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three123

12-09-2010, 1:45pm

Wayne

12-09-2010, 2:55pm

To calibrate you will need a colorimeter of sorts, an Eye1, Pantone Huey, or Spider etc.
Not sure whether that is a TN or IPS panel, but it seems to be the latest dell in that size from the model number. I have twin U2410's calibrated they are IPS panels and they show accurately what I see when I print.

three123

12-09-2010, 3:15pm

thanks
Dell U2311h . It's an IPS panel with display port and DVI.
does anyone recommend any free calibration software?

Wayne

12-09-2010, 3:19pm

You cannot calibrate correctly using software, it must be done with a colourimeter.

I @ M

12-09-2010, 3:34pm

Wayne is correct to the all but .01% of the detail. A monitor calibrator is a lump of hardware and as is the case with most things computer related you must have software behind it in order to function.
The various monitor calibration hardware manufacturers supply the shiny gizmo with a program that tells your graphics card what to display so it is a combination of the two and neither work without the other. There is no free lunch here I am afraid, time to break the credit card again. :(

kettels

12-09-2010, 3:50pm

As has been said the best way is to buy a colorimeter, but if you don't want to or can't afford it your graphics card should come with some sort of control panel to help adjust it. I know that NVIDIA have one and its alright you can change a fair bit, but at the end of the day it wont be as good.

arthurking83

12-09-2010, 3:58pm

Not exactly true what Wayne says there.

Alternatives exist in the form or a reference print... or other image.

if your end point is print, then get a print of one of your images, and calibrate by eye in the WYSIWYG manner.

I got a Spyder3 and calibrated my two screens. The good one(LG) calibrated well, but the bad one(old HP LCD) doesn't.. no matter what I try. it's just too contrasty.

I was always worried about the difference and Sypder says that the HP was calibrated, but the two screens are poles apart in looks.. where the HP has way to much contrast and I can't see good levels of mid tones in my images. Had operated in this manner for a few months now, and made a decision to go with the better looking LG screen, because it seems to calibrate better.. and I can make alteration to the screen's output that make a massive difference. The HP screen always displays too much contrast, even with wild screen settings.

So the other week I finally printed one of my images into a proper photo and the calibration on the LG was close to perfect according to the print. I had to lower brightness from 120cd/m down to about 100.. maybe less and it looks perfect compared to the print.

getting contrast up to a good level ... black point and white point settings, can be easy even with on screen advice and help(ie. without a reference hard copy or calibrating device) but trying to get colour tone looking good is tricky because as ambient light varies the colour of the light affects how the colour of the screen looks as well. That's generally where a calibrator helps more than anything else.

I also used the print to try to get a better looking HP screen, but I only got a better colour balance. The contrast is still way too high, and I've tried all OSD settings.
This is not an issue as the main screen is the bigger LG anyhow and only periphery programs and screens get sent to the smaller HP. The HP will eventually end up as the screen for another PC box.

I was also weary of spending good money on something as seemingly insignificant as a calibrator.. but after calibrating, I think it was money well spent.

if you do spend money on one, and if you ever have plans to add multiple screens, the Elite version of the Spyder 3(which is only software) allows the independent calibration of two screens. if you have two different(brand/model) screens, this makes a difference as you can only load one calibration profile to the graphics card. If you add another screen the same as the current one, then it makes no difference.

because you have an ips based screen, the chances are that it's already pretty well calibrated.

What version of the OS are you running?

if Win7, then it has a pseudo calibration option in the hardware section.

In the screen resolution area is an advanced tab. somewhere in there are the options to do a screen calibration too.
Note: I have an nvidia graphic card with the latest drivers, so I now can't access the built in Windows calibrator, as the nvidia driver takes control of the screen now. if you have this setup, the nvidia driver allows you to calibrate the screen as well

three123

12-09-2010, 5:02pm

hi
I have an nvidia graphic card. How do i adjust this to calibrate correctly? or is it automatic?

arthurking83

12-09-2010, 5:44pm

depends on the driver you have installed.(and the card of course)

You need to be able to see the nvidia panel in the control panel and we are talking Windows here , yeah?!

if you don't see that then you need the nvidia driver.. downloaded the one that relates to your particular card, from the nvidia website... nforce driver or something like that.
the file may be as large as 200Meg.

alternatively the Windows Update site may have it as an extra(non essential) download too.

