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Error Chain in Printing
Wrong Colors? Never Again!
If you want to avoid disappointment with photo books and other photo products, you should calibrate your monitor and understand the other potential pitfalls in the editing process. Rest assured, we’ll show you what to watch out for.
Maybe this sounds familiar: You’ve lovingly edited photos from your last vacation or family celebration and ordered a photo book or wall print from a service provider – only to find the results aren’t what you expected. Brightness, contrast, and colors look completely different from what you saw on your screen. Before you complain to the provider, it’s worth checking where the problem really lies because most of the time, the issue starts with you.
Every Output Medium Requires Specific Monitor Calibration
The most important prerequisite for successful image editing is a calibrated monitor. High-quality monitors for photo editing usually come factory-calibrated – but calibrated for what? Web display, print, or even video editing? That’s the crux of the matter. There’s a world of difference between preparing images for a self-illuminating display, where red, green, and blue diodes mix colors (additive color), and preparing them for print, which uses subtractive colors (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black). With subtractive color, printing inks absorb all other color components of the visible light spectrum from ambient light. It’s obvious that a self-illuminating display offers a much higher contrast range than print. The same goes for the color gamut. That’s why it’s absolutely essential to calibrate your monitor for the intended output – print. Whether you’re using a “factory-calibrated” premium monitor, an old office screen, or a laptop, most monitors are set far too bright by default. This leads to the final link in the error chain: dark prints with crushed shadow details.
Every output medium—print, video, fine art, tablet, and more requires Its own monitor calibration. Your monitor acts as the central workspace where all output media is simulated. Since these media differ fundamentally in their physical properties, there is no single monitor setting that works for everything.
Color Measurement Devices Make Calibration Easy
Colorimeters such as the new Spyder or SpyderPro from Datacolor, handle this job simply, precisely, and perfectly for each specific output medium. The SpyderExpress, on the other hand, makes the selection process easier for users. For those less familiar with the technical details, it offers a simplified workflow: “Create Digital Content” and “Prepare for Print.” All Spyder devices work by being placed directly on the monitor display, while the software guides the user step by step through the calibration process:
It’s That Simple. Just place the sensor on the indicated measurement area and hit the Start button. In about 90 seconds, the Spyder creates a color correction profile that is automatically applied after saving.
Brightness and Contrast Adjustment & Color Measurement
First, the monitor’s brightness and contrast are adjusted, followed by measuring the individual colors. If you select “Desktop” as the output monitor in the Spyder or SpyderPro version, the software automatically recommends settings that optimize your monitor for print output. From these measurements, an ICC profile for the “Print” output medium is created. Calibration is therefore not only necessary to counteract the aging process of the monitor, but also to precisely adjust the monitor’s color and brightness for the intended output medium.
Pay Attention to Paper Profiles
Only a properly calibrated monitor ensures reliable print editing. Images can only be reliably prepared for print on a correctly calibrated monitor. This is where you judge colors, contrast balance, and shadow details so the monitor must accurately reflect the physical characteristics of the printed image.
There’s one more factor to consider: the impact of paper. Colors and contrasts look different depending on the paper used. To evaluate this effect, you should ideally load a paper profile in your image editor. Many print service providers offer ICC profiles for high-quality fine art prints, enabling you to perform a soft proof.
The new Spyder from Datacolor also provides this functionality through its DevicePreview® feature, which simulates how colors will appear on specific papers or displays. SpyderPro’s DevicePreview® Plus, goes even further, offering more extensive comparison and control options. These features are particularly valuable for users who don’t want to invest in expensive image editing software or commit to a subscription.
Compare Images Across Different Media. With the DevicePreview® Plus software included with SpyderPro, you can compare how images look on various media such as different printing processes or smartphone displays. Many high-quality print service providers offer ICC profiles for download, which can be installed. On a calibrated monitor, DevicePreview® Plus then enables you to simulate how colors will actually appear in the final print.
By the way: Spyder and SpyderPro now calibrates OLED, QD-OLED, Mini-LED, and Apple’s “Liquid Retina XDR” displays – a feature that’s particularly interesting for MacBook Pro users.
Color Gamut and Color Temperature
When editing RAW files, color space matters. When you edit RAW files, you have access to a wide color gamut but your printer can’t reproduce all of it. To avoid unpleasant surprises, check with your print service provider to see which color space they support and which settings they recommend for their workflow.
Here are a few providers that share this information.
Note: Information provided without guarantee. These details come from the respective manufacturers’ support pages or were supplied upon request.
Recommended Settings from Print Service Providers
These settings can be configured in the Spyder and SpyderPro software, as well as directly on the monitor.
SpyderExpress, Spyder, or SpyderPro?
Conclusion
A calibrated monitor is an essential prerequisite for reliable image editing and helps prevent costly printing errors. The Datacolor Spyder family provides all the tools you need – from calibration to soft proofing.
Guest Author – Andreas Jordan
Andreas Jordan is a journalist and media designer who has been working as an editor and writer since 1994, specializing in multimedia, imaging, and photography for various trade and special-interest magazines (including Screen Multimedia, Computerfoto, MACup) and daily newspapers (Hamburger Abendblatt, Berliner Kurier). Since 2003, he has been an editor at fotoMAGAZIN and has led its technology section since 2007.
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