ColorThink as Art

We always love to see how our software is used in your work.   I was browsing the website for Eizo displays and was surprised to find a screenshot of our ColorThink Pro software among the scrolling slides on their homepage. 

https://www.eizo.com/home/#

Evidently a marketing person at Eizo is making use of the beauty of these colorful 3D gamuts as seen in the ColorThink Pro 3D Grapher.  Sometimes we forget how beautiful color is!

JVH Digital Festival coming in October

If you are in the State of Washington in early October, make plans on coming to the:

JVH Digital Festival

October 3, 2019
Bellevue Washington

The Harrington family are a top-notch dealer for large format inkjet printers in the local Seattle market.  They are generously hosting this free educational event for their customers and anyone who is interested in learning more about printing, photography and color management.  Pat Herold of CHROMiX will be one of the speakers, teaching a beginner's session on color management. 

The JVH festivals are always fun, worthwhile events - packed with practical information for the small photography or printing business.   If you are in Washington, you don't want to miss this!

You can even enter your printed artwork or photography in the print contest.

The event is free, but please contact them to register ahead of time. 

http://www.jvhtech.com/festival.php

CHROMiX on NEC Google+ hangout

Hey everyone… I just spent an hour discussing color management on the NEC Google+ hangout panel. It was a live discussion and a YouTube video recording is available at NEC Google+ hangout discussion. Check it out!

NEC PA2 Displays

We have posted new reviews of the latest generation of NEC displays for high end color work.  The PA242W, PA272W, and PA302W make use of LED's in their backlighting.  

The use of LED's makes for some notable improvements, such as an even larger color gamut than before, more consistency between monitors, better white point rendering, lower power consumption.  Check them out:

•  PA242W Review  24 inch
•  PA272W Review  27 inch
•  PA302W Review  30 inch

 

Eizo profiles iPads

I just discovered that Eizo has added a procedure for profiling tablet displays, phones, etc. to their new ColorNavigator software.  They call it Media Emulation.  ColorNavigator is the free profiling software that works with their higher-end monitors like the "CG" series. With this feature, you can choose an option for "Create ICC profile for tablet/display device..." and the software will send a series of color patches to a web site that your tablet can access. As you place your measurement instrument on the portable display, ColorNavigator will read the colors and create an ICC profile.

Now you have a means of profiling these displays even though you cannot connect a USB measurement device directly to them! You can use the resulting profile to "soft-proof" what your images will look like when they are viewed on these displays. Available on the latest version of ColorNavigator (version 6.1.1).

Datacolor announces the Spyder4

Just when you think X-Rite has cornered the market on display calibrators with its new i1 Display Pro, here comes Datacolor with a new Spyder4!

This new device has 7 color sensors instead of the the usual 3.  The software has added capability to do uniformity testing, better matching of multiple monitors, and they will be providing some means of correcting color on an iPhone/iPad.


I'll be looking forward to testing this in the future.

http://download.datacolor.eu/newsletter/2012-01-05-US/

Munki confusion

Since X-Rite has come out with a new model of colorimeter for calibrating monitors, I just know this is going to confuse people, so I thought I'd explain things. Internally, X-Rite refers to the device as the "i1D3" to reflect how it is intended to replace the i1 Display 2. But this single device comes in two different models:

1. - i1 Display Pro
2. - ColorMunki Display

The i1Display Pro is nothing like the "i1 Pro" - and -

The ColorMunki Display is nothing like the "ColorMunki"

The i1Pro instrument is a well-known spectrophotometer, and can be used to make printer profiles as well as monitor profiles. Let's try not to talk about the "i1 Pro" when we really mean the i1 Display Pro.

Also, the ColorMunki display is an entirely different device from what most people refer to as a ColorMunki device - which is a low-end spectrophotometer for calibrating displays and printers.

The i1Display Pro and the ColorMunki Display are identical in form, but the basic difference is that the i1Display Pro is faster and more expensive, and the ColorMunki Display is slower and costs less. http://blog.chromix.com/2011/06/x-rites-i1display-pro-colormunki.html

Lion bites ICC profiles

With the release of Apple's new OS X Lion operating system (10.7), there is a new twist that affects those who use ICC profiles. If you have trouble finding your ICC profiles, it is because the users' Library folder is hidden in the new OS. On the Mac, most ICC profiles are stored in ColorSync/Profiles folders, either in the username/Library/ColorSync/profiles, or the HD/Library/ColorSync/Profiles folders. Any software that relies on being able to access and write to the user's folder is going to have trouble with Lion. For example, several monitor calibration applications are able to save any monitor profile they make, but then will not accurately reflect the new profile as being in place as the system profile. Most of these vendors are scrambling to get a new version of their software out to take care of this situation. In the meantime, you can generally get into the settings area of your app and tell it to save your profiles elsewhere - in the HD/Library... location for example.

To access the user's Profiles folders directly under Lion, hold down the alt/option button on the keyboard while you navigate to Go in the main Finder menu. This will make the username/Library folder visible.

X-Rite's i1Display Pro & ColorMunki Display - NEW

X-Rite has just announced two new monitor calibration products called the i1Display Pro and the ColorMunki Display. i1Display Pro is geared for those who want pro-level functions and control, and ColorMunki towards those who want easy of use. The i1Display Pro uses i1Profiler software, and Color Munki Display uses ColorMunki software.

Based on CHROMiX tests of the i1Display Pro, the results are very good (especially compared to the i1Display 2 product). Expect a review in the near future from CHROMiX.

Both i1Display Pro and ColorMunki Display products should be a welcome new addition to the market. Both are based on a new colorimeter device with a new optical system and with a new filtering technology. Both have a new, intelligent and innovative form factor.

Main features included for both products are emissive measurement, ambient light measurement and sensing controls, flare compensation, iterative profiling, and automatic display control (ADC).

The i1Display Pro is faster (5x) than the ColorMunki Display and the i1Display2 and includes a Display Quality Assurance verification, and a Display Uniformity Test.


CHROMiX beta-tested the i1Display Pro for X-Rite and found it to be a superb product, especially for the price point. We're not sure yet about ship date, but expect August 2011.

The i1Display Pro is expected to be street priced around ~$250 and the ColorMunki Display around ~$175. CHROMiX will be selling both units at competitive prices. And until September 30, 2011... you can trade in an old device and receive up to $40 for an i1Display Pro and $25 for a ColorMunki Display.

Rebate form

Main product information PDF

To buy at CHROMiX: i1Display Pro or ColorMunki Display

Can speakers ruin a monitor?

If you have speakers sitting on your desktop, next to your computer screen, can they damage your monitor or affect its color?

The thought is that audio speakers have magnets in them, and these magnets if they are too big or unshielded can have an immediate effect on the color of a monitor that uses magnetic fields. Colors and shapes will be bent into strange patterns near the location of the magnet. Sounds scary, doesn't it?!

While there is a measure of truth to this rumor, here are a few points to keep in mind:

• This problem only effects CRT displays, not the modern LCD which uses a completely different technology.
• This only happens when the speaker has a big enough magnet and is close enough to effect the CRT.
• You can tell immediately if this distortion is taking place, and remove the speaker from the proximity of the display.
• If you notice any lasting effects of this magnetic interference, you can run your CRT through its "de-gaussing" routine, and it should come back to normal (newer CRTs run a degauss every time they are turned on.)
  

Eizo CG243W review

This review is long overdue. I had a chance to test drive this display a few months ago, and have just gotten around to writing up my findings. I am amazed at what I had been hiding for several months! In comparing its profiles with other monitors I have reviewed, the CG243 has the largest gamut of all of them. I am astonished (and embarrassed) that it's taken me so long to bring this out.

http://www.colorwiki.com/wiki/Eizo_CG243W_review

New ColorEdge CG275W automatic self-calibrating

The ColorEdge CG275W is the first 27" hi-end professional model to include automatic self-calibration. Like the CG245W (released in 2010), the CG275W also has a built-in sensor that can be scheduled at any time at any calibration interval. No doubt that the CG275W will set the new standard for high end color accuracy.

There is no pricing yet. The CG275W is projected to arrive June or July this year.

Features include:

• Factory adjustment of gamma produces the most consistently accurate gradations possible
• Highly accurate Built-In Calibration Sensor built into lower bezel
• Allows correlation with 3rd party sensors for device standardization
• 3D-LUT memory for better additive color mixture and secondary device simulations
• 10-bit display allows the monitor to show 1.07 billion colors simultaneously from a 16-bit look-up table (LUT), when used with a graphics board and software which support 10-bit output.
• Digital Uniformity Equalizer (DUE) compensates for fluctuations in brightness and chroma uniformity that are characteristic of LCD panels.
• EIZO-patented technology stabilizes the brightness after start up or coming out of sleep mode.
• Integrated sensor counteracts the influence that changes in ambient temperature have on the display of color tones.
• DVI-D, DisplayPort, and Mini DisplayPort inputs.
• IPS (in-plane switching) LCD panel with 2560 × 1440 native resolution
• 850:1, 6 ms gray-to-gray response time and 178° viewing angles.
• Wide color gamut reproduces 97% of the Adobe RGB color space, 102% vs NTSC
• ~$200 CG monitor hood included
• 5 Year Eizo Warranty

....and more


And yes, CHROMiX will carry the CG275W, and all other CG and SX models at competitive prices.

