Monitor Calibration for new iMac Pro

Advice needed on best monitor calibration for new iMac Pro. Ive read the display looks very good to a few video professionals with the default Apple calibration. I am suspect of this advice, but it does look pretty good and when next to my old Apple LED Cinema Display (which is calibrated with Xrite ColorMunki) it reveals a strong cyan cast on the LED Display (with medium gray backgrounds on both). Im afraid to calibrate the iMac Pro with the Xrite ColorMunki because I think it would make it less accurate. Possibly the ColorMunki is old? Its updated, but does it even work?

Setup is iMac Pro (5k Retina) & 2nd monitor is my old LED Cinema Display. I dont want to buy a 2nd 4/5K monitor right now as Im unhappy with some scaling (Adobe, etc.) on the high resolution displays. Plus Im out of $$ (as you could understand).

Any current monitor calibration advice? Thanks, Carol

Carol,

Not an expert here! Did a little internet searching and found a couple of things you may want to use to develop a little more understanding and confidence in the color calibrations:

https://www.color-management-guide.com/calibrate-imac-apple-display-mac.html

and

http://support.xritephoto.eu/mavericks/

I think you are correct to proceed with care in doing this calibration, but you'll get there after expending some energy and time (isn't it always so?)

Hope these help,

Tom

Thanks Tom! Ill read the data in the links. Probably tomorrow after sleep 🙂

Additional info via Facebook: Jason Bradley suggested I update my ColorMunki Photo to ColorMunki Display. Ive also got an inquiry in to Xrite regarding compatibility with High Sierra and if ColorMunki Display or i1DisplayPro is more compatible. Ill post answers.

Thanks for any info ! Carol

I use an older but still working well i1 for calibrating my MacBook pro. Seems fine, prints match the monitor.

Bill

Jason Bradley shared link about the differences in Xrites ColorMunki Display and i1Display Pro. Informative. The i1Display is tempting & the video presets may be useful but the more complex software may not perform well on High Sierra. Ill wait fior Xrites answer.

My ColorMunki Photo that I purchased in 2008 may have worn out. It used to work amazingly well but its 10 years old now, likely needs replacement.

... Here's a blog post that goes into more detail....

http://blog.xritephoto.com/2012/11/colormunki-display-or-i1display-pro/#sthash.OVtPmGgM.dpbs

I have the XRite ColorMunki Smile, which was quite inexpensive and works very well.

I think the advice you are reading about default calibrations is wrong. No monitor can be ideal "out of the box" because its physical position (how the light falls on it, viewing angle etc.) affect the way to looks. If you are to get accurate color rendition, it will need calibration.

As far as I know, calibration devices do not "wear out." Upgraded software or operating systems may render them obsolete, but if so, they will simply cease to work. If it is providing a profile, it is working...

Adam

Success! Screens look amazing! And no extra money spent! Wow!!!

All, Xrite is a great company! