• Welcome to Photrio!
    Registration is fast and free. Join today to unlock search, see fewer ads, and access all forum features.
    Click here to sign up

You post an image online that was prepped on your calibrated screen...

Do you use a calibrated display?

  • Yes, my display is calibrated

    Votes: 21 63.6%

  • No, but I am fairly confident in my display's accuracy

    Votes: 6 18.2%

  • No, my screen is sub par and that's just the way it is

    Votes: 6 18.2%

  • No, but I am looking to change this

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    33
I figure if you want to see how 99% of folks are going to see an image, buy a cheap $150 monitor and plug that in as your web proofing monitor.
Don't waste time calibrating or adjust anything - out of the box is just fine.

If you are working professionally and need to provide printing proofs or wish to adjust for colour managed printing at home, use a calibrated display and the correct working environment.

Then look at it on the cheap monitor to see how it will look on the web if it ends up there.
 
koraks said:
I'm sorry, you're right!


Even better, - buy 50 and be aware of the variance. It'll take up some wall space though.
Click to expand...

I use my Surface Pro tablet for that; it has a good screen that is, like most people's monitors, too bright. It gives a good view of what an average non-photographer's monitor will show.
 
koraks said:
Even better, - buy 50 and be aware of the variance. It'll take up some wall space though.
Click to expand...

Need to buy 50 different brands and models...buy 50 of the same monitor and you get all set in the factory to its factory-bright and color intense settings, which means that it is set up to look good in the very bright retail store environment so that display units look good!
 
Last edited:

Same with TVs.
 
Yeah, default brightness is always ridiculously high. As you said, sales tactics probably play a role. People are more likely to buy the one that stands out.
 
koraks said:
Yeah, default brightness is always ridiculously high. As you said, sales tactics probably play a role. People are more likely to buy the one that stands out.
Click to expand...

They're also on display in a brightly lit retail store environment, very different to the workspace of someone preparing colour managed images for production use.
 
As to the poll...
  1. I have my monitor brightness and contrast are adjusted properly to be able to see all of the steps in this image...
  2. I do not set up my images in aRGB space and do not send any out to a lab that prints aRGB files on a printer that I wish to match to my monitor
...so my monitor is not 'calibrated' for precise reproduction of hues
 
wiltw said:
see all of the steps in this image...
Click to expand...

I can see all graduations on my non-calibrated monitor.

Sometimes in discussions someone might be making a point of some tonality/brightness/contrast/colour issue of a posted image. Sometimes, I copy into PS and hit AUTO everything just to see if it changes... some do some don't! Doing this to the above, it. doesn't change.
 
Those gradations are of course visible on both my Eizo CG2700X working display and my uncalibrated $150 Acer 'Web Proofing' display.

But of course shades of grey are the easy bit ...
 
gbroadbridge said:
But of course shades of grey are the easy bit ...
Click to expand...

But in spite of how easy it is to have brightness and contrast proper adjusted, it is not all that unusual to hear someone complain about everything looking right on the monitor, "yet when I have prints made come out way too dark...why?"
 

I assume the photographer is not aware of this issue and I do make a test print for all prints, also I read the numbers in LAB to make sure everything fits. In my world people will accept my advice on the final print but I am always aware of this problem.
We do not provide info other than Adobe 1998 flattened tiff, 8 bit or 16 bit, as well on my website in the area for inkjet printing I have a box that talks about screen brightness. I believe for all laptops and moniters the brightness is set at max whereas labs like mine use a 60% setting. and this is where a lot of darkening of prints start happening.
 

My NEC monitor with Spectrview II software and calibration puck shows a maximum for the monitor at around 200 cd/m². I probably should set it for 90 or so for printing. But since most of my pictures are just displayed on the web and not printed, I leave it around 140cd now. It's display seems good from my end and I think it;s OK for most others to see my pictures at the right brightness on the web assuming their monitor is adjusted to "normal". . If I get into printing, I;d have to change the CD setting and re-edit those photos .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register