How often have you noticed that your photos sometimes don't match the image you see on your computer screen. There can be plenty of reasons, but are usually all due of a lack of proper Color Management. Essentially, one or more settings in the color work flow is incorrect. In many cases we can track down these issues to incorrect settings in the monitor calibration, including Whitepoint, Gamma and/or incorrect setting of the Colorspace the files are corrected within.

Whitepoint is actually the color balance of the monitor screen measured in degrees Kelvin, (see Tim's article about Color Temperature for more information) and can vary widely from device to device. The most reliable calibration will be achieved by using a plug-in device that measures the output of your computer screen. The probe is packaged with software that will take you through a step by step procedure to accurately set your monitor to the correct gamma and whitepoint. The software will also create a monitor profile that will minimize variations in visual output for your specific monitor. These products are available in a variety of styles, features and price ranges. If you plan to do any color correction to your digital files , it is an essential tool to have. You will need to verify and recalibrate your monitor every few weeks or months, depending on use.

Gamma refers to a specific value of brightness and contrast. One of the key differences between MAC's and PC's is the Default Gamma used on each platform. MAC's generally use a gamma setting of 1.8, and PC's use a setting of 2.2. Since we use the sRGB color space on our Frontier and Chromira photographic imaging equipment the 2.2 setting should be used since it is the default gamma defined  within the sRGB Colorspace. In addition, most monitors are capable of accurately representing colors only in sRGB. You will want to  make sure that the default working color space in Photoshop or raw file processor is also set to sRGB.

Photographers that end up publishing their images for advertising or magazines will probably want to stay in the Adobe 1998 RGB colorspace since this works better when CMYK conversion is required for offset printing. Unfortunately, to accurately view and correct digital images in this space you will need to upgrade your monitor to a device that is capable of displaying the extended dynamic color range. We use Adobe 1998 when capturing  images with our Powerphase FX scanning back and when printing on our Epson 9800 & 7600 printers to make Studio Giclee’s. Although files shot in Adobe 1998 can be converted to sRGB, this will simply add time to file preparation with no direct quality benefit when printing to photo output devices like our Frontier or Chromira equipment. Mismatches of these two color spaces can produce unintended results, so be sure to submit files in the appropriate color space for the desired output type. When setting the defaults, use “Perceptual” as the rendering intent. You can download our Frontier and Chromira output profiles for soft-proofing your images, but you will need to call for more complete information.

Finally, make sure that your monitor is located in a stable viewing environment where the ambient lighting will always be about the same.  CRT displays generally offer better color accuracy than LCD flat panels, but are becoming very difficult to obtain. Avoid laptop displays for critical color correction since they often tend to be “cold” and contrasty and usually don't provide a satisfactory means of color and/or density calibration. This leads to files that are corrected improperly and can print excessively warm and flat.

For information on monitor calibration, see our article in the Preview Gallery Support Section.