As already said, calibrating and profiling your monitor is only the first step in color management; the GRACol2006_Coated1v2.icc file that the company gave you is the printer profile for that specific paper, which is different from a monitor profile. It needs to be installed in the appropriate location on your computer (dependent on the platform you are using) and selected in either your image editing program or the printer driver when you print your image (or if you are having someone else print the image, they need to select that as their printer profile and you need to soft proof the image using that profile in your image editing program – if it permits soft proofing).
The Spyder 4 is used to calibrate and profile your monitors to a known standard which the printer profile then can use to translate the color values into those to be used by the printer with your paper and ink selection. You do not say if you monitors are flat screen LCD monitors or CRT monitors. If the latter, you will need to re-calibrate and profile the monitor after it warms up and every 4 weeks or so since they drift as they warm up and over time. This is less the case with flat screen LCD monitors. Also the ambient room lighting impacts on not only the monitor profiling process but also on the appearance of colors on the monitor versus the print. Also remember that the print relies on reflective transmission of light and the monitors on transmissive transmission of light which also impacts on the appearance of colors. Thus, what you see will not be exactly what you get if even if you are viewing the monitor and the print under the same ambient lighting.
Lastly, you do not say if the monitors are identical makes, models, and age or not. different types, makes, models, or aged monitors in a dual monitor system canlimit the degree to which they can be matched. Morover, are the two monitors on separate video cards that can be profiled separately and individually or on the same card in which the card’s profile controls both monitors the same at the same time? If it is the latter case and the two monitors are different types, makes, models, or ages, an identical match may be impossible.
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From: pekkle168@...
Sent: February 18, 2014 4:22 PM
To: datacolor_group@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [datacolor_group] Bought a Spyder4 Elite to calibrate my Dual Monitor setup and also to match Online Printing company
I recently asking a online printing company for help on match my screen colors to their printers, and as their suggestion was a Spyder4. So I bought the elite and hoping it will match, but after receiving the product and no where did it mention it will match any of the printing standards have me did a little more research. It seems there is no way to use a Spyder4 Elite to calibrate the monitor so it will closely match the printing company's GRACol2006_Coated1v2.icc standard. or is there a way I can calibrate with Spyder4 to match that profile?
Also, after calibrate my monitor, it seems the colors are a bit more washed out, not sure if I am looking at over saturated colors before or what, but it does seems a little washed out.
Lastly, after calibrated my two monitors, the colors are better matched than before, but still there is a difference, I know we can manually adjust the settings, but if I can do that I wouldn't need the Spyder4 to begin with.
Can any experts here shine some light as what I am expecting is realistic or I am simply asking too much from the Spyder4?