In concluding my review of MonacoEZcolor I made
the following remark "It's a pity that the application doesn't
support the calibration of LCD
displays, especially since MonacoEZcolor 2.2 is primarily aimed at Mac
users and we all know that Apple are pushing LCD displays with all the
marketing hype they can muster." I think someone at Monaco Systems
must have reading my review because that shortcoming has now been
addressed.
MonacoOPTIX is a new monitor calibration
system from the same stable as MonacoEZcolor and is purpose
designed to facilitate fast and accurate calibration of LCD and
CRT type displays. At its heart we find a brand new
dual-purpose colorimeter developed by Sequel Imaging a company
renowned for producing good quality display calibration hardware.
Conventional colorimeters such as the Sequel Chroma IV as supplied
with previous versions of MonacoEZcolor utilise a suction cup
arrangement to secure the sensor to the display surface. However,
securing the sensor using suction will cause serious damage to the
sensitive surface of most LCD's. So instead of attaching the sensor to
the LCD we use a soft felt faced attachment and suspend the
combination over the display using its
own weight to apply sufficient pressure to ensure minimal extraneous
light ingress to the sensor cell. The new sensor is supplied with
removable components that have been designed to ensure contact
between the display surface and the sensor is not liable to
cause damage. We also find that the normal sensing cell response for
CRT type displays isn't appropriate for LCD's, especially with the
luminance range extending well over 200cd/m2. Again
Monaco Systems have utilised improved electronics with the aim of
providing a colorimeter that is more responsive and accurate than the
previous CRT only - MonacoSENSOR.
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LCD and CRT attachments |
As with MonacoEZcolor
we find this new application makes
extensive use of a wizard-based
interface (Figure 1);
making it very intuitive and easy to use. As a result, the
steps involved in creating a display profile
very straightforward.
Integrated on-line help is always
available and easy to follow. If you need more help
an
Adobe Acrobat user guide is
installed to the computer hard disk. The guide even includes chapters
on colour management and a short section covering frequently
asked questions. Monaco Systems
also provide a wealth of information on
their web site - http://www.monacosystems.com
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Setup
At Step 1 we begin the process of building the
display profile by choosing between either LCD or
CRT. It is important that the correct display type is selected
otherwise you'll end up with some surprising calibration options and
the resulting profile (assumes you get that far) will not be accurate.
Please remember to read the
on-line instructions!
The next screenshot shows
Step 2, namely
fixing the correct attachment.
The attachments can be secured released by a simple quarter turn
twist. If you're going to make a mistake
don't make it at this step - the damage to the surface of
your very expensive LCD display may not be repairable. Also note
that with
CRT type displays we usually need around 30 minutes before everything
is stable; LCD's reach maximum brightness within only a few minutes
and so the process of calibration can begin much sooner.
Figure 1
Step 3 shows
the options available for the Target White Point (sometimes
referred to as the Colour Temperature). Unless you have good reason
it's probably better to choose 6500K.Once the target white point has
been selected you should adjust the display colour temperature
controls to match this value so far as it is possible to do so. It is worth noting that some monitors have RGB gun controls,
others have a range of presets and high-end LCD's typically have
no control. You should establish the type of control provided on your
display (Apple LCD's have no controls for white point but are instead
preset to 6500K) and proceed with the appropriate adjustment.
Step 4 shown
on Figure 1 above relates to calibrating the OPTIX sensor
itself. This is an important step and involves setting the sensor on
the desktop and pressing the calibrate button. The colour of the
desktop shouldn't matter - just make sure that no light gets to the sensor
cell.
NOTE: the
remaining steps describe the process of calibrating a CRT type
display!
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Display Calibration
Figure 2
shows the main steps involved in calibrating the display. Following the
on-line instructions is essential from this point onwards. At
Step 5 we are adjusting the CRT Brightness and Contrast controls to 100% (maximum) and
measuring the lightest black.
In Step 6 we
measure the darkest black and this is achieved by setting the
monitor Brightness control to minimum. If your display can't
reproduce a dark enough black the software will provide a warning
message and give you the option to make a visual adjustment.
Figure 2
Step 7 requires that we adjust the
monitor Brightness control so the reading falls within the "Good"
(Green) band. Typically this will mean a few attempts at adjusting the
brightness value so don't worry if the first attempt fails. Once you
have achieved the optimum brightness level it is important not to make
any further adjustments otherwise the calibration is void.
Step 8 is the point were
MonacoOPTIX determines
the colour characteristics of the display by cycling through a series
of 33 different coloured patches. Typically this will only take a
few minutes and requires no user input.
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