If you don't currently have the nvidia driver installed, then if you have Windows7(not sure about Win Vista.. but this is definitely not an option in WinXP!!) but there is the advanced link in the screen resolution settings tool. this will link you to the Windows screen calibrator. It basically works like the old Adobe Gamma program.. gives you a few images for you to adjust the screen to a semi decent setting to begin with.

Because of this thread, I subsequently remembered to look into the nvidia calibration/adjustment tool, and I now have the HP screen looking a lot more like the good LG screen, and hence the print :th3:
I have to disable the Spyder's control over the HP screen tho.

kettels

12-09-2010, 6:31pm

hi
I have an nvidia graphic card. How do i adjust this to calibrate correctly? or is it automatic?

you need to download the driver http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us and then do it by hand. Also if you didn't have a driver it can greatly help in games and other graphically intensive programs But as arthurking83 said use a reference print you have done and try and do it by eye.

Longshots

13-09-2010, 7:36am

Hi
i have just got the dell ultrasharp u2311h.
I am a graphic designer, usually use indesign, illustrator and photoshop use.
However I am not sure if i have purchased the correct monitor, i really need help in calibrating it properly for photoshop colour correction, when i need to. I also had problems downloading the printer drivers? nothing happened>? Can i improve the monitor for colour accuracy?
Help and advice on this monitor would be great.

Earlier this year I was teaching Graphic Designers specifically about colour management.

Its really important in your line of business to be able to trust your monitor.

What is a simple question is for designers fraught with issues. Well worth reading up about it.

A good hardware/software measuring device/calibration system is going to cost you around $200 plus. Its a one off cost, and I've been using my Eye One for many years without any need to upgrade the hardware.

Yes you can calbirate by your eye, but its no where near as accurate. You can be influenced by your surrounding walls, and you can be even influenced by what you were last looking at.

Its especially critical for you as a designer, as you're likely to be producing for CMYK printing, and then you really want to be able to trust and rely on your monitor - so calibrating with using a print comparison, which has probably been printed on a limited SRGB domestic market system.

The importance of Colour management is vastly underrated by many graphic designers, and I'm afraid to say its a really important and technically challenging area of necessary learning.

I'd highly recommend the book by the late Bruce Fraser (also coauthored by Chris Murphy and Fred Bunting) - Real World Colour Management - he was regarded as the number 1 guru on colour management. For graphic designers the challenge to achieve from screen to print is far more challenging as you will be viewing on an RGB screen, but generally producing print using a CMYK process.

Other helpful and explanatory links:

Digital Image Guidelines and Advice:

www.apdig.com
I'm coauthor of the Australian Photographic Digital Imaging Guidelines
this is about as brief as we could get this.

www.updig.org
very in depth explanation

Helpful advice on Colour Management & Conversions:

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials.htm
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/color-space-conversion.htm

kiwi

13-09-2010, 7:56am

You can often find Spyder2's for $100 or so second hand. They do a good job.

Wayne

13-09-2010, 8:03am

It isn't a huge cost for what will last a long time, I got my Spyder Studio SR for $350 and it profiles printer/paper as well.

ricktas

13-09-2010, 8:11am

I agree, the only true way to do it with anywhere near 100% accuracy is to use a hardware colourmeter.

campo

13-09-2010, 8:43am

+1 hardware

I have a Colormounki Photo. It's more expensive then some of the models mentioned earlier in this thread, but it does screens, projectors, printer profiling and also does colour sampling. For example, point it at a colour on a brochure and it samples it and sends it straight to your photo editing software. The other brands might do this.

