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Step 1.
Calibrate Your Monitor Display.
It’s a fact : out of
the box, the color on your display is not as
accurate as you think. Shadow details are lost,
whites appear too cool or too warm. Prints
aren’t even close to the screen. And the color
varies from one monitor to the next (like the
various TVs in an electronics store).You need
to take control of your display since it’s the
only place to view your digital data in its
native form!
This may be the most
important of all the steps involved. This step
does require you to purchase a combination of
hardware and software. We use the X-Rite brand
of devices here at HS. (Download
product pdf here) Monitor calibration
products can range from $180 to over $1000. If
you don’t have anything at the moment, then even
the entry level device is going to provide you
with better results.
You also need to
make sure that your monitor will allow you to
individually adjust your color for Red, Green,
Blue, Brightness, and Contrast values.
The main purpose for
calibrating your monitor is to create a profile
which will allow your monitor to display colors
accurately within a certain color temperature and gamma
setting. Most calibration software programs will
start by asking you what your target values for
Color Temperature and Gamma need to be. Here are
the suggested target values for most all
photographic printing.
The target value for
color temperature is: 6500k
The target value for
gamma is: 2.2
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