IPS Monitor and calibration

[richard_mascola]

<p>Time for a new monitor and pc, so I've been looking at a few HP IPS monitors. Some of the reviews I've read state that the resolution is so good and accurate that making prints is a no-brainer. (not sure I by that) I currently use spyders to calibrate my moniter and ImagePrint Rip software for printing with very good results. Do I assume that there is no need for calibration with IPS. Any suggestions? Experience with IPS out there?<br>

Rich<br>

</p>

[Tim_Lookingbill]

<p>I've had two IPS monitors, the first G5 iMac and now the Dell 2209WA I bought for $300 off Amazon.</p>

<p>Both require calibration and profiling due to their default native response which has a dingy, dull yellowish green cast that requires a video card based correction curve through calibration software (I use i1Display) to make it look neutral once white point is made to look neutral.</p>

<p>Couldn't adjust white balance on the iMac so I had to do in the software where as the Dell provided separate RGB gains to make white look neutral only requiring the profile video LUT to correct for the rest of the tonal scale so I got a smooth black to white gradient in Photoshop.</p>

[tonybynum]

you do have to calibrate . . . the issue however is so much more complex than just calibrating a

monitor. Today's digital workflow is a system. It's like trying to win the daytona 500 with the best

engine but crappy tires. If you dont match the tires, with engine with the suspension and the track, you

cant win no matter how great your engine is. Moreover, the system, in total only has to be as good as

it's weakest link. The final product will dictate the system you build in order to create your final product.

You dont need a +++ clarity diamond ring if your partner likes yellow . . . I think you should do a bit of

thinking first about what you are trying to accomplish.

 

Another good example is publishing. I make my living off prints and publishing my images all over the

place . . . I often create what i think is a winning product for a publisher only to have it wind up as a

print ad in a magazine that looks flat. My goal always is to create the best raw product i can, but there

is a limit based on the output and final product. Printing a 60" print at a cost of $1500 is not the same

as sending off a file in adobe or prophoto, or even rgb color space (never mind that a lot of folks dont

know or even care about colorspace), having it changed to cmyk for printing in a magazine, and the

only profile used is the graphic designer looking at your full gamut file and making some simple

adjustments (on an unmanaged system - and certainly one not matching your own) after it's been

turned to cmyk.

 

Often times depending on your client, or your final product, working harder on the monitor, or the print

profile, or even the print itself is something of a wast of time if the entire system is not speaking

(calibrated) the same language . . .

 

In other words, do what you need to do, to create the output (final product) you want. Nothing more . . .

For prints, unless youre using a professional color lab, or are finicky about the most minute details and

print at home, a good color monitor, with some basic calibration, combined with a few test prints will

suffice.

 

Finally, if you want to dig deeper, i suggest you get hold of "digital color management for

photographers" by Andrew Rodney . . . I think Andrew lurks here, or at least he use too . . . Lots of

great help has been lost on this forum over the years . . . I'll admit, there are some techno junkies out

there who love to get down into the minutia of all of this, if that's your passion great . . . Mine is

photography . . . a simple color managed system is mostly all you'll need as i dont control half or more

of the process. . . Cheers . . .

[digitaldog]

<p>None of this unfortunately is a no brainer <g> You have to calibrate and profile the display on a regular basis as displays are not stable. HOW you calibrate is key too! </p>

<p>http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/why_are_my_prints_too_dark.shtml</p>

[bgelfand]

<p>I have a Dell U2410 which is an IPS panel. I calibrate with the Spyder 3 system. There is a visible difference between a calibrated and uncalibrated state.</p>

<p>Resolution and calibration have nothing to do with one another. Calibation is concerned with color fidelity mesured by Delta E; resolution is measured in line pairs per linear unit.</p>

<p>I have yet to see a review of any monitor, IPS or not, where the uncalibrated Delta E and the calibrated Delta E are the same - which would mean you do not need calibration.</p>

[Hector Javkin]

<p>After the initial calibration, I found that monthly calibrations (which the Eye-one Match 3 program automatically schedules) make very little difference in my HP LP2475 monitor, which uses an H-IPS panel. I still do the calibrations, but the effect is very subtle.</p>

[tonybynum]

I have a the same HP LP 2475w monitor, i think about three years old now, and I've had the same

experience as @hector javkin . . . I'm about ready to dump this monitor and go to 30 inches though . . . .

the HP, wile still working good, is getting tired . . .

[chris_letts]

<p>I too have had an HP monitor for a while and found it excellent EXCEPT the screen has a shiny surface which is great for video and games but a nuisance for photos.<br>

I'd only ever buy a monitor with matt surface next time.</p>

[richard_mascola]

<p>Thanks to all. Seems a good monitor with a flat surface will do the trick here and just stick with what I'm doing. I get what Tony Bynum says, I've had images published and what I send and what I see in print are not same. I'm also in the printing so I understand the RGB to CMYK conversion...not sure some pre-press and press managers do. But I just want to do my photography, not spend endles hours on this....so again thanks to all.</p>

[x]

<p>Answering the original question, I have the same HP LP2475W monitor that several others have mentioned. It’s a good monitor but its IPS screen means that if displayed without the correct (calibrated) profile the colour in images is too saturated. When calibrated and displayed in a colour managed application the images look fine.<br>

With a properly colour managed workflow printed images should look correct. My home printed images always match the monitor except in occasional subtle areas. I’ve had numerous images published in books and magazines and the colour reproduction and general appearance has been fine. The rule of thumb I work to is to submit images for publishing using the sRGB colour space.</p>

[sekhar_ravinutala]

<p>I've had the wide-gamut Dell U2410 IPS for a few years and recently got the new sRGB Dell U2713HM IPS. Both of them give extremely stable/accurate colors without having to calibrate separately and come pre-calibrated in the factory (Dell includes the calibration report). Check out the <a href="http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_u2713hm.htm">TFT Central Review</a> of the U2713HM to get an idea of how accurate these factory calibrations are and about calibration of these monitors in general.</p>

<p>You might want to also check out the wide-gamut Dell U2713H (I know, unfortunate/confusing naming by Dell). That monitor allows hardware calibration, where you can program the monitor LUT rather than fake the process through software. The <a href="http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_u2713h.htm">TFT Central review</a> explains this further.</p>