Calibrating flat panel monitor – PE2

RH
Posted By
Richard_Hirschman
Aug 29, 2004
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724
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12
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I am using a Dell 4600, Windows XP Professional computer with a 17," Dell 1703FP flat panel monitor. Adobe Gamma is in my control panel. As I understand it, calibrating a flat panel monitor is different from calibrating a non-flat panel monitor. Specifically, how do I calibrate my flat panel monitor to use with Photoshop Elements 2?
Thanks.
Richard
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calibrate photoshop elements flat monitor panel

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BH
Beth_Haney
Aug 29, 2004
You describe your monitor as being a flat panel. Do you really mean it’s an LCD? (There are flat panel CRTs, too; I have one.) I’ll assume you mean an LCD, and if I’m right, they can’t be calibrated in the same way as CRTs. I think you’ll get some useful information to get you started in this link. Read it over, and then post back with more questions.

<http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx?128@@.3bb449ae>
J
JesusIsGod
Aug 29, 2004
Richard,

I have a Dell 1703FP monitor, too. It has beautiful resolution, rich color, can’t beat it:

1) Do not use the white digital video cable

Use the blue analog video cable. The digital cable shuts off the monitor’s contrast control so you can never hope to consistently print what your monitor displays.

2) Adobe Gamma walks you through its installation and should not require any different settings, whatever monitor you use.

3) Be prepared to do a fair amount of experimentation

After running Adobe Gamma, compare your printouts to your monitor. If they match, then count yourself blessed.

If not, then it would be prudent to invest in a hardware calibrator. I use the Pantone ColorVision Syder. I bought the highest end one which cost $300 then but in the past month or so a $99 consumer version came out — that is well worth the money, as software calibration is not always reliable while hardware calibration reliably takes the single most crucial variable out of your color management equation.

4) After that, if your prints match, great. If not then at least you know your monitor is accurate so you can concentrate on finding the right printer/paper combination and settings.

Final point, it’s unlikely that your prints will have the complete rich fullness of that outstanding Dell monitor. But they can be very close and as long as the tones match, you will still wind up with some very nice prints.

What printer are you using, by the way?

Robert Ash
BB
brent_bertram
Aug 29, 2004
Richard,
In addition to the above posts, here are 3 links to reviews of various hardware calibration devices for LCD displays ( CRT’s too, for that matter ) . Reading the reviews can give you an idea of the differences in technology between LCD’s and CRT’s, and enhance your understanding of the factors influencing your choice ( pretty big words, huh <G>) . Then, from the ColorVision unit at $99 ( the best bargain price we’ve seen ) to the others at various price points, you can juggle your budget and make a decision.

<http://www.computer-darkroom.com/i12/i12_page_1.htm> <http://www.computer-darkroom.com/photocal/photocal_1.htm> <http://www.computer-darkroom.com/optix/optix_1.htm>

It is possible that you’ll be happy enough, though, by following the directions in the NOTE of this Adobe techdoc on building an acceptable profile for an LCD display using the Adobe Gamma utility.

Many professionals get by with using Adobe Gamma ( but I suspect they use CRT’s for which it is intended ). It may well be sufficient to your needs.

<http://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/1403e.htm>

🙂

Brent
RH
Richard_Hirschman
Aug 31, 2004
Thanks to all for the helpful information and leads. I’ve started looking thorugh all of it. I was imprecise in my description of my monitor. It is an LCD. Also, Robert asked me which printer I am using. It is an HP Photosmart 7150.
Richard
CW
Colin_Woodbridge
Aug 31, 2004
Robert…..

Your comment about the use of Analogue v. Digital may not be entirely true for all monitors. It’s usually accepted that DVI (the digital flavour, at least) does not require contrast control like the analogue signals where you could boost the levels of the component RGB….(And that raises another question. However my CTX LCD monitor still allows contrast adjustment when using either Analogue or Digital.

Somewhere along the paths in the monitor the Digital RGB has to get converted to an Analogue value to vary the intensity of the display. This is where Contrast control could be applied.

So the next question is…..Is DVI digital, a more accurate rendition of the original image?

Colin
BB
brent_bertram
Aug 31, 2004
Colin,
Is that a trick question ? I think, and there is a lot of support for the idea, that the DVI interface displays an image more like the video card intended, if for no other reason than digital technology’s relative immunity to interference, compared with analog signals.
The "pro’s" all believe DVI to be superior, although frequently reasons aren’t given . Here’s an interesting article ( with pictures , no less ) that talks about it. I "googled" on "DVI versus analog" .
< http://www.upandrunning.bc.ca/technotes/lcdtechnology/lcdtec hnology.htm>

🙂

Brent
CW
Colin_Woodbridge
Aug 31, 2004
Brent…

Yes, kind of a trick question…along the lines of Digital Camera to LCD screen direct!!!

One of the reasons for using DVI is that it supports higher bandwidths and hence higher display resolutions. The arguement that Analogue, being analogue gives you a greater range of tones compared with the 24 bit digital may exist on paper but I don’t think I could tell the difference. The interference is a valid point but it’s also easier to receive a digital signal than have to re-construct a badly distorted analogue signal due to poor cabling and mis-matched electronics. In other words what you sent ain’t necessarily what you see on the screen. With digital you get what you sent.

This leads to another discussion point. 16 bit capture…. is it worth it when the end results can only be built from 8 bit values.

Colin
BB
brent_bertram
Aug 31, 2004
The best argument for 16 bit that has sunk into my skull, is in the initial editting phase of an image. By habit, I’ll do levels adjustment, or tinker with a curve, first thing on an image. Then I can see what it needs to spruce it up or repair it. Histograms show that working with 16 bits images at this stage is less destructive to the image. With some images , that may be important.
95% of images , though ( certainly , MY images ) are not worth the extra effort of 16 bit manipulation. I can’t say that I’ve ever been able to detect the difference from a print.

🙂

Brent
J
JesusIsGod
Aug 31, 2004
Colin,

Your comment about the use of Analogue v. Digital may not be entirely true for all monitors.

You could certainly be right. I have the same monitor Richard does, (a Dell 1703FP) so I know that for the Dell 1703FP monitor, using the DVI cable shuts off the monitor’s contrast adjustment.

So the next question is…..Is DVI digital, a more accurate rendition of the original image?

Wasn’t true at all in my case. While using DVI on my Dell 1703FP my images were always displayed too contrasty. My analog cable does a much better job. This was a pretty disappointing discovery because I was sold on digital and wanted to use the latest technology if possible. In this case that didn’t work.

My personal impression is that in this initial release DVI seems to have been targeted more for displaying web pages and documents, not for professional quality photo color management just yet. However, like you said, it could also depend on the monitor. The 1703FP works better for me using analog.

The more practical working questions for me are:

1) Does DVI display colors accurately? Generally yes.
2) Does DVI display other important visual attributes well (e.g. contrast)? No
3) Does DVI help me accurately print what my monitor displays and empower me to control that process? For my monitor, no.

Robert
CW
Colin_Woodbridge
Sep 1, 2004
Robert….

DVI certainly isn’t targeted at just computer generated documents. It’s there to cope with the demands of increased monitor resolutions which require higher bandwidths.

With respect to contrasty images…this of course is subjective in much the same way as film prints and slides have always differed in ‘punch’ to me. But this is where Elements comes in….it allows contrast adjustments to suit. Then you have to consider the print stage….ummm?

I guess I don’t have to ask if you’ve gamma corrected your display?

For my tastes I’d never go back to CRT.

Colin
SS
Susan_S.
Sep 1, 2004
Where DVI connections really seem to come into play are connecting up inputs such as high definition TV set top boxes – there’s no comparison in quality betweeen using a DVI connection and the analogue link (at least when using a plasma display- I presume that a similar quality diffference would apply with an LCD screen) – with static images such as photos (well I had to see what they looked like on a 42 inch screen!) the difference is much less marked. (Someone in this house had to get a large screen so they could watch the olympics and the Australian rules footy finals… although the former were only broadcast in standard definition here. Wiring the thing up with all the different options for connections was geek heaven. Now it’s all done I’m back on the computer, because really, although the picture looks magnificent, there really isn’t anything to watch on the damn thing!!)
M
Markeau
Sep 6, 2004
Just for the record: "Flat Panel" is a correct alternate name for and LCD monitor … the flat CRT’s are called "Flat Screens", never "Flat Panels"

wrote:
You describe your monitor as being a flat panel. Do you really mean it’s an LCD? (There are flat panel CRTs, too; I have one.) I’ll assume you mean an LCD, and if I’m right, they can’t be calibrated in
the same way as CRTs. I think you’ll get some useful information to get you started in this link. Read it over, and then post back with more questions.

<http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx?128@@.3bb449ae>

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