Digital Prints

Hardware-based profile-generating programs do two things for monitor color: (1) calibrate
your monitor by automatically measuring test patches and adjusting a combination
of the RGB guns and the video board, and (2) create a monitor ICC/ICM profile that
your editing software refers to when displaying images. An ICC display profile contains a
small group of numerical values in table form for the monitor’s brightness, contrast, RGB
gain, and backlight, depending on what exists on a given device, as well as a copy of the
video card corrections (see Figure 4.9). When a display or monitor profile is correctly
stored on your system, any ICC-aware application can use the profile to tweak the onscreen
display and make it more objectively accurate. If you also have a printer profile (see below),
that profile can be added to the mix to adjust the display.
Where is this profile stored? It
varies. For OS X Macs, it’s in any
of several Libraries (System is discouraged,
Root Library is recommended
for universal use, User
Library is for personal use) in the
Profiles folder within the
ColorSync folder, in each case. For
Windows, it’s in the Color
Directory, but that location varies
with the version of the OS.
Because profiling is such a hot
topic, there are lots of companies
competing for your color management dollars. At this writing, the main higher-level, deviceand-software
choices for monitor calibration and profiling are: ColorVision Spyder with
OptiCAL, Monaco OptixXR, and GretagMacbeth Eye-One Display or Eye-One Photo with
Match 2 software. The instruments used by ColorVision, Monaco, and GretagMacbeth
(EyeOne Display) are colorimeters, while the EyeOne Photo device is a spectrophotometer.
CAUTION! Make sure you only use a measuring device made for the type of monitor you have.
Some suction cups can cause problems when used on LCD displays.
Chapter 4 ■ Understanding and Managing Color 131
Figure 4.9 An inside peek at a
monitor profile’s tags as viewed in the
CHROMiX Profile Inspector.
ColorThink courtesy of CHROMiX
X-Rite’s MonacoOPTIXXR
colorimeter for calibrating and
profiling CRT and flat panel displays.
Courtesy of X-Rite, Inc.