Monitor Calabration using common objects

<p>Hi Everyone,<br>

I would like to calibrate my monitors for web output and general use. My prints come out good and I am happy with them and don't want to buy any additional hardware.<br>

That said, assume that a Coke and Pepsi can both have a specific color, now other house hold band names also have a color, just like in some packaging and news papers one can see the color proofs.<br>

Now if I had these, how can I get the color parameters and using Photoshop dial in the numbers to get the color on my screen and then adjust the contrast and brightness to that?<br>

Has anyone used this approach to calibrating a monitor for general use? I have a MacBook with an external analog monitor.</p>

<p>While in theory under controlled lighting one might be able to measure the monitor primary colors like that, there would be no way to measure the tone curve.</p>

<p>What you are asking is not clear. If you are happy with your prints, why calibrate since you don't want to purchase hardware? The display control panel on Mac offers a self-manual calibration method that is based on visual inspection. It sounds like you are more interested in editing the tone and contrast of your images in an image editor like Photoshop or Elements.</p>

<p>I noticed that my on my MacBook the colors are fine, but on my external analog monitor the colors are a bit off. So I would like to adjust the setting of both the monitor and colorsync on the Mac to they are consistent.</p>

<p>What colors are off on the external monitor?</p>

<p>What type of external monitor is it? LCD? CRT?</p>

<p>Laptop screens usually have smaller color gamuts (meaning fewer saturated and deep rich colors) than dedicated external displays. The reason is to preserve battery life.</p>

<p>If you want a closer to perfect match between the two displays, I'ld suggest you use a hardware calibration device like the Huey which is quite economical.</p>

<p>Eyeball calibration doesn’t work! The controls on a CCFL display (if we can be so bold to suggest that is the case) are incredibly crude and only produce more banding as one attempts to alter the native behavior through the graphic system. You can’t guesstimate very well visually because its so darn easy to fool your visual system:<br>

http://web.mit.edu/persci/people/adelson/checkershadow_illusion.html</p>

<p>Kind of why for many tasks (driving or flying as an example), instrumentation is expected. </p>