Colormunki also has another model call Colormunki Design which is aimed at graphic designers. I'm not sure of the differences.

three123

13-09-2010, 9:20am

thanks guys most helpful.
So it really doesnt matter what monitor you have, all monitors require a colourimeter... I was worried my u2311h monitor was not up to scratch? Pantone huey sounds good.

campo

13-09-2010, 9:29am

thanks guys most helpful.
So it really doesnt matter what monitor you have, all monitors require a colourimeter... I was worried my u2311h monitor was not up to scratch? Pantone huey sounds good.

What is up to scratch?

I just bought a Dell u2711 ultrasharp, and it performs very well for the price ($1000) but I was also looking at better monitors like NEC's professional lineup ($2000+) and above that the EIZOs ($3000+). The top end monitors have the best colour coverage and accuracy you can get and also have features like direct hardware calibration (eg. plug your colorimeter directly into monitor - no need for software on computer etc)...

so basically, yes it does matter what monitor you have and most importantly whether or not it addresses your needs...

ricktas

13-09-2010, 9:58am

Also to add to campo's post above. Monitors change as they age, are used etc. The brightness levels slowly decrease. Regular calibration of your monitor, whether it is a $300.00 or $3000.00 one is beneficial. Cheap monitors can also experience flux in different parts of the screen so the left can be brighter than the right etc.

When doing a calibration it is recommened the computer is on and the screen 'warmed up' for about 30 minutes before running the callibration.

arthurking83

13-09-2010, 6:30pm

The only issue I have with trusting a hardware calibration tool only solution, is that they can be (and are) not 100% reliable, and it does depend on the screen being calibrated.
You have a good screen to start with, so your calibration experiences will not reflect what I've recently experienced.
I reckon, Rick's point of how monitors slowly deteriorate may be what the issue is with my HP screen.. it simply doesn't calibrate, and it is old(technology) and has been used frequently too.

Your Dell is supposedly accurately calibrated... and pretty good at the factory default settings.

"... Calibration should help return even better results of course but if you don't have access to a colorimeter, the U2311H is still capable of offering you decent colour accuracy, colour temp and gamma out of the box.... "

quoted from TFT Central's review.

In the OSD menu, there will be a restore to factory defaults option, and TFTC reckons that it may be set a touch bright. The only way to know this is via an accurate colorimeter check.
What you think is too bright is different to what I think is too bright, but at least the colorimeter is going to be consistent.

You have a good screen in the Dell!

I @ M

13-09-2010, 6:44pm

My thoughts in a nutshell ---

When you edit your photos using that monitor you are aiming to reproduce what you saw through the viewfinder at the time the image was captured. A good calibrator will help to display that image as you saw it. ( if you are heavily into manipulating and exaggerating colours and hues that weren't there in the first place you can probably forget the calibrator to start with as you are falsifying the initial information)

After you have done that, the final output is the key ingredient, if you simply wish to display the image on the web, there are going to be many many monitors in front of the viewers of your image that won't see it correctly because their monitors are either uncalibrated or just deficient in quality to display correct colours in the first place.
If you have the images destined to be printed (where all good images should end up IMHO :D) then if the printing is done by a reputable firm and you have supplied them in the correct file format they should come back to you looking the same as they do on your screen and the everyone that sees those images will be seeing them as they truly are.

three123

13-09-2010, 6:46pm

...the U2311H is still capable of offering you decent colour accuracy, colour temp and gamma out of the box.... " as this is the reason i purchased it, it had pretty good reviews. .
hopefully when sending a job to print , it will be as it should be.

thanks, i simply want to improve the monitor to its best capacity, at least the colorimeter is going to be consistent.

Longshots

13-09-2010, 9:36pm

I have a couple of ultrasharp 24" Dells, and they are great, but like my Eizos they consistently "move" away from their previous calibration settings. Its sometimes a very small shift, but noticeable when you compare before and after calibration.

