Step 1 - relates to selection of the device type to be
calibrated (e.g. monitor, scanner, printer).
Step 2 - relates
to calibration of the Eye-One
spectrophotometer and requires the use of the calibration late. This
plate with its little white tablet is unique to each Eye-One
spectrophotometer, so don't loose or damage it.
Tips:
-
If available use the display degauss
function before commencing the calibration process
-
If using Mac OS X set your
existing display profile Generic RGB Profile before
launching i1Match
-
Don't ignore the on-line Help
instructions. Read and follow EACH instruction carefully.
Step 3
Choose Monitor White and Gamma
The screenshot above shows the process
using 7 simple Help graphics; the method of attaching the Eye-One
spectrophotometer to the monitor. This step also involves the user
making a decision regarding Monitor White (colour temperature)
and Monitor Gamma.
The options for Monitor White are:
-
Warm white - equals 5000 degrees Kelvin
-
Medium white - equals 6500 degrees Kelvin
-
Cool white - equals 7500 degrees Kelvin
The options for Gamma are
Generally, MOST users will find that choosing Gamma
2.2 is best. So far as Monitor
White is concerned most users should find Medium White is the
optimum choice.
Note: in general
high-end LCD displays such as those form Apple have a
Native Monitor White of approximately 6500 degrees K and a Native Gamma of 2.2.
I highly recommend that you use these settings.
Step 4
Optimising the Contrast (White Point)
This step begins with the user setting the Contrast
control to maximum and then reducing it to the point where the little
white/black triangles shown on the Contrast Quality Indictor
are aligned.
In Step 4 we are adjusting the monitor contrast control
so as to optimise the White Point. If the white point is set too
high the screen will be overly bright. The opposite is true if the
contrast control is set too low. Once completed we can move onto the
next step. If the monitor or supporting software (e.g.
Apple LCD) is not provided with a
contrast control then it's IMPORTANT to engage the checkbox so as to
disable the measurement.
Actually with Apple LCD's you should set the Brightness
control (found in Displays control panel) to approximately
50%.
Note: It is not
unusual for the two triangles to just about align even when the Contrast
control is at maximum and the actual screen appears overly bright. Many
users express concern/surprise at this- they shouldn't. If you find this
happening I suggest that you reduce the Contrast control by
around 5% and then remeasure. The two triangles will
likely still align, but the screen brightness will be a little more
acceptable.
Step 5
Optimising the Brightness (Black Point)
In Step 5 we are adjusting the monitor Brightness
control so as to optimise the monitor Black Point. For CRT
type display it is absolutely
essential that the monitor brightness control is set to minimum before
commencing this step. The Eye-One software uses the monitors maximum black
value as a base point and if this is set too high achieving
a maximum black in Photoshop will be very difficult. Since the
spectrophotometer is actually measuring black it will tend to cause the
little white triangle indicator to jump around. In Eye-One Match
version 1.0 this was a major headache. Fortunately subsequent versions
of Eye-One Match (downloadable from http://www.i1color.com)
have significantly reduced this problem.
As with step 4 it is important that the two triangles in
the Brightness Quality Indicator are so far as
possible, aligned. If the monitor is not fitted with a brightness
control or supporting software (e.g. LCD type displays) it is again IMPORTANT
to engage the checkbox so as to
disable the measurement. Remember the Brightness control on Apple
LCD displays acts like a Contrast control - don't confuse the
two - for the sake of your own sanity engage the checkbox and bypass
this measurement!
Step 6
Adjusting the Colour Temperature of the
Monitor
In step 3 above the user chose the desired or target
Monitor White. In this step we will adjust the monitor colour
temperature so as to get the numeric reading for Current
temperature to match the Desired value.
Whilst Eye-One Match can take advantage of monitors supporting
individual RGB gun control, attempting to
get all three coloured indictors to align is pretty close to impossible
on some monitors. So don't panic if they don't align. The key is
getting the two numeric values to match
If the monitor is not fitted with a colour temperature
control or supporting software (i.e. most LCD type displays) it is again important to engage the checkbox so as to
disable the measurement.
Step 7
Step 7 is fully automatic and involves the software
cycling through a series of 53 coloured patches. This step will take around
2 minutes to complete.
Step 8
Save the Monitor Profile
The Eye-One software automatically includes the
date with all profiles so as to ensure that duplication or overwriting previous
profiles can be avoided. On Mac systems ColorSync will automatically
use the profile without any additional help. On Windows systems a
small loader file is included within the Windows Startup folder.
Users on both platforms should ensure that NO other profile
loader (e.g. Adobe Gamma loader.exe is in use).
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