Re: Monitor Calibration
Re: Monitor Calibration
- Subject: Re: Monitor Calibration
- From: Anthony Sanna <email@hidden>
- Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2000 13:24:30 -0600
>
Most have experienced dingy yellow monitors not because of the white
>
point being calibrated to 5000K but because the luminance level is reduced
>
to an unacceptable level when compared to a light box. I have had excellent
>
results with 5000K white point and 100cd/m2 level.
Well then, this begs the question of what the appropriate luminance level
should be. It was never much of a concern before, since most of us were
probably fighting for every lumen we could get on our calibrated
monitors. I know that as mine aged I was continually shrinking the
screen dimension to keep it's head above the 75 cd/m2 PressView minimum
standard.
But now I have a new Sony GDM-F500R, a DTP 92USB, and Pre/OptiCal, and
even with the screen dimensions to-the-max (about a 1/4" border), when
the red gun is run at 100% for the PreCal settings, my final luminance is
around 110 cd/m2 at D50. If I do the same for D65, I end up in the 125
cd/m2 range. Right now my red gun is running at 85% to give me a
luminance of 90 cd/m2 at D65. Why 90 cd/m2? Because Bruce recommended
85 cd/m2 and I just couldn't bring myself to drop it that low. So what
is the best setting?
A second question would be: How (and where) should you set the luminance?
What I've been doing in PreCal/Optical is to fiddle with the gun levels
in PreCal to get luminance level I'm looking for BEFORE running OptiCal.
So now, if I check my monitor settings, my gains are set to 85/75/75%,
and brightness/contrast are at 49/99%. Now I realize that these numbers
are meaningful only to my monitor setup, but I can also calibrate to the
same color temperature and luminance by setting the gains at 100/90/90%
in PreCal and arriving at a different brightness/contrast setting in
OptiCal - 34/90% let's say. So what IS the best way, and what IS the
most appropriate luminance when dealing with these modern, bright
monitors?
Tony
SIDE NOTE: Working with an engraver once, arguing over the tonal range in
a screwed-up separation they had done, their "digital" point man sat me
in front of an (uncalibrated) monitor, cranked the brightness knob all
the way up and said "See! Look at the detail in the shadows!". Then,
turning the screen almost black with the same knob, he pointed out the
fine detail contained in the highlights. Of course the job printed like
crap and they ended up redoing it from the get-go (they were one of the
new breed of engraver/printers, a.k.a.: engraver trying to save his film
business by installing a press - going vertical, as they say).
Anthony R. Sanna
Vice-President
SACO Foods, Inc.
6120 University Avenue
Middleton, Wisconsin 53562 USA
email@hidden
www.sacofoods.com
1-800-373-7226
(608) 238-9101
(608) 238-8149 - fax