Screen Calibration

FiestaRed

FiestaRed

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Mike
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I've been meaning to get one of the Datacolor Spyders for years, now there are so many options available. Can anyone advise if there is a lot of difference in the 3, 4 and 5 models? Would I be better off getting a new 5 or looking at buying a secondhand earlier model through the ads in TP?
 
I had ColorMunki and could not get on with it , found it was a complete waste of time trying to match the screen with the printer. Remember the screen is backlite and hard copies are not, so there may well be a difference between them
 
You need to check which version is compatible with the OS you are using?

Are you using a pc or Mac and what version are you on?
 
sep9001 said:
You need to check which version is compatible with the OS you are using?

Are you using a pc or Mac and what version are you on?
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Pc running Windows 10, I'll take a look at the variations. Didn't realise the different models would only work with some operating systems.
 
FiestaRed said:
Pc running Windows 10, I'll take a look at the variations. Didn't realise the different models would only work with some operating systems.
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I would say you need version 5. I had version 3 but was not happy with the calibration of my dual screen dell for Mac, so upgrade to i1display pro and am very happy with it.
 
FiestaRed said:
I've been meaning to get one of the Datacolor Spyders for years, now there are so many options available. Can anyone advise if there is a lot of difference in the 3, 4 and 5 models? Would I be better off getting a new 5 or looking at buying a secondhand earlier model through the ads in TP?
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The later the better, so preferably v5, although personally I find the X-Rite products more consistent/accurate.

Although you will never get an exact match between your monitor and any printed output, following a colour managed workflow will get you pretty close, calibrating your monitor will not match it to a printer, calibrating your monitor, using the correct paper/ink profiles and soft-proofing will get you to a closer match. It is also important when attempting a match that you pay attention to the luminance of the screen and where you will normally be viewing any printed output.

If not going to print then a correctly calibrated and profiled screen is still a good idea as you then know what will be displayed on others monitors, provided they are calibrated and profiled too.
 
Thanks for all the help.

One of the main reasons I decided I need to calibrate my screen is that as part of a club project, I sent sets of prints to a number of different print labs and although I used print profiles for each of the labs, none came back the same colour as the images on my screen. The only labs that came near was Loxley and they "colour corrected" the set of prints I sent them.
 
FiestaRed said:
Thanks for all the help.

One of the main reasons I decided I need to calibrate my screen is that as part of a club project, I sent sets of prints to a number of different print labs and although I used print profiles for each of the labs, none came back the same colour as the images on my screen. The only labs that came near was Loxley and they "colour corrected" the set of prints I sent them.
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Does no one at the club have one for you to borrow?
 
I have the Spyder 5 Pro and it has worked well and is still continuing to work. Just calibrated my new monitor Benq sw2700pt and the image on the screen is coming out the printer ( Photo R3000 ) perfect A3 Prints for comps and sales colour and B & W.
 
FiestaRed said:
Unfortunately not, this would probably be bought as a club purchase.
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Find it surprising nobody has one, club people love doing prints for competitions, seems more likely they wouldn't lend it out

GREENGRASS said:
I have the Spyder 5 Pro and it has worked well and is still continuing to work. Just calibrated my new monitor Benq sw2700pt and the image on the screen is coming out the printer ( Photo R3000 ) perfect A3 Prints for comps and sales colour and B & W.
Click to expand...

Borrowed my daughters 5 Pro to calibrate my new screen Dell U2415, very pleased with the result and have one of my own being delivered today (between 12.00 and 13.00 if the text is to be believed)
Very simple to use and as usual the brightness had to be decreased a fair bit from default, always surprises me just how much.

Been using a Pro 3 for the last few years, always worked fine, but couldn't resist trying the new model when it was offered.
Some improvements with the newer device, but you would hope so given the price and advances in technology.
 
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Quick update, got the Spyder 5 Pro, came next day as promised so well done WEX and Parcfelforce.

Already used my daughters so knew what to expect, all went smoothly and using the recommended settings calibrated the screen nicely
Hardly any difference between the two devices, so good to see that they must have pretty decent quality manufacturing consistency.

Read a few things about how good Displaycal is, so took the plunge and gave it a go.
Went smoothly enough once I had installed the extra drivers, considerably slower, but just left it running whilst I read the paper

Yes it is an improvement, not a massive amount, but worth doing and it wanted the brightness up a bit which I was quite surprised about
Bit of hands on business adjusting the individual RGB colours, not exactly demanding and well explained.

