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DADDY BOB'S COMPUTER Q & A
April 25, 2010
Q.
When I print a photo, the printout colors do
not look like the colors on the screen. How
can I fix things so what I see on the screen
is what I get in the printout?
A.
I suspect that you monitor needs
calibrating. There are many different
monitors and they can have a multiple of
settings which change the appearance.
Windows 7 has a built in color calibrator,
but previous versions of Windows do not. For
those you will need to use a third party
calibrator and/or the installed graphics
card's software.
Basic
instructions to calibrate a monitor can be
found
HERE,
and a calibration tool can be found
HERE.
These will work on most monitors
including the older CRT types. Some
knowledge of the monitor's controls is
required as there are adjustments of the
brightness and contrast needed.
Another
setting called "gamma" can usually be made
from within graphics software. Gamma is
technically defined as, "The name of a
nonlinear operation used to code and decode
luminance or tristimulus values in video or
still image systems." In more layman
terms as it relates to a computer's monitor,
Gamma describes the relationship between the
digital input value and the intensity of the
light that's emitted from the display.
Most
computer graphics offer some color and gamma
calibration, but as these differ with each
card, so I won't go into these here.
However, should be able to find these
controls in the Control Panel under the
graphic's icon.
Windows 7
has a built in color calibrator. NOTE: You
will be given a chance at the end of the
settings to accept the changes or revert
back to what they were before you made any
changes. So, don't be afraid to experiment.
To access
the Color Calibrator, click the Start Orb
and enter Calibrate. Depending on the
programs you have installed and the video
card you are using you will get several
items. One of them should be "Calibrate
display color". Click on it and the color
calibrator will open displaying a message
about calibrating your display. Click on
Next in the lower right of the screen.
The next
screen tells you how to set things on the
monitor. However, if you cannot figure out
how to do this, click Next to skip this
part. The next screen explains how the gamma
settings work and gives you an three
examples of how it may look. Too low, too
high, or good. Click Next to get to the
gamma adjusting screen.
Move the
slider up or down until you get a display as
close to the Good setting of the previous
screen. When you are satisfied, click
Next.
The next
setting requires that you make manual
changes to the brightness and contrast on
the monitor. These are important, but you
are given the opportunity to skip these if
you cannot figure out how to do it. I
suggest that even if you don't make any
change to the brightness or contrast that
you proceed to see how close your settings
are to what is desired. Click Next.
Brightness comes first, and you are again
given samples of too dark, too light and
good. Click Next. You should be able to
distinguish the shirt from the suit while
the X is barely visible in the background.
If these can be seen, your brightness is
good. Click Next.
The next
screen is for the contrast, and as before
you are given examples of Not enough, Too
much or good contrast. Click Next. Here you
should set your contrast as high as possible
without losing the wrinkles or buttons on
the shirt. When satisfied, click Next.
The next
screen sets the shades of gray without color
being visible. You are given examples of
many different possible settings along with
the desired one at the top. Click Next. Move
the three color sliders as required to
remove all color from the display. Click OK
when there is as little color as possible
shown in the grays.
Now you
are given the choice to view the changes or
revisions and compare them. Choose the one
you want to keep, check the box in front of
Start the Clear Type tuner if not already
clicked, and click on Finish. That will
close the color calibrator and open the
Clear Type tuner. Click to turn on Clear
type and click Next.
The first
thing that takes place is a check to see if
you have your monitor set at its native
resolution. This is not normally required
for a CRT, but almost all flat panel
monitors have a native resolution that
displays things at their best. It is
recommended that this native resolution be
used unless it makes the text too small for
you to view it comfortably. Click Next.
You will
now be given four sets of text displays and
you are to select the ones that look best to
you. After selecting each one, click Next to
get to the next group. Click Finish
after setting the last group and your
monitor should now be properly calibrated.
Try
printing a color photo and compare the
colors from it to how it is displayed on
your monitor. This color calibration process
can be repeated as often as desired until
you get results that satisfy you. |
