Confused about calibration

[hector_evans]

I just calibrated my monitor for the first time using Spyder2express. At the

end of the calibration process, the software says that from now on whenever I

use profile-aware applications, like photoshop, the new profile will be used.

Question: Assuming sRGB is embedded in my photos, shouldn't I see the same

colors regardless of whether my application is profile-aware or not? In my

case, the colors are a bit more saturated when viewed with IrfanView or

Internet Explorer, as opposed to Photoshop.

 

thanks

[Craig_Cooper11664875449]

No they shouldnt appear the same. If the application is profile aware, only then can it interpret a profile like Adobe1998 or sRGB. The profiling you did with the calibration just ensured your monitor was at a known state for representing a colour on screen so that when your profile aware application displays your sRGB image it will look correct. As sRGB is a generic profile often used for non calibrated monitors to represent an "average" monitor its not surprising the differences you see between profile-aware and non-aware applications is small. Try it with a wider gamut profile like Adobe1998 or Photo Pro and you'll be shocked.

[the black rabbit]

Hmmm...I know exactly what you are talking about. This is the annoyance from 'our' point of view, and even more from the beginners point of view...monitor calibration is a little bit of an anti climax...or worse something of a paradox!

 

You see when you calibrate the monitor you have no real way of knowing if it is perfectly done...I have a HP w2207 [lcd] and the colours look awful...and totally different from what i see in my camera [histogram included]. However they do print the same as what i see, and this is the paradox, as what you need is a print that matches what you see; what we do to our manipulation in photoshop should be reflected in the photo we get back in print.

 

However as said...if you view your pics in a different viewer they can appear again totally different.

 

You will have calibrated correctly for photoshop. The conundrum though, and something I messed up in the beginning, is to not change the colour space of the file...KEEP it as srgb, or rgb98...from camera to print. The monitor calibration is only to be viewed and not embedded.

 

When I firt delved into this as you are I thought you had to change the colour space to the 'monitor/spyder' colourspace...which isn't what you do.

 

You need to get a photo and put it through photoshop and do different techniques...normal, high contrast/saturation...etc then get some test prints. You will then see that your monitor will be correct now.

 

A note to remember...your monitor can produce more colour saturation/contrast etc [gamut] than what can be printed! So keep this in mind when you up colour levels.

[marc_rochkind]

They way computers should work is this: Once a monitor is calibrated and there is a profile available for it, all output to that monitor should automatically use the profile.

 

But they don't work that way, especially Windows. Applications have to do some things to effect color management which includes (1) turning it on (it's off by default), and (2) displaying images with color management, which requires a lot of tricky, poorly documented, poorly implemented, extra programming. Even widely used programs like Internet Explorer and Irfanview don't do it.

 

Color management is more common among Mac applications, but it's still the exception.

 

This is a screwup on the part of the OS developers. I put Linux in that category as well.