correctmyphotos

My Computer Screen-Is the Color Right?–Does it Matter?

by on Oct.24, 2008, under Helpful Stuff

The other day at lunch I was pontificating on my favorite digital photo theme, “All digital photos need two things-to be cropped and color corrected”, when one of the guys at the table asked, “Does the color of my computer screen (monitor) matter? This is a good question and one that most folks really don’t think about. It is a reasonable assumption that after you spent good money to get a new flat screen monitor or laptop that the screen color would be correct. Unfortunately, that is most likely not the case. There is a good article on Imaging Resource (http://www.imaging-resource.com/ARTS/MONCAL/CALIBRATE.HTM) discussing the issue of monitor color and asks the question, “Who Needs It?” Their answer, and one that I agree with is, “You-If you care about your photos.” 

So, how do you tell if the monitor is a little “off color”? A very simple way is to look at the the “greys” in a photo or, better yet, just look at the grey areas of this blog. (Yes, there is a reason we use grey, black and white, on all our websites and blog- www.correctphoto.com, www.pictocolor.com, www.correctmyphotos.com). Do they look a little blue or maybe a little magenta?  If so, you should consider calibrating your monitor. And, even if you think it looks grey it may not be. I hadn’t calibrated my laptop monitor for quite a while (and I’m in the business of color) so I decided to do that this morning.
I used a Pantone Huey Monitor Calibrator (http://www.pantone.com/pages/products/product.aspx?pid=79) and was amazed at how much the color was improved. It is a very simple process and the list price is $89.00.
Pantone Huey Monitor Calibrator

Pantone Huey Monitor Calibrator

Another monitor calibrator is the Datacolor Spyder Express. http://spyder.datacolor.com/product-mc-s2e.php It lists for $79.00.

Datacolor Spyder2 Express

Datacolor Spyder2 Express

I have used the Huey for a couple of years and it was the first monitor calibrator the was priced under a $100. I know it works, but the Datacolor Spyder is also a good product. You can find either device at a price less than list at a number of online stores. Just do a Google search for either product and find the best deal.
In summary, if you are interested in photos you can be proud of and will take the time to do a little color editing I would recommend investing in a device that will calibrate you monitor.
Wayne www.correctphoto.com

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