Spyder2express and Windows Vista settings

[alexthornephotography]

<p>Thanks in advance for reading and answering my question. I'm using Spyder2express to calibrate my monitor. I'm a little confused as to which settings to choose under the Color Management controls for Windows Vista. Here is what I've set, and I hope someone here can tell me if this is correct.<br>

Device profile: Spyder2express<br>

Viewing conditions profile: WCS profile for sRGB viewing conditions<br>

<strong>ICC Rendering to WCS Gamut Mapping</strong><br>

Default rendering intent: system default (Perceptual)<br>

Perceptual (photo images): System default (Photography)<br>

Relative Colorimetric (line art): System default (Photography)<br>

Absolute Colorimetric (simulate paper): System default (Photography)<br>

Business Graphics (charts and graphs): System default (Photography)<br>

Mind you, I have no idea what any of this means. I've been trying to calibrate my monitor, which is a NEC: MultiSync EA231WMi. The color on this monitor gives me a greenish hue compared to my laptop that it is attached to. I'm also trying to manually fine tune the monitor to the Mpix calibration kit, which provides you with a print, and a TIFF image that you use for making adjustments. <br>

I hope from this information, someone can give some suggestions and advise.</p>

<p>Best,<br>

Alex</p>

[Kent Shafer]

<p>I have a garden variety HP monitor calibrated with a Sypder 2 Express, also under Vista. The monitor matches my prints very well, both from my Epson 3800 and from Mpix. I don't recall ever changing any of the settings under Color Management and also don't have a very good understanding of what they mean, but I just checked mine and compared them to yours. They're the same except for the following:</p>

<ul>

<li>Relative Colorimetric (line art): System default (Proofing and line art)</li>

<li>Absolute Colorimetric (simulate paper): System default (Proofing - simulate paper/media color)</li>

<li>Business Graphics (charts and graphs): System default (Charts and graphs)</li>

</ul>

<p>Trying to match your monitor to a laptop doesn't seem like a good idea because the laptop may be off.</p>

<p>When you adjust your photos, are you soft proofing using the Mpix supplied profiles?</p>

[alexthornephotography]

<p>Thanks Kent. I wasn't trying to match my monitor to my laptop, I was trying to make the point that the laptop monitor looked better - no green hue - compared to the NEC monitor.<br>

Under display settings, do you know if you have it set to: "Non-PnP Monitor", or "PnP Monitor"?<br>

I haven't looked at the Mpix profiles, just the calibration kit that comes with a print and TIFF to view on your monitor and used to match the print. <br>

Thanks again.</p>

[Kent Shafer]

<p>Sorry, I can't find the setting you're referring to. Right clicking on the desktop and choosing Personalize brings up various options including Display Settings, but I can't find "Non-PnP Monitor" or "PnP Monitor" there. If you give me more detailed directions about where to look, I'll try again. (Maybe I can't find it because we have different monitors and probably different video cards.)</p>

<p>I gather the Mpix tiff file looks more like the sample print when viewed on your laptop screen than on the monitor you're trying to calibrate. Is that right?</p>

<p>Also, are you sure the monitor is actually using the profile generated by the Spyder 2 Express? When my systems first boots up, it sometimes sometimes loads the profile briefly, but then some other startup program overrides it or something, and the display goes back to its uncalibrated appearance. When that happens, I just open and then close the Spyder 2 Express software, which sets it right again.</p>

<p>Maybe some of the folks who know a heck of a lot more than I do about this stuff will chime in.</p>

[alexthornephotography]

<p>Under Color Management where you select the Device, I have the options for PnP or Non-PnP. I think those are specific to my graphics card which is ATI.<br>

I'll try your trick of opening and closing the Spyder software to see of that makes a difference.<br>

I do hope some other folks chime in. Photo.net, your letting me down here...</p>

[Kent Shafer]

<p>I don't have those options under Color Management. Just "Display: HP w/22 Wide LCD Monitor…" and various printers.</p>