Effect of Video Card on Monitor Output

[Photolandscape]

I have tried just about everything else imaginable including softproofing to get the best possible match between my print out put and what I see on my monitor, and since I am still not "there", could the video card be the culprit? I have an original 3.5 year-old Mac G5, an Epson 3800, an HP2335 monitor and an Eye One device, all the profiles I need, work primarily with Premium Luster and Hahnemuhle Photo Rag. I have had three different consultants work with me and my setup, but still no consistent match between screen and print output.

My question really is: do different video cards affect the color output of the monitor--do some give off a more greenish cast, or reddish cast, etc. Or does the profiling software and monitor calibration process take control and modify the output of a card. Would trying a newer, more up-to-date video card make any difference in terms of accurate color reproduction on a monitor?

[Jonathan Wienke]

If the video connection is analog (15-pin VGA connector) then the video card output quality does have a significant effect, just as much as monitor quality, not so much for color accuracy (the LUT tables in the monitor profile you create are responsible for that), but for overall image clarity. ATI and Matrox have better reputations in this area than nVidia. But if the connection is digital (HDMI or DVI), then the video card is just sending bits to the monitor and the monitor bears full responsibility for converting this bits into a quality image.

Which Eye-One device are you using, the spectrophotometer or colorimeter? If you are using the spectro, are you using it to make your monitor and printer profiles? What kind of lighting are you using to compare print to screen? You do realize that comparing print to monitor requires a specific lighting condition to get a reasonably exact match, right?

[Mark D Segal]

I have tried just about everything else imaginable including softproofing to get the best possible match between my print out put and what I see on my monitor, and since I am still not "there", could the video card be the culprit? I have an original 3.5 year-old Mac G5, an Epson 3800, an HP2335 monitor and an Eye One device, all the profiles I need, work primarily with Premium Luster and Hahnemuhle Photo Rag. I have had three different consultants work with me and my setup, but still no consistent match between screen and print output.

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It's difficult to know how to help on a question like this without knowing more about the symptoms of the problems you are having. Could you describe in what ways you are experiencing these mismatches?

[papa v2.0]

As said above if the video card contains the LUTs and then colour management must be switched off
in order to make the profile. if it a mac this can be problematic

need to do a bit if delving into the OS

if the video card is bypassed ie the luts or matrix trc is a straight pass thru and the digital to rgb  conversion is done at the monitor this become a problem as you cannot turn off the colour management. Hence you cannot accurately profile the screen you need to go with the manufacturers profile.


You will never be able to match screen with output!

well almost

compare the profile gamuts in colour sync. Double click on profile and then use the compare tab in the window

this will show the miss match