Recommendation needed for monitor calibration hardware

I'm looking for a recommendation for decent/okay monitor calibration hardware that doesn't cost thousands.

My purpose is to calibrate an iMac to be used for preparing scanned images for lab prints on e-surface photo paper. (The Mac built-in color sync seems too subjective to me.)

I've looked at the i1Display Pro from x-rite which retails for about $250. It seems good on paper (to a non-photographer) but any user/expert input would be more valuable to me than manufacturer marketing hype.

Also, one of the labs I am looking at recommends calibrating the white point to 5000 degrees for their lab but most of the calibration hardware I've looked at recommend either 6000 or 6500 degrees. Calling all photographers - Help!

Replies

Evan Reinheimer May 17, 2013 at 3:45pm

Good topic. Its extremely important to calibrate your monitor, especially on an iMac. Out of the box iMac color display is overly saturated and bright, thats why they look so good in the store! I use a spyder4pro...I think it was around $150 or so...does a great job.
- Bill McLauchlan > Evan Reinheimer May 17, 2013 at 4:12pm
  
  Evan, I ended up ordering an i1 Display Pro. It was $175 with free shipping on a great deal I got from Amazon. I was amazed by how much the brightness changed after calibration. Then I ordered some test prints from a couple of labs. I should get them next week and am anxious to compare them to the soft proof calibrated screen images.
  - Sarah Pollock > Bill McLauchlan June 10, 2013 at 8:51am
    
    Hi,
    The i1 Display Pro is a good product for your needs. The reason your monitor got darker is that manufacturers often crank up the brightness of their displays from the factory to make them look better than competitors' products. This results in an inevitable darkening when you properly calibrate the display.
    As far as settings to use, please check out my article in Professional Artist Magazine earlier this year (Feb / March 2013) titled "Get the Print You Want: Making Color Management Work for You." This will help you with settings and customizations for your specific needs. Good luck!
    - Bill McLauchlan > Sarah Pollock June 10, 2013 at 11:58am
      
      Thanks for the info Sarah. I'll check out your article.
Jim Parker May 9, 2013 at 6:33pm

I'm probably not the person to ask, since I don't use any hardware to calibrate and do most of my work on my MacBook Pro. You can get close if you keep your viewing conditions the same for each session. Try to keep the ambient light in the viewing area low, with little or no reflections on your screen. If you have a light on your desk, note what kind of bulb. If it's incandescent, I suggest turning it off. Darker is better than lighter in the room.

Let the screen warm up for at least 15 minutes. Then run the calibration routine. Apple's built-in is better than nothing.

The Color Munki Display will do the job; so will the i1 for a bit more money. If you only need to get a monitor profile these will work fine. If you need to build printer profiles, or profile a scanner, you may need to step up to the Pro models. I have an old discontinued puck (don't even know the brand offhand!) that I still use on my Cinema Display. But trust your eyes. If it looks wonky, it probably is.

More info: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/indepth/photography/tips-solutions/moni...

http://www.pantone.com/pages/pantone/category.aspx?ca=2
- Bill McLauchlan > Jim Parker May 10, 2013 at 6:29am
  
  Thanks Jim. With so many choices, I was getting really confused. I've tried eye-balling it with color sync and decided my eyes probably needed some help.