How can I avoid buying a monitor calibrator puck?

jonmon6691 · Oct 30, 2022

I'd like to use one to get a baseline calibration, but I don't really buy into the notion that I need to calibrate weekly or whatever. Is it a thing where labs will let you use theirs on your laptop, or is there an underground network of calibrators for hire? Trying to avoid buying one and just having it sit in a drawer, and I'm also imagining there are plenty of good ones already in other peoples drawers that could be put to use

Maybe we could start a traveling calibrator underground railroad where you can receive it in the mail from another forum member in exchange for promising to mail it on to the next person when you're done?

Pieter12 · Oct 30, 2022

Some (if not all) calibrators and the associated software are limited by the license to how many systems can be in use. So unless a source had some sort of unlimited or high number of user licenses, it would be difficult for a roving calibration service to be practical, installing and authorizing, then uninstalling/unauthorizing over and over. Plus, calibration needs to be checked on a regular basis. Depending on the monitor, color changes gradually over time.

jonmon6691 · Oct 30, 2022

Pieter12 said:
Some (if not all) calibrators and the associated software are limited by the license to how many systems can be in use.

Of course they would do this, why can't we go back to the age when a tool was a tool smh

Pieter12 said:
Plus, calibration needs to be checked on a regular basis. Depending on the monitor, color changes gradually over time.

If you're a professional I would agree, but certainly there's a benefit to one calibration rather than zero.

MattKing · Oct 30, 2022

If you can find one that is compatible with a Linux software offering like DisplayCal, it may deal with the licensing issues - but only for Linux users.
Regularly using the calibrate-by-eye options built into Windows 10 probably makes more sense than a one time use of a puck.

lantau · Nov 1, 2022

MattKing said:
If you can find one that is compatible with a Linux software offering like DisplayCal, it may deal with the licensing issues - but only for Linux users.
Regularly using the calibrate-by-eye options built into Windows 10 probably makes more sense than a one time use of a puck.

Displaycal (the GUI) and the underlying ArgylCMS are available for Windows. Displaycal is abandoned, now, but works fine. The remaining lifetime may not be worse than the usual, commercial shot and forget products.

If you're doing casual work it's probably enough to recalibrate whenever.

If you can find a new old stock Colormunki Photo or i1 Pro (I hope that's right name, it's the pro version of the Colormunki, faster and without UV filter) I suggest to get that. It's not a Colorimeter but a spectrophotometer. With a $100 Android app from the author of ArgylCMS (or the free command line tools of Argyl) you can measure Spectra, giving you colour temp of light source. With a light pad you can even use it as a makeshift colour densitometer. Any Status mode.

jonmon6691 · Apr 2, 2023

Long time since this thread died, but for future forum searchers;

I borrowed a X-Rite i1Display (I guess its the same thing as the ColorMunki that @lantau mentiond) from my coworker and used DisplayCal with it. Worked great! No trouble with licenses. And despite its age at this point (last release was in 2019) it still worked just fine with only minor levels of open source buginess

DisplayCAL—Display Calibration and Characterization powered by ArgyllCMS

Display calibration and profiling with a focus on accuracy and versatility

displaycal.net

I have an M1 Macbook pro 16" and the built in color modes made it really easy to dial in the white point and luminosity at the start, and then get a calibration that was really well tuned to that particular color mode.

edit: I couldn't really tell visually that there was some big change after calibrating. I'm sure modern mac book screens are fairly decent when they're new, but it's nice to know I'm working from a known baseline.

redbandit · Apr 2, 2023

THe appearance is based on what...

Is it anything at all like using EV scale on my digital camera to alter the darkness on a shot...

_T_ · Jun 25, 2023

You can calibrate your eyes to the print and the monitor using your brain if you don’t have the budget to pay for a system to allow you to calibrate the electronics to each other on a regular basis

Bill Burk · Jul 21, 2024

Giving Displaycal a try based on this link. Will let you know how it goes.

jonmon6691 said:
Long time since this thread died, but for future forum searchers;

I borrowed a X-Rite i1Display (I guess its the same thing as the ColorMunki that @lantau mentiond) from my coworker and used DisplayCal with it. Worked great! No trouble with licenses. And despite its age at this point (last release was in 2019) it still worked just fine with only minor levels of open source buginess

DisplayCAL—Display Calibration and Characterization powered by ArgyllCMS

Display calibration and profiling with a focus on accuracy and versatility

displaycal.net

I have an M1 Macbook pro 16" and the built in color modes made it really easy to dial in the white point and luminosity at the start, and then get a calibration that was really well tuned to that particular color mode.

edit: I couldn't really tell visually that there was some big change after calibrating. I'm sure modern mac book screens are fairly decent when they're new, but it's nice to know I'm working from a known baseline.

Chan Tran · Jul 21, 2024

I tried displaycal and it doesn't work very well. Very difficult to use.

How can I avoid buying a monitor calibrator puck?

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