Monitor Brightness

[Charles Beasley]

I am in the market for a new monitor so starting to read up. I have not really been paying attention to the boards for a few years, and apparently something has changed while I was asleep. I remember in the old days the lab would send you a print and a digital file and tell you to make that file on your monitor match the print.

That methodology was called "closed-loop" and derided by color management experts.

In reading some posts here on the subject it seems the current wisdom is that the proper luminance is that which matches your viewing booth.

for example "the ideal brightness is the setting which produces a visual match from that display to something else. YMMV."

Is a viewing booth now a requisite and if so is there an absolute criteria for viewing booth brightness?

The last time I looked into this I bought a solux task lamp with the 5000k bulb (and got the 4700k instead as they were out of the 5000k and would be out for some time.)
after realizing the brightness varied considerably over short distances due to the inverse square law, I quickly realized that was not really any kind of standard to base a system on.

So I am really sincerely asking if that is the state of affairs now, that I need a viewing booth to have a reliable system? (I have my monitor dialed down to 90 cdm2 and still get prints that are too dark from time to time.  All my prints come from commercial labs-Miller's etc- from srgb files.)

If not, seems we have come full circle.

EDIT:seems like after thinking about it and re-reading Andrew's article the answer is yes I need a booth.
The real question is what is the recommended brightness of the booth?

[DaveRichardson]

Hi Charles, I am not an expert but can share my set up which may help.

I use a couple of Ottolites to assess prints. They are not as good as a light booth but at least they are consistent and the height of the stands ensures that the distance to print does not vary.

I do approximate monitor whitepoint, "by eye" to the prints and to allow for viewing conditions in the room with my monitors - in my case 100cd/m2 works well. There are some recommendations around which suggest "standards" , e.g. there is a paper from Adobe published in 2005 which recommends 160cd/m2 for white ( http://www.adobe.com/digitalimag/pdfs/AdobeRGB1998.pdf ) . I find that far too bright in my fairly dim room.
The other consideration is the gamma for the display. I calibrate mine to 2.2 whereas some advise to calibrate using "native gamma" of the display. The advice to calibrate to native gamma can reduce banding - there is less shifting in the calibration look up tables. However if the native gamma is too low then the mid tones will appear lighter than they should  (and the prints will therefore look darker than the proof on the screen).


Dave

[Charles Beasley]

thanks Dave-I have a NEC which I calibrate and profile with their spectraview software and device.
I have it set to 2.2 gamma and can't get the contrast as low as I would like, so part of the problem may be there.

I have read Andrew's article here
https://luminous-landscape.com/why-are-my-prints-too-dark/

where he says >>>" Many software products, and imaging ‘experts’ will tell you to set your display for this or that cd/m 2 value as if its to be written in stone. Such target values for luminance often lead to the dreaded “My prints are too dark” problem. ............ You can start at the so-called “recommended” value, which is often in the neighborhood of 120-140cd/m 2 ."<<<
so I'm down to 90 cd/m2 now.

I guess my question was more a philosophical one, where it seems to me the old way the labs were doing it isn't much different in theory at least-they were just leaving out the standardized viewing booth part.

Seems to me the question is what will be the brightness of the average customer's viewing condition be? Then the viewing booth should match that, then the monitor should match the viewing booth.

EDIT:seems like after thinking about it and re-reading Andrew's article the answer is yes I need a booth.
The real question is what is the recommended brightness of the booth?

Please accept my most humble apology for taking up so much space!!

[DaveRichardson]

Seems to me the question is what will be the brightness of the average customer's viewing condition be?

There is the issue. I have just walked round my own house with a lightmeter and measured the light falling on various wall mounted prints. It is 10:45 on a cloudy day and the light varied from 350-2800 Lx

Suprisingly there is a standard for viewing conditions (ISO3664) which is discussed here : article on viewing conditions
The article suggests 500Lx for "practical" print assessment and 2000Lx for "critical" print assessment. The first being recommended for producing prints that will look good under normal final viewing.

My own print table (lit by the OTT lites) is probably a little too bright for that definition at (1500 Lx) but this has not caused a major issue for me.

Dave

[Charles Beasley]

thank you! very helpful!!

[Josh-H]

The real question is what is the recommended brightness of the booth?

The key is actually to buy yourself a print booth that is dimmable. This enables you to ramp up the light for critical print viewing and to ramp it down again for something more average or approximate to the print hanging conditions.

The GraphicLite booths are very good and they have a range of options / sizes with and without dimmers. Spend the extra though and get a dimmer version so you can control it to suit your needs.

In my own studio I have two settings set up as presets on my GraphicLite. Setting one is  brighter and is equivalent to the settings used for the APPA print awards. This lets me evaluate my prints under the same LUX as they will be judged and the same quality of light. Then I also have a lower setting for 'wall prints' that more closely matches the ambient light in my house.

[Tim Lookingbill]

I'ld suggest you keep it simple.

Set the monitor brightness level to match the paper white you print on when viewed under a neutral or daylight reference light source such as the Solux 4800K 50watt, 36 degree beam spread halogen.

Here's where "Prints Too Dark" comes into play. The exact brightness of white between viewing a transmissive display vs reflective paper white can be hard to see so it's best to include on this white paper reference an 8 step black to white gray step wedge where you can distinguish black from the next dark gray step. With my daylight dual T8 flotube setup I have to view this stepwedge reference print about a foot from the light with my display white set at 100 cd/m2.

Farther away the print is from the light, the less I see a distinction between black and the next gray.

[Charles Beasley]

Thanks everyone.
Tom-sounds good to me. I'll keep the light I have, get a blank 8x10 from the lab and make a white file match.
I have the Solux goose neck with a 50W 4700K 36 degree bulb with the black cover and I already I have had the lab make some step wedge prints.

CB