Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "jarrrush"
<johnr@v...> wrote:
> FYI - also posted this on digital fineart list.
>
> Some guidance please on profiling my monitor.

snip
Things have changed over the last few years. ProveIt was a major
player, but seems to have lagged in development for some time now. An
OSX version has never materialized to my knowledge. The remaining and
new major players are-

ColorVision
BasiCColor- http://www.icscolor.com/home/
EyeOne- (Gretag)
Monaco

I only have experience with a few of the above so won't comment on
which may be the best. There are many happy users of all of them, and
some unhappy as well.

PAckaged solutions like Lacie used to be frowned upon, since you could
get the same monitor quality elsewhere, then add a good package as
above for less money. But now I hear it's a more affordable package
and quite good. The one getting rave reviews is the Sony Artisan, a
complete package, too expensive for me.

> I understand that once I profile my monitor, I will still have to use
> canned profiles or have a profile made to help match my prints to the
> monitor? It looks like various companies sell software and devices to
> assist in making profiles of your own but it is not clear to me
> whether there is an affordable option (sub-$1000) for profiling my
> prnter. Suggestions on this?

Your budget may prevent you from this. The only package within your
limit may be Colorvision Profiler Pro with their patch reader. I
personally like Profiler Pro results, but have a hard time with the
thought of measuring 729 individual patches. Adding something like the
EyeOne device for strip reading puts you out of your budget. The other
packages are a bit over your limit.
Personally I think people should have custom profiles made. I can tell
you from experience that you will consume a lot of money and time
learning to make your own. Prices for custom profiles hover around
$100, so you could get 10 of them for the money you have to spend.
More than most of us ever really need.
Good luck
Tyler