Yes, I did cough up a few quid too, seemed a bit off using the software without weighing in for the pleasure
 
I've just bought, and used, a Spyder 4 Elite from the classifieds and it's a fantastic piece of kit. Calibration was really simple and has worked well. Will send a couple of photos off to be printed and assess the results.

It works fine on Windows 10 with no problems at all btw (y)
 
tijuana taxi said:
Quick update, got the Spyder 5 Pro, came next day as promised so well done WEX and Parcfelforce.

Already used my daughters so knew what to expect, all went smoothly and using the recommended settings calibrated the screen nicely
Hardly any difference between the two devices, so good to see that they must have pretty decent quality manufacturing consistency.

Read a few things about how good Displaycal is, so took the plunge and gave it a go.
Went smoothly enough once I had installed the extra drivers, considerably slower, but just left it running whilst I read the paper

Yes it is an improvement, not a massive amount, but worth doing and it wanted the brightness up a bit which I was quite surprised about
Bit of hands on business adjusting the individual RGB colours, not exactly demanding and well explained.

Yes, I did cough up a few quid too, seemed a bit off using the software without weighing in for the pleasure
Click to expand...

Thanks for the "mini" review, really appreciate the help. I'll take the plunge and order the Spyder 5 Pro. Thanks also to everyone for the heads up about the Displaycal software, I'll give that a try too.
 
It's worth noting that if anyone intends using the Displaycal software instead of Datacolor's software then you can save a bit by getting the spyder 5 Express. It's the same device supplied with the pro but with stripped back software.
 
After reading this review from Northlight Images, I decided on the Colormunki "Display" and I have been very happy with the results.
It's more than a simple review, and explains the whys and hows of screen calibration, with links to other resources.

Commercial prints return closely matching what I see on my screen.

I'm also led to believe that the filters used by X-Rite (Colormunki) are more stable than those used by other manufacturers.
 
Brian G said:
After reading this review from Northlight Images, I decided on the Colormunki "Display" and I have been very happy with the results.
It's more than a simple review, and explains the whys and hows of screen calibration, with links to other resources.

Commercial prints return closely matching what I see on my screen.

I'm also led to believe that the filters used by X-Rite (Colormunki) are more stable than those used by other manufacturers.
Click to expand...

Yes I read that, but Colormunki hasn't been updated for ages, they now concentrate on the newer and supposedly improved i1Pro
Think it depends what review you read, what did it for me was how many said X-Rite customer support was awful
 
tijuana taxi said:
Yes I read that, but Colormunki hasn't been updated for ages, they now concentrate on the newer and supposedly improved i1Pro
Think it depends what review you read, what did it for me was how many said X-Rite customer support was awful
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Because something hasn't been updated often means the design was right in the first place.
The Colormunki Display is still a current product, and the results speak for themselves, with commercially produced prints matching my screen output.
The actual mechanics of all the Colormunki products appear to be similar and it stands to reason that manufacturers are always going to push their newest (& more expensive) model.
The only time I've needed X-Rite support was when, for some reason, the software refused to overwrite the previous calibration settings.
The issue was solved quickly and efficiently by their technical staff, and I have no criticism of their support, and have had no further problems.

As far as I'm concerned the Colormunki Display is an excellent, low cost solution to monitor calibration, and I will continue to use it as long as it gives correct results..
 
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Brian G said:
Because something hasn't been updated often means the design was right in the first place.
The Colormunki Display is still a current product, and the results speak for themselves, with commercially produced prints matching my screen output.
The actual mechanics of all the Colormunki products appear to be similar and it stands to reason that manufacturers are always going to push their newest (& more expensive) model.
The only time I've needed X-Rite support was when, for some reason, the software refused to overwrite the previous calibration settings.
The issue was solved quickly and efficiently by their technical staff, and I have no criticism of their support, and have had no further problems.

As far as I'm concerned the Colormunki Display is an excellent, low cost solution to monitor calibration, and I will continue to use it as long as it gives correct results..
Click to expand...

Go for it, you are happy and that's what matters, my Spyder Pro3 worked well and now i'm happy with the Pro5.
Not sure why you have got so serious about it all, don't really care that much about such a trivial thing
 
I have a MBP and mean to have it calibrated.

I'll put an advert out in the WANTED section, but wanted to know if anyone has any real life experience in using a device on a Macbook Pro?
Happy to pay a deposit and small sum if anyone would kindly let me use one they have sitting about.
 
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