Benefits

As the eyes are the window to the soul your monitor is the window to your files. Working digitally it is essential to have an accurate and reliable view of the information in the file. Without that you are making file changes based on incorrect information.

If you could correct only one piece of equipment in your workflow, it would have to be your monitor. Think about it. Consciously or subconsciously, you assess every image that passes though your monitor. Some images will be discarded, some you will edit. And those decisions will be based solely on what you see on screen. If you are not getting an accurate preview of the file, how can you make an informed call about how to treat it?

Profiling a monitor is a relatively simple process involving some software and a device (either a colorimeter or a spectrophotometer) to read in values from your screen. The profile is installed into the system area of your hard disk and is used by programs like Photoshop and Illustrator to accurately display the content of a file.

Once you have determined that your display output is correct, you can then make assessments on the rest of your equipment. You’ll be able to tell if you printer is delivering the goods, whether your scanner is on track, even whether your lab’s printer is accurate.

We recommend…
You should give serious consideration to buying the equipment to calibrate your monitor. Knowing that you are assessing your images accurately is something that is going to give you piece of mind. We would recommend that you have a colour management professional show you the ropes the first time – there is a lot more to it than you might imagine