Spyder X pro screen calibration

[lightshipman]

I have a 2015 model MACBOOK Air, just wondering if the expense of screen calibration is worth while on this machine. It is a bit off whenever I print an image and the colours or tones are so different. Alright I haven’t got a really expensive printer, but it’s not a bottom of the line one either.
I have read good reviews of the Spyder X pro, at £159.00 from Wex, it’s not really over the top either. Any thoughts?

 

[Phil Maddocks]

I've got the Spyder 5 Pro and used it on my BenQ monitor on my desktop. Made a world of different to how colours are displayed. I always used to notice how different photos looked on my computer screen compared to my iPad and iPhone, but now they all appear virtually the same. I'd assume the same would be true for printing when using the correct paper profiles etc. It was well worth the investment imo

 

[lightshipman]

Phil,
Thanks for the reply, it helps, I have noticed myself how different images look on different screens, I have tried altering the settings on my screen , but you really are working blind doing it like that, and also very time consuming and if trying to balance your screen and printer, impossible.

 

[droj]

I have a 2015 model MACBOOK Air, just wondering if the expense of screen calibration is worth while on this machine. It is a bit off whenever I print an image and the colours or tones are so different. Alright I haven’t got a really expensive printer, but it’s not a bottom of the line one either.
I have read good reviews of the Spyder X pro, at £159.00 from Wex, it’s not really over the top either. Any thoughts?

So - did you go for it? If you did, how are you getting on?

I grew up with crt monitors, and printed loads. The only calibration I did was by using the free Adobe Gamma app. Prints were fine.

I'm ignorant of Macbooks, but flat panel monitors generally come from the factory with a default brightness that's over the top for photographic work. You have to turn them down to something like 40 - 50%. Thereafter, you might try to tune the brightness more exactly to reconcile it with print returns. But here comes the next conundrum - how a print appears to the eye varies hugely according to the light it's viewed by.

So print-viewing conditions are as subject to test every bit as much as monitor settings.

There are free ways to get colour balance on screen pretty well right without too much fuss, and which will relate onwards to print procedures. But printing can be a minefield as many posts on here will confirm. With home printing, there could be a contest between image-processing app and printer driver, and the print settings in each.

My message essentially is that shelling out for a device isn't necessarily going to be the magic bullet you might want it to be. With or without it, to get a result, you have to put a bit of leg-work in. So I'd try some leg work first, before you spend needlessly (on yet another thing that will have mined resources, made other people rich(er), and added ultimately to the great landfill mountain, as well as possibly confusing you more than before).

 

[lightshipman]

So - did you go for it? If you did, how are you getting on?

I grew up with crt monitors, and printed loads. The only calibration I did was by using the free Adobe Gamma app. Prints were fine.

I'm ignorant of Macbooks, but flat panel monitors generally come from the factory with a default brightness that's over the top for photographic work. You have to turn them down to something like 40 - 50%. Thereafter, you might try to tune the brightness more exactly to reconcile it with print returns. But here comes the next conundrum - how a print appears to the eye varies hugely according to the light it's viewed by.

So print-viewing conditions are as subject to test every bit as much as monitor settings.

There are free ways to get colour balance on screen pretty well right without too much fuss, and which will relate onwards to print procedures. But printing can be a minefield as many posts on here will confirm. With home printing, there could be a contest between image-processing app and printer driver, and the print settings in each.

My message essentially is that shelling out for a device isn't necessarily going to be the magic bullet you might want it to be. With or without it, to get a result, you have to put a bit of leg-work in. So I'd try some leg work first, before you spend needlessly (on yet another thing that will have mined resources, made other people rich(er), and added ultimately to the great landfill mountain, as well as possibly confusing you more than before).

Hi,
I haven’t followed this up further at the present time, I work away at sea so haven’t had time, also I don’t bring my MacBook away with me, I will be home for a week next week, so will hopefully have some time to follow this up further, I will look around at some free to use software first. I have also just swapped camera systems, so have been spending some time getting to grips with my Fuji XT3.
Thanks for the comments though, it certainly makes you think before spending. I will post further comments as I progress, though this may be towards the end of the year when I tend to be home more.