New 27" FlexScan LCD from Eizo!

To address the need for larger screen sizes, Eizo has recently announced a new 27" LCD monitor:

The FlexScan SX2762W, ideal for cost conscience color professionals.

The FlexScan SX2762W will appeal to many users for its competitive price point (guessing around $1200-$1500). Although it has many great features (see below), the SX2762W and other SX models will be the first non-CG series to have the ability to be monitor-hardware calibrated.

Monitor-hardware calibration allows the monitor itself to be internally calibrated rather than the computer’s video graphics board. This ensures no color tones are lost in the calibration process and results in more predictable on-screen color. Required for this will be the new EIZO EasyPIX Ver. 2 color matching tool. Easy PIX Ver. 2 includes software and the EIZO EX1 color sensor.

Features include:

• Wide color gamut reproduces 97% of the Adobe RGB color space.
• 10-bit display allows the monitor to show 1.07 billion colors simultaneously from a 16-bit look-up table (LUT), when used with a graphics board and software which support 10-bit output.
• Digital Uniformity Equalizer (DUE) compensates for fluctuations in brightness and chroma uniformity that are characteristic of LCD panels.
• EIZO-patented technology stabilizes the brightness after start up or coming out of sleep mode.
• Integrated sensor counteracts the influence that changes in ambient temperature have on the display of color tones.
• DVI-D, DisplayPort, and Mini DisplayPort inputs.
• IPS (in-plane switching) LCD panel with 2560 × 1440 native resolution
• 850:1, 6 ms gray-to-gray response time and 178° viewing angles.

....and more


And yes, CHROMiX will carry the SX2762W as well as all other CG and SX models at competitive prices.

Monitor reviews NEC PA241W & PA271W

I have just completed extensive reviews of two new displays from NEC: the PA241W and PA271W. Link to these reviews here:
PA241W review
PA271W review

While there are many places to get monitor reviews on the internet, these are mainly aimed toward the "gaming" crowd. At CHROMiX, most of our customers are professional & semi-professional photographers and other high end color specialists with a unique set of requirements for displays. Our reviews include:

• analysis of size and shape of color gamut,
• how consistent the color is across the screen,
• calibration options,
• analysis of the display when calibrated to the requirements of a photographer (which is usually much lower in brightness than other purposes.)

We write up reviews which are intended to answer the questions our customers will have, so I hope you will find them useful. Browse the ColorWiki for other reviews as well. We have articles that range from products to technology to techniques, and we add more whenever we come across something new. Look for the "Tools" section.

10-bit color resolution for display

Eizo has given out procedures that document the ability to get a continuous 10-bit output from Photoshop through to their displays. It has taken several years for the various hardware and software players to develop this capability. The last link in the chain has been the graphics card manufacturers, but it looks like there are a few graphics cards that can now support 10-bit color - on Mac and Windows.

We've started to hear reports around the industry that people are actually making this work.

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/accessories/10bit.shtml

http://www.imagescience.com.au/kb/questions/152/10+Bit+Output+Support

I would not rush out and change your whole workflow over to this just yet. You know what they say about the cutting edge of technology often becoming the bleeding edge. Just the same, it's nice to see that we can do this now.

Monitor hoods for everyone!

The trouble with being in a business for so long, is that you start to think you've said everything already - so everybody should know it by now. The reality is that new people are coming into the color business all the time and some things we thought were well understood are not talked about much anymore.

In this vein I'm surprised at the number of color people I've run into lately who don't use a hood on their display. Maybe no one ever told you, but that overhead ambient light shining down in your room will cast its light on your screen and wash out the colors, especially wash out your blacks. You would be amazed to see how much contrast is lost because your shadows are all washed out by the ambient light shining directly on the screen. Put a hood on there, and your display will instantly have more "pop." Any kind of hood to prevent direct overhead light from falling on the screen would be good. It does not have to be terribly expensive; all it has to do is 1) be light, and 2) block light.

Now you have no more excuses! Here's a link to simple, do-it-yourself monitor hood creation instructions that will cost you about $10 at your local craft supply store.

http://www.photo-facts.com/A-Z/M/monitorhood.html