ColorVision SpyderPRO & PrintFIX - Monitor calibrator Review

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(More customer reviews)I recently purchased ColorVision's PrintFIX product to improve the quality of prints that my Epson 2200 produces from Photoshop. The default profiles produce properly exposed prints, but the colors are slightly off from those on the monitor (which has been calibrated).
According to the PrintFIX ads, the device "enables you to produce top quality prints right away" and "build custom profiles in minutes." That has not been my experience. Multiple attempts to use PrintFIX produced prints that were much too underexposed with a green tint that looked nothing like the image on the monitor using the same profile with Photoshop proofing.
I called ColorVision's tech support and the first thing they told me was that PrintFIX is not suitable for professional or even advanced amateur color management. (I fully agree, but why then do they sell it bundled with their Spyder PRO professional monitor calibration tool?). By the way, the street price for PrintFIX is $299!
After I explained my problem, the tech asked me to email a copy of the calibration chart that I printed. After receipt he would call me back to explain how to use their DoctorPRO software that comes with PrintFIX to correct the profile. The tech did not call me back nor did he return my messages left on voicemail. It took four phone calls to make contact with him again.
The process for using DoctorPRO is a complete kludge and cannot produce consistent or reproducible color management of a printer. The first step is to use Photoshop image adjustments to make the image on the monitor look like the incorrect print. This is a highly subjective process and matching the print exactly on the monitor is impossible. The next step is to create a Photoshop action in which the image adjustments of Photoshop are used to correct the now incorrect monitor image to match the original. Then DoctorPRO is initiated and it applies the action to create an edited profile. In theory, the edited profile is then used on the monitor to soft proof results prior to printing. The print then is made using this profile. This is of course and iterative process, and it takes many attempts and wastes many prints to get a profile that is even close to acceptable.
Obviously, this same process can be used without using either the PrintFIX hardware or software by just modifying the default profiles in Photoshop with an action.
IMHO PrintFIX does not do the job and is not worth the money. ColorVision should be embarrassed to sell a product that falls so short of its claims and one that its tech support even admits is inadequate.


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SPYDER3 Studio Review

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(More customer reviews)So far, so good. I was primarily interested in the print profiler though wanted to upgrade my display profiler from an older version so picked up the package.
Comes in a nice metal case just like in the image though I don't expect to be traveling with it much it makes a save place to store the devices.
My customer service experience was great. I had a problem with the print profiler device (button on the device didn't work). I contacted them on their website and they contacted me the next morning. They sent me a new device within two business days!
Software is easy to use though I tried the beta software from their website and there are some bugs with the interface and workflow. For production work it's worth sticking with the released version.
Overall like the product and would have given it a 5 stars had it not been for the defective device.

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ColorVision Spyder2 Suite Win/Mac Review

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(More customer reviews)Pros: Good, well contructed, colorimeter for the novice, easy to use software walks you through every step. I notice a definite improvement in my new 22" WS LCD's picture. I had tried Adobe Gamma and Quick Gamma, but these programs rely on your eyes for making brightness and contrast corrections, and setting gamma. My eyes are not as sharp as they were 20 years ago.
Cons: The new updated software, version 2.3, has been out since June, 2006 but Colorvision is still shipping with the older version. Go to their website [...]), download 2.3 (110.3 MB), install it, and use the keycode on your 2.2 version to run it. The 2.3 version changes the target white point for LCDs to 6500K instead of Native. I personally prefer 6500k anyway. Gamma 2.2 and 6500K are the only choices with the Express. If you want more choices you will have to purchase the more expensive Pro version.
After calibration and exiting the software I got a "Can not find color profile" error message. Rebooting solved this.
With the counter-weight adjusted, I still had to tilt my LCD monitor back 15 - 20 degrees before I could get the Spyder to lay completely flat on the screen.

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Pantone huey MEU101 Review

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(More customer reviews)I use my computer for a lot of photography. I have an analog View Sonic 17" LCD screen. Since I was receiving print results from an online print service where the contrast and colors were different than what I had expected I purchased this affordable product. I found it very easy to set up on my PC taking up a USB port. After installing the software, you are prompted to calibrate the device with the monitor which takes about 5 minutes. There after the device sits in its cradle near your monitor measuring the ambient light every minute or an interval you can select to readjust the screen. After two weeks the software will prompt you to recalibrate. I've owned the product for nearly three months and I've been satisfied. It didn't screw up my monitor as I've heard about with other products. I have it set for Webbrowsing-Photo editing but you can set it for games. Quite honestly I have only tried it with one game and that it Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2006 and sometimes the contrast and colors are off (hence the 4 stars only.) Overall for my photo editing, it is a great little product at an affordable price.

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Designed for calibrating and profiling all types of monitors (LCD and CRT), The Pantone Huey measurement device (emission only colorimeter) includes ambient measurement capabilities, and software for monitor calibration. Huey corrects the color on your monitor so photos and designs print more accurately, game graphics are more intense and movies are more true-to-life. Easy-to-use right out of the box, Huey adapts your monitor for changing room lighting and applies your personal preferences for viewing accurate color all of the time.

