Monitor profiling gone bad
Monitor profiling gone bad
- Subject: Monitor profiling gone bad
- From: Terry Wyse <email@hidden>
- Date: Wed, 04 Apr 2001 11:48:04 -0400
This problem I'm confronted with seems to have some similarities to the
"Radeon/OS9/LaCie" thread but I'll offer it up nonetheless.
Starting about 2 months ago, we've been unable to create a good calibration
and good profile with various combinations of software and measuring
devices. Prior to this, using a PhotoCal/Spyder combo, we seemed to have
good, consistent results but now virtually out of the blue, things have
"stopped working" for us.
The system:
B&W G3 w/ (2) ATI Rage cards running OS8.6, CS 2.6.1
LaCie electron22blue as the primary monitor (and the one in question).
Secondary monitor is a cheapo 15" used for tools and palettes only but it's
hooked to a video card identical to the primary monitor.
Calibrating and profiling to 6500K/2.2 gamma.
The problem first started when we switched Spyders (we have a total of three
in are hands at the moment). We then started getting a very yellow cast to
our gray "Lab 47" background desktop pattern after calibrating. This was
also reflected in the resulting profile based on previewing some standard
"reference" images in PS6. We're using custom CMYK profiles that I've
created that have matched our reference proofs very well in the past.
At this point we suspected the Spyder since since we compared it to a
Spectrolino we have on hand and the 'Lino confirmed that the white point was
too yellow. At the point we re-calibrated/profiled the monitor using the
'Lino and ProfileMaker. Finally a decent profile.
That was a month ago. Fast forward to today. We purchased a new Spyder w/
Optical this time instead of Photocal. Ran Precal first and now we're
getting a MAGENTA gray cast with a similar cast in the PS6 preview. And the
other two "bad" Spyders seem to now be agreeing closer with the 'Lino
rather than the new Spyder!
At this point, the customer and myself are at our wits end trying to solve
this. Below are some other things we've tried plus some questions:
* At several points we trashed ALL monitor profiles PLUS the aliases in the
"Display Profiles" folder PLUS the ColorSync Cache and Prefs file(s),
restarted/shutdown the Mac, all to no avail.
Things I haven't tried yet:
* Zapping the PRAM.
* Pulling one of the video cards so I've only got the one monitor/card combo
in the mix.
* Moving to a different Mac.
Questions:
* How can I BE ABSOLUTELY SURE that the profile and video LUTs are being
"cleared" prior to calibrating/profiling?
* Would OS9.x/CS 3.0.x have any magic potions to fix this? At this point I'm
looking for system-level problems because I feel I've eliminated every other
possibility.
* How do I KNOW which Spyder I have is "correct" given that there doesn't
appear to be any sort of device calibration/verification similar to what the
'Lino does when it balances to it's white reference? Simply, how do I know
if I have a bad Spyder and is there any absolute reference I can compare
them to?
* What is a reasonable tolerance between Spyders? Right now I'm getting a
spread of about 1.9 Delta-uv between the three Spyders using Precal as a
reference.
* Tried to use the 'Lino with Precal. It says it can support it but I have
two issues; 1) the white point comes out absolutely whacked visually and 2)
they force you to mount the UV filter on the 'Lino where ProfileMaker's
monitor module forces you to REMOVE the UV filter! What's with that??
At this point I'm on the verge of losing all confidence in the monitor
calibrating/profiling process. And THIS was supposed to be the "no-brainer"
part of ICC color management! I'm also having doubts about recommending
Photocal/Optical/Spyder to anymore of our prospective color clients.
However, given the virtually unanimous endorsement of this product on this
list, I'm trusting at this point that it's something in what I'm doing but
the inter-instrument variations has me disturbed and I'm questioning the QC
of these devices at this point.
Help.
Terry
_____________________________
Terence L. Wyse
PrePress Systems Specialist
All Systems Integration, Inc.
114 Cummings Park
Woburn, MA 01801
Main office:
781.935.3322 voice
781.935.6622 fax
http://www.allsystems.com
email@hidden
_____________________________