There is one issue which appears to be a standard issue with Dells, and that is they suffer a little from being too bright and it often takes a bit of tweaking to reduce that brightness. Once thats been done, IMHO they're sensationally good value for money.

three123

14-09-2010, 2:01pm

thanks:
also was told window lighting is not suitable, to work in a room with flouro lighting?

campo

14-09-2010, 2:52pm

I am a graphic designer, usually use indesign, illustrator and photoshop use.

and then:

thanks:
also was told window lighting is not suitable, to work in a room with flouro lighting?

I decided not to ask this with your first question, but if you're a graphic designer, didn't you get taught about the right equipment to use and how best to set up your work environment?

as for the second question, controlled light is better because window light can vary in intensity/colour during the day. Some hardware calibrators (including the color munki that i have) can take into consideration ambient light when calibrating a screen :)

three123

14-09-2010, 4:21pm

thanks, but i dont usually work from home...just starting now.

Longshots

15-09-2010, 11:04am

and then:

I decided not to ask this with your first question, but if you're a graphic designer, didn't you get taught about the right equipment to use and how best to set up your work environment?

as for the second question, controlled light is better because window light can vary in intensity/colour during the day. Some hardware calibrators (including the color munki that i have) can take into consideration ambient light when calibrating a screen :)

Quite surprisingly Campo, the answer to that is a very scary No.

I took on a part time teaching post at the begining of this year, teaching photography and graphic design students from Cert 4 to degree level. Very worrying to discover that out of the 70 or so macs and laptops in use in the college - not ONE was calibrated, and there was nothing in the curriculum to give or educate the information required about colour management, and basic monitor calibration.

agb

20-09-2010, 4:17pm

Try going to the TFT central database and downloading and installing the ICC profile for the dell U 2311H.
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/articles/icc_profiles.htm
Also read this.
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_u2311h.htm

martycon

09-01-2014, 12:37pm

Thanks to all above. clear succinct and informative.

JM Tran

09-01-2014, 2:17pm

I used to have 2 of the U2311s for editing, but since moved to the more advanced Adobe RGB capable Ultrasharps.

I had always used the Color Munki for calibrating it.

My tips are always set it to 120 luminance/lux, not to calibrate for room ambience. Set it to D65 white balance, and then adjust brightness and contrast to match according to the calibrator when it tells you to do so. This will give you the most accurate results possible with the panel.

milesy

22-01-2014, 9:33pm

I @ M

23-01-2014, 6:37am

It's a real minefield this calibrating of monitors , and the main question I have about it is are all the calibrating devices ( spyder / munki etc) calibrating to the same standard ??

In theory they are calibrating to a set standard.

There are international standards for colours and printing. Most commercial printers will readily advise you through either information on their web site or a direct enquiry as to the standard that their printing machines are set to. They will also readily tell you that they check and calibrate their machines on a very regular basis, sometimes a daily schedule.

If you want to read a heap of the technical jargon behind it all start absorbing some stuff at --- http://www.color.org/abouticc.xalter

From what I have observed over time is that if you have a good quality screen, a calibration device and a reliable commercial printer who provides consistent output you should not have any problems.

Quality monitors are becoming cheaper and more accessible. Computers, their graphics cards and associated calibrators are very accurate. Regular utilisation of the calibrator by you should result in consistent and accurate reproduction every time an image is printed.

There have only been a small number of times, <5, that I have been unhappy with the colours in a print that has been done by a commercial printer. Three of those times it was my fault for not seeing a colour cast on the monitor that showed up when the image was printed at a large size, one time it was the printers fault that they immediately rectified with a re print and another time it was another print company that supplied a finished image that in no way matched what appeared on the monitor. In that case they refused to admit that it was their fault even when shown that the image had been printed "correctly" by another company several times. Needles to say, that last company doesn't get any of our business these days ----

milesy

23-01-2014, 8:40am

Thanks i@m I was trying to find out what standards they do test to and wasn't able to actually find out what they were testing to ( such as maybe Pantone ) ... What you say makes sense though

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