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X-Rite Eye-One Display LT Review

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(More customer reviews)Recently, I've read several books about Photoshop CS2 and digital photography and the general consensus of the authors relating to color management is that calibrating one's display device is essential. The overriding recommendation is to use hardware calibration (colorimeter) or, at the very least, an eyeball method (Adobe Gamma, QuickGamma).
Mindful of this information, I calibrated my home CRT, LCD and laptop and my work CRT with free a software program (QuickGamma) that was recommended by several digital camera and Photoshop sites. Previous to this I had used Adobe Gamma but I quickly found that QuickGamma produced superior results. Another thing I noticed was that it was much easier to calibrate the CRT's than either the LCD or the laptop using either eyeball method. When I printed photographs with my home inkjet there seemed to be a pretty good match between the CRT display and output but when I moved pictures from different computers there were noticeable shifts.
With my interest piqued, I decided to purchase a hardware calibrator the Eye-One Display LT (Light?) to see if I could match images between displays and to determine if I could achieve a closer color match between my printer and displayed image.
The Eye-One was easy to use and set up on all displays once I got the hang of the wizard that explains each step. As other reviewers have mentioned a software update is available from Pantone's site and this adds some functionality to the software and is a recommended update. Depending on your displays capabilities the Eye-One allows the user to optimize the, brightness, contrast, color temp, gamma, and RGB set points and then creates a custom profile for your display. With the LT version the color temps available are 5000, 6500 and 7200 and the gamma points are 1.8, 2.2. The next version up allows greater flexibility in these areas but the LT's numbers should be adequate for most users.
Using the updated software, I was able to compare before and after pictures. I also printed several pictures out using the new profile and checked them against my monitor. The results showed marginal improvement over the QuickGamma profile (approx 5%). So with my home CRT, I was not greatly impressed with the results. After profiling my laptop and LCD, however, my feelings changed. Both displays became more vibrant and accurate and, in addition, there was greater consistency between all my displays with regards to color reproduction.
Overall, a nice piece of hardware and software that is intuitive to use and is particularly effective at creating profiles for LCD's and Laptops.
Note: The calorimeter included with the LT is the same as the one included with the more expensive Eye-One Display 2. The only difference between the 2 packages is the included software, which can be upgraded if needed.
Update 1/7/10: I just recently used the Eye-One to calibrate my Panasonic HDTV. Along with the free software Color HCFR and Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics disc (which I rented from Netflix), I achieved excellent results with little to no hassle. Just Google "GREYSCALE & COLOR CALIBRATION FOR DUMMIES" and you will be provided with an excellent walk through. This additional functionality has made a great product even better.

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Compatible with all Windows and Macintosh operating systems except MAC OS10.7 Lion (Lion Compatibility coming 9/2011)

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Pantone huey Pro MEU113 Review

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(More customer reviews)I have used other similar but far more expensive products but they always ended up in one of my junk drawers, filed under "another waste of money". The Huey Pro is exactly what it claims to be - a simple and accurate monitor/graphics card calibration tool.
Every PC/MAC monitor is grossly out of calibration 'out-of-the-box', just as is the case with TVs (HD or SD). Every video card has a different output balance from 'true' (just like every DVD player for home theater), and factory settings on LCD displays are far from proper. If you care about decent image quality (such as with digital photography, watching DVDs, accurate online catalog images, etc.) you must buy a tool to correct the video driver settings for your specific combination of monitor and graphics card (even even for the VGA vs. DVI port on the same card - they are different).
Even on the general case of the majority of monitors that are only able to achieve a 76% color accuracy level (6-bit panels, low contrast ratios, limited brightness - most laptops and low-mid priced LCDs), they still respond quite well to calibration with the Huey Pro. If you buy a higher grade of monitor (8-bit panels, high contrast ratios: Samsung 226BW, LG L246WP or L226WP, etc) where there is a potential for 94% color accuracy, then the Huey Pro calibration improvement is stellar.
For PC's with XP, if you run more than 1 display (or dual graphics cards), you need to download the XP "WinColorSetup.exe" file from MS. This allows for control of multiple monitor .icm files in Windows (have to use the same icm file for all monitors on that system otherwise).
Make sure you get the Huey Pro version (or buy the Pro firmware/software upgrade for the standard Huey), as it has a more refined set of tests and yields a much better .icm file. It takes about 3 minutes to calibrate a warmed up monitor correctly (well, as much as your hardware choices will support anyway). The automatic background light adjustment feature is quite useful as room lighting (especially with sunlight passing through the windows) changes as you work from day into evening.
Highly recommended!

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It's all about the color: Color in your photos. Color in your designs. And it all starts with accurate color on your screen. Photographers understand that a color-managed workflow is essential to obtain true color from capture, to edit, to print; but what you see on-screen is only as accurate as your display. Over time, the color performance of monitors changes - phosphors and liquid crystals fade, causing the display to drift into unknown colors. hueyPRO automatically brings back the true colors, so whether you are editing photos to print, sell or share with others, gaming or shopping on-line, you deserve to see the right color on your display. The hueyPRO delivers extensive controls in an affordable, easy-to-use solution designed to calibrate and profile all types of LCD and CRT displays. Each package includes an emission-only colorimeter with ambient measurement capabilities and intuitive software. Designed with the same advanced optical color sensors as the i1Display product family, hueyPRO's optical sensors provide the same accurate on-screen color that used to only be available to professionals, PLUS automatically measures the ambient light within a room for precision calibration. Even after the calibration process, hueyPRO will observe the light falling on the display and apply your personal preferences for viewing accuracy, any time of day. hueyPRO INCLUDES hueyPRO colorimeter with USB power cord, hueyPRO device cradle, hueyPRO profiling software and Quick Start Guide. hueyPRO's increased color accuracy combined with the ability to calibrate multiple monitors delivers the solution you need to accurately view your images. With its customizable white point and gamma combinations, enhanced LCD calibration and Advanced Help, the hueyPRO is the answer to your color needs.

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