I'm a Color Control Freak
by , (8 comments)
Because I went to the Color Control Freak Seminar, hosted by the GIA, gretagmacbeth, among others. “Just admit it. You’re a Color Control Freak. (But don’t worry. We can help you make the most of it)”
Here’s a review:
Overall, it was great. Probably the most interesting seminar I’ve been to in a few years. But maybe that’s because I love color management and already had a lot of questions in mind. The instructor was very knowledgeable, and was able to answer every question from the class. The course content was just right: some review of fundamental concepts at the beginning, but enough detail spread over enough different areas, to keep the day moving right along. However, I must admit I did slip into Information OVEROAD in the last hour.
I learned all the scenarios for when you want to “convert to profile” versus “assign profile.” I also learned Quark 7 has some nice color management features that do more than similar areas in InDesign CS2. Yet, I have to wonder if this was only mentioned since the Quark rep was in the audience. Quark was one of the sponsors, after all … Anyway, I wrote down that information, too, in case I need to work in Quark some day.
Speaking of writing stuff down … I found it odd that our notebook had the presentation thumbnails in black/white when there were examples showing color on the screen. In our particular hotel meeting room, the screens weren’t large enough or positioned so the whole class could easily see; people wanted to see the color in the notebook. Oh, well. Pays to get there early for a good seat. Included on a CD in our packet was a PDF of the presentation.
We went through all the specific menu choices for CS2 and Quark. I learned the (now) obvious Adobe solution for my workgroup: distribute 1 color settings file (.csf) to every workstation, instead of making the choices on each individual machine, and saving with various names. This is easier to make updates to, and notice when it’s non-standard.
They give you free stuff, like a Pantone/gretagmacbeth huey. As I write this, my huey is adjusting my display for changing levels of ambient light in the room. I wouldn’t say it competes with the gretagmacbeth Eye-One, but it might work fine for advanced amatuers. It uses settings named like “Web Browsing & Photo Editing,” “Gaming,” and “Special: Warm, Medium Contrast.” The Graphic Design & Video Editing settings uses D65 and 2.5 gamma. It was bright and showed a lot of contrast. The “Special” setting I’m currently using is D50 and 2.2 gamma. I have yet to find D50, 1.8 gamma. I miss the luminance measurement to which I am accustomed with the Eye-One Display. Sadly, Huey 1.0 appears to only work with one display at this time. In order to get it to calibrate the external LCD attached to my PowerBook, I had to change my computer to treat the external display as the primary display. I set my huey to adjust for room lighting conditions every two minutes. This means it needs a dedicated USB port. If I disconect the huey, and then plug it in again later, it doesn’t seem to work again until I log in or restart.
Also included in the goodie bag is a DVD with more training to share with coworkers, a CD of the presentation, and marketing materials from the sponsors. My biggest gripe, which I included on their review form, was that the notebook was in black/white. However, at least they had a comment/review form.
All in all, it was a good 1-day seminar. Now I’m a bonified Color Control Freak. I learned a bunch of stuff, and reviewed everything I already knew, which boosted my confidence to convince coworkers: color management is a good thing.
Comments (8)
coloraddict2 said:
I’m pretty sure pantone have kept the huey as basic as possible as an entry level thing (nice that you got one for free!) I’d just like to add a note for any potensial purchasers, that on macs running dual monitor setups, all you have to do to calibrate a second display is move the menu bar in the display preferences to the other monitor first, you don’t have to unplug or switch around or anything…
Posted on March 28, 2006
Stefan Engeseth said:
What color does the consumer give your design?
Posted on March 29, 2006
Kyle said:
coloraddict2, moving the menu bar is what I was complaining about. It moves icons on my desktop, and changes where default windows open. Yet, you’re right, you don’t have switch any cables.
I think I’ll keep using the huey at home.
Stefan, I do not understand what you are asking. Please restate the question.
Posted on March 29, 2006
Bill Kerr said:
{snore}
I will be WAY more into dealing with my color settings once Adobe decides to make Indesign not have crappy color on an injet proofing printer. Anyone ever try to print saturated color and compare it to the same color from Indesign. Complete bullshit. Get with it, Adobe.
Posted on March 29, 2006
Kyle said:
Bill, I’ve had good experience printing saturated colors from InDesign to large-format HP DesignJets, as well a color copier, but I haven’t tried the smaller proofing InkJets, like the HP DJ 130.
Anybody else have related experiences to Bill?
I would like to believe that if you combine good settings for your printer, along with good settings in InDesign, you’ll get good output. The trick, of course, is establishing the right combination of settings, and not all printers come with a RIP that gives you plenty of color choices.
Posted on March 29, 2006
Bennett said:
Kyle, Consider me someone that would rather stay as far away color management as possible. Too much science for me.
With that said, I need to get a new monitor for my home computer. Are flat-panel monitors catching up to CRT displays as far as color accuracy? Does the quality of Apple’s flat-panels justify spending the extra couple hundred?
As far as Bill’s question, I have had similar problems on my little home printer. I usually just end up printing a PDF out of Illustrator. At work we have an Epson 4000 that is calibrated to print press quality proofs from InDesign. If the Epson isn’t clogging it works beautifully.
Posted on April 5, 2006
Kyle said:
Bennett, good question on CRT vs LCD displays. It’s been discussed thoroughly, it seems, in magazines in the last few years. In my opinion, LCDs are the way to go. I, along with the rest of my department, had our CRTs phased out because they use so much more energy than LCDs. So, I’ve had to use LCDs, like it or not. Plus, CRTS loose their luminance (aka brightness) after a few years.
I like LCDs. They’re certainly sharper than CRTs, and can show you more detail than CRTs. LCDs in general can display all the colors you’ll need. Some LCDs, like the Eizo ColorEdge CG220 even claim to display the entire Adobe RGB gamut. I have not seen this one in person yet, but hope to in a few weeks. The fact that it can display all of Adobe RGB means it has way more color depth than your typical LCD. It doesn’t really matter if your only output is CMYK, but it might be nice for editing RGB photos, 16-bit images, or video.
The Apple displays are quite nice, but not the best available, and certainly not the cheapest. I regularly calibrate about 42 Apple Displays, and they all have lasted just as long as the previous LaCie Electron Blue III CRTs—about 3 to 5 years, depending on amount of use.
Many consumer-level LCDS are too bright for print work. Some of them can’t even go low enough to calibrate at 120 or 140 cd/m2. (cd/m2 refers to brightness)
Are Apple displays worth the money? I don’t know, they do look nice. And, before their latest thin-edged model came out, they lined up side-by-side. Last Thanksgiving I bought myself a View Sonic on sale for home-use. Although I don’t use it for all-day critical color decisions, I have been happy with it.
If you’re using a calibrated display, and you’re looking to upgrade your CRT, I would recommend purchasing an LCD, along with a device to calibrate it. I, for one, have been very pleased with the Eye-One Display. It’s not too expensive, and works great—even for the novice. You’d be better off spending less on a monitor, and including the spectrophotometer/colorimeter, than buying an expensive monitor and not calibrating it.
Your display is quite possibly the most important piece of your design computer setup, since you’re making visual decisions all day long.
Posted on April 6, 2006
YP said:
I think I’ll keep using the huey at home.
Posted on April 14, 2006