display your images accurately and make sophisticated decisions about how they will or could look, calibrate your monitor with hardware. Monitor calibration is a must. It’s not optional. It is easy. You need a device to do it well.

The visual comparator method (using your eyes to approximate an appearance on-screen) is too fraught with inaccuracies and inconsistencies to be relied on. Instead, use consistent, accurate, objective hardware and software. Colorimeters don’t have favorite and least favorite colors, don’t have color deficiencies, don’t get fatigued, don’t drink caffeine or eat sugar, don’t change over time or adapt to their environments, and don’t have emotions. You do. All of these can affect your perception of color at one time or another. Colorimeters are in a stable state. You’re not. So when it comes to making sure that your monitor displays color as accurately as possible, use a colorimeter.

While some colorimeters, and the software packages that ship with them, are better than others, most colorimeters are good. Unless it’s defective, any colorimeter is better than none.

Spectrophotometers can also be used to calibrate monitors. What’s the difference between the two? Unlike a colorimeter, a spectrophotometer has it’s own light source that can be used to make printer profiles. Spectrophotometers can do more. They also cost more.

There is a difference between calibrating and characterizing devices. Calibrating a device is changing its state, like setting the brightness of a monitor. Characterizing a device is measuring and mapping the color capacity of a device or building an ICC profile to describe it. Most of the process of monitor ‘calibration’ is actually ‘characterization’.

Calibrating and characterizing your monitor is a simple process. Use the profiling device and software of your choice.(I personally use X-Rite products.)

Take these steps. Read More

Save 10% On Moab Papers


Get 10% off all Moab products with this discount code – JPMOAB2011.
Moab is one of the most trusted paper producers in the industry offering a full line of substrates that spans the gamut from canvas, to washi, to metallics.
For something different, explore their Moenkopie Washi (Asian rice papers) or their new Slickrock Metallic Pearl (pearlscent).
Get more discounts here.
Find out more about the tools I use here.
Learn more in my digital photography and digital printmaking workshops here

Creating Your Own Identity Plates In Lightroom – Julianne Kost


Julieanne Kost demonstrates how to create and save text and graphic presets to be used as Identity plates to brand your images when outputting them to slideshow, print and web. In addition, Julieanne will show you how to personalize your copy of Lightroom with your own Identity Plate.
Visit Julianne’s blog for more shortcuts and tips.
Learn more in my digital photography and digital printing workshops.

Top 10 Ways To Automate Lightroom Part 2 – Julianne Kost


Julieanne Kost demonstrates how streamline Lightroom 3 by taking advantage of presets, templates, Collections, Virtual Copies (and more) in order to eliminate much of the repetitive post-capture tasks such as importing, tagging, developing, exporting and sharing photographs.
Visit Julianne’s blog for more shortcuts and tips.
Learn more in my digital photography and digital printing workshops.