RE: [SLE] monitors--comment, not answer

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To: dmcgarrett@optonline.net, suse-linux-e@suse.com
Date: Sat, 24 Apr 2004 21:27:05 -0500

Hi,

To add to this discussion, I use an XP based PC with Photoshop to print
pictures all the time on an Epson Stylus 2200 which does a great job. I
adjust my monitor using the Pantone Spyder which does a great job building
color profiles for the monitor that also work with Photoshop. It would be
really nice to have a LINUX based tool that would do the same thing for use
with programs like GIMP.

IMHO, I really like the SyncMaster line of Samsung monitors (I have several
of the 955DF models) that have extremely tight resolution and appear to have
pretty nice color reproduction.

I really like the Epson 2200 printer, but I have also owned/used the Canon
9000 series ink jets and they do a remarkable job. My only complaint about
the Canon is that it 1) didn't offer inks with the archival qualities of the
Epson inks and 2) didn't have available a bulk ink system as is available
for the Epson printer.

My two cents....

Dave

-----Original Message-----
From: Doug McGarrett [mailto:dmcgarrett@optonline.net]
Sent: Saturday, April 24, 2004 5:12 PM
To: suse-linux-e
Subject: Re: [SLE] monitors--comment, not answer

At 03:32 PM 4/24/2004 +0100, Vince Littler wrote:
>On Saturday 24 April 2004 7:37 am, Fred Miller wrote:
>> Is there any software that will calibrate a monitor available for
>> Linux, so that you can more closely match what is seen on screen to
>> what is printed?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Fred
>>
>
>Hi Fred
>
>I think that the answer will be that even if there is such a utility,
>you
are
>likely to be disappointed with the outcome, unless you have a really
>bad
>printer.
>
>Just for fun, I tried in Win NT, years ago, to set the screen
>background to
>the same colour as the wall in my office. It was difficult, but on 24 bit
>colour I got very close, although a difference of 1 or 2 on a colour
>co-ordinate in 24 bit colour was noticeably wrong or different. Half an
hour
>later, it looked all wrong. At night under artificial light, it was well
>wrong. I don't think NT or the monitor were drifting either.
>
>The explanation which satisfies me is that the monitor emits light at
>set
>absolute levels. The wall reflects whatever light it is given as relative
>levels on all 3 colour coordinates - relative to the colour balance of the
>incoming light which changes from hour to hour and between direct and
indirct
>natural light and artificial light.
>
>Through evolutionary adaptation, we are adapted to varying incoming
>light
and
>compensate for it, so that we see things which reflect light according
mostly
>to the reflection co-efficients of the reflecting surface. ie, we
>filter out
>the variations in incoming light. With an experiment like mine with the
wall
>and the monitor, something must give, and the monitor is perceived to be
>wrong, when 1] it isn't and 2] there is no way to put it 'right'.
>
>
>all the best
>
>
>Vince
>

Vince, I must disagree with you. Magazines and books with color are put
together with computers (mostly Macs) and for those computers there _is_
adjustable software, which will make the monitor reproduce the source
material accurately, and will cause the print engine (whatever it is) to
print the same colors, all within some reasonable tolerance. (You probably
have to work in a room with invariable lighting.) Such software is far from
free--the last time I looked (around 10 years ago) it was in the $500 and up
range. I don't know whether it has come down since, or not. Since I am not
in the printing business, I never pursued this at all, but there is surely
s/w now for Windows which will do
essentially the same thing, since so many people are using digital cameras
now. I have seen some rather good digital photos reproduced on color
printers. Epson seems to have the edge in that regard. However, if you jam
up the ink nozzles on an Epson, you may have to throw it out. Whereas, the
HP ink-jets replace the nozzles with the ink.

BTW, there will always be some error, especially in the monitor, since the
monitor runs on an RGB (red/green/blue) system, at least if it's a CRT, and
a good modern printing system, such as a print shop or an advanced ink-jet
would use, uses CMYK, (cyan/magenta/yellow/black) which
doesn't map exactly to RGB, and of course, the monitor has no true black at
all. AFAIK, LCD displays also use RGB, but may have a better
black due to the nature of the screen.

DO NOT try and adjust color with the monitor. Use the software. However,
in spite of the objections above, almost all monitors have a "factory
default" position, as, I believe Windows does, to get back to square 1
if you goof it up too badly.

--doug

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