Calibration package for monitor and printer

[cortlander]

Hi:

I have an iMac with a 27 inch retina display, AMD Radeon 4MB graphics 32GB, and an Epson P800. I have had a data color spyder 3 which is dated and have been using canned profiles from Canson and Epson for prints. I want to upgrade to a better calibrator for my display as well as create my own printer profiles. This is a hobby, I would like to stay under $500 if possible.

Any suggestions?

Best,

[tastar]

DataColor Spyder Studio for 399.99 until December 23. Good for capture, monitor and print.

Tony

[howardm]

the only other 'new' choice is the Colormunki Photo for around 400-450.  If you look around the web, you'll find no shortage of people who pull their hair out tryingt to get decent profiles from it.

Might want to consider an older device like an i1Pro on ebay.

[scyth]

DataColor Spyder Studio for 399.99 until December 23. Good for capture, monitor and print.

do they still sell "spectrocolorimeter"  ?

[scyth]

I would like to stay under $500 if possible.

you can get a decent, EFI rebranded (EFI ES-1000 / EFI ES-2000), spectrometer from X-Rite off ebay ...

[scyth]

the only other 'new' choice is the Colormunki Photo for around 400-450. 

a hugely inconvenient gadget to handle... I have one LNIB to sell, used it 2-3 times and switched to i1Pro2

[Rado]

I have Colormunki Photo and I use it to calibrate my monitor (minimal effort, it just hangs there) and create custom paper profiles for printing (you have move the device by hand to scan the printed patches but nothing I would call "hugely inconvenient", unless you suffer from some physical ailments).

[scyth]

I have Colormunki Photo and I use it to calibrate my monitor (minimal effort, it just hangs there) and create custom paper profiles for printing (you have move the device by hand to scan the printed patches but nothing I would call "hugely inconvenient", unless you suffer from some physical ailments).

just handle i1Pro* device for once

[cortlander]

Seems like there is not much to gain unless I am ready to get an i1Pro. I will just stay with DataSpyder 3 for the monitor calibration, and continue to use manufacturer's profile for the Canson papers.

Thanks for all the good advice - saved me from going down a rabbit hole.

Best,

[Jeff-Grant]

You may also want to consider having custom profiles made. This is a reasonable option if you only use a couple of papers.

[cortlander]

Yes, thanks Jeff, custom profiles would be a sensible option.

[scyth]

Seems like there is not much to gain unless I am ready to get an i1Pro. I will just stay with DataSpyder 3 for the monitor calibration, and continue to use manufacturer's profile for the Canson papers.

Thanks for all the good advice - saved me from going down a rabbit hole.

Best,

or consider making friends where you live locally and borrowing the device

[cortlander]

or consider making friends where you live locally and borrowing the device

LOL. I have been hosting a photography meet up group for the past 7 years. Beautiful people, and I love them dearly, but mostly they mooch off me!

[Jeff-Grant]

DIY colour management is both satisfying and frustrating in equal measures. One thing that I learnt very quickly is that it doesn't come cheap. I thought that I was doing well with an io and i1 until it was pointed out that there are much better products around. If you are contemplating serious B&W you will almost certainly need an i1Pro.

[JeanMichel]

I too, have a 27" iMacRetina, a P800 and aSC P6000. I upgraded my calibrator to a Spyder5, it works fine. I think that I am a pretty god printer and have found the 'canned' profiles for Canson and Epson papers and canvases to be all that I need (I used to have a 2400 and a 7890 and Canson and Epson profiles worked just fine for those). I don't think that you can improve on the paper manufactures' own profiles, unless you get expensive top-shelf equipment.
Jean-Mchel

[cortlander]

DIY colour management is both satisfying and frustrating in equal measures. One thing that I learnt very quickly is that it doesn't come cheap. I thought that I was doing well with an io and i1 until it was pointed out that there are much better products around. If you are contemplating serious B&W you will almost certainly need an i1Pro.

Good advice. My B&W has been limited to Capture One Pro, Topaz, Nik and ABW. I had not given a lot of  thought to DIY color management except for the couple of books that I have, and it does seem like a serious time commitment as well.

Great photographs on your site, Jeff!

[cortlander]

I too, have a 27" iMacRetina, a P800 and aSC P6000. I upgraded my calibrator to a Spyder5, it works fine. I think that I am a pretty god printer and have found the 'canned' profiles for Canson and Epson papers and canvases to be all that I need (I used to have a 2400 and a 7890 and Canson and Epson profiles worked just fine for those). I don't think that you can improve on the paper manufactures' own profiles, unless you get expensive top-shelf equipment.
Jean-Mchel

Thanks Jean-Michel, that helps me continue on the same path for now.

On my iMac, with the Spyder 3, I did not notice much difference in the profile created for the monitor compared to iMac's native profile out of the box. Was that your observation too using Spyder5 ?

[JeanMichel]

Thanks Jean-Michel, that helps me continue on the same path for now.

On my iMac, with the Spyder 3, I did not notice much difference in the profile created for the monitor compared to iMac's native profile out of the box. Was that your observation too using Spyder5 ?

Hi,
I found thad there was a small, but real, difference between the out of the box screen rendition and the one calibrated with the Spyder5. I do a routine recalibration every 30 days, and so far, there is no noticeable change from before to after, but it is a good habit. With my elderly 30" Cinema display, the changes are more real (using an older calibrator). Coming from the darkroom world, I still believe in test strips, and do those for all final large prints; for smaller prints it is just as easy to print full size to check. Soft-proofing is a an amazing help, but I still  apply additional tweaks based on my experience printing similar images on the papers I use. I keep my paper choices very limited, just as I did in the darkroom.
Jean-Michel

[cortlander]

Hi,
I found thad there was a small, but real, difference between the out of the box screen rendition and the one calibrated with the Spyder5. I do a routine recalibration every 30 days, and so far, there is no noticeable change from before to after, but it is a good habit. With my elderly 30" Cinema display, the changes are more real (using an older calibrator). Coming from the darkroom world, I still believe in test strips, and do those for all final large prints; for smaller prints it is just as easy to print full size to check. Soft-proofing is a an amazing help, but I still  apply additional tweaks based on my experience printing similar images on the papers I use. I keep my paper choices very limited, just as I did in the darkroom.
Jean-Michel

Thanks, Jean-Michel.

[drchevalier]

Hello Cortlander,

For what it is worth, I switched from the Colormunki Photo to a Spyder4Elite and am now using a Spyder5Elite with the Plus upgrade.  I find this to be a reliable solution on both of my monitors and I do not need to make brightness or contrast adjustments when printing from Lightroom using the SoftProof capability.  The Colormunki Photo software has not been upgraded in some time whereas the Datacolor offerings look to me to get more attention.  I have heard nothing but good things about the i1 unit recommended by other members, but would offer no opinion as I have never used one.

Best

Ross