Monitor Calibration & ICC Profile with CS - help?

Hi, I'm really hoping someone can help me with this, as I'm not sure I really understand how it works. I would like to calibrate my monitor so that my photos look exactly the same onscreen as my online printing service prints. I have the ICC profile for the printer that they use, but how do I go about getting my monitor calibrated to the same thing? I'm willing to get a monitor calibrator if that would help. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! Lynn

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Hi, I'm really hoping someone can help me with this, as I'm not sure I really understand how it works. I would like to calibrate my monitor so that my photos look exactly the same onscreen as my online printing service prints. I have the ICC profile for the printer that they use, but how do I go about getting my monitor calibrated to the same thing? I'm willing to get a monitor calibrator if that would help. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! Lynn

The printer profile will be of no use to a monitor. You need Monaco or Colorvision to create a profile for your monitor. If instead you try Adobe Gamma, I hope you have better luck than me getting a good profile. Jim

ask the printer for the test file that comes with Photoshop, he will give you a CD with a TIFF and a print of the same file.*
You can adjust the monitor by eye to look more like the print. Use Adobe gamma or your display settings (On a PC, click
desktop>properties>display>advanced)

If you are extremely picky about the output being exactly what you see on screen and have some $ get the calibration hardware and software. It is a more scientific, precise way.

*the test file has charts with all spectrum and grayscale, shows a good range of skintones.
I keep my own monitor calibrated to my in house printer but I know that my lab has a warmer tone to their prints and the paper itself is less white than I send them a print from my printer as a proof so at least we get similar results.

I guess you could send the test file from PS and get a print made as a test since you will be ordering online. Then you can see how "off" the colors look.

wrote in message

Hi, I'm really hoping someone can help me with this, as I'm not sure I really understand how it works. I would like to calibrate my monitor so that my photos look exactly the same onscreen as my online printing service prints. I have the ICC profile for the printer that they use, but how do I go about getting my monitor calibrated to the same thing? I'm willing to get a monitor calibrator if that would help. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! Lynn

I would like to calibrate my monitor so that my photos look exactly the same onscreen as my online printing service
prints. I have the ICC profile for the printer that they use, but how do I go about getting my monitor calibrated to the same thing?

You need an accurate ICC profile for your monitor (which has nothing to do with the printer ICC profile). What will then happen is the numbers (colors) in your files will get translated by the monitor ICC profile so they look as accurate as possible on screen, given the properties of your monitor (and accuracy of the profile). You can then use the printer ICC profile to 'soft proof' in Photoshop to get an idea of how the final print will look on your monitor. This is more or less successful, depending on how accurate both profiles are and how many colors are out of gamut for one or both devices. You mention "exactly the same" but often this is not possible.

This is an excellent introductory article on the ICC profile concept .... http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/13605.html ... and here's another on 'soft proofing' ...
http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/10150.html?origin=s tory

Bill

On 16 May 2005 16:09:25 -0700, "Bill Hilton"
wrote:

I would like to calibrate my monitor so that my photos look exactly the same onscreen as my online printing service
prints. I have the ICC profile for the printer that they use, but how do I go about getting my monitor calibrated to the same thing?

You can then use the
printer ICC profile to 'soft proof' in Photoshop to get an idea of how the final print will look on your monitor.

yep, this is how it is SUPPOSED to work. There are so many variables in this process, it often fails to astound. But it can be a beautiful thing.

Thanks, the printer does do a test card, so I'll try sending it from my PC and see if it looks anything like theirs!

Brilliant! I had no idea that the softproof thing was even there! Presumably I can load that to the ICC profile of the Frontier Printer my printer uses and get a better idea what to expect...now it's just my monitor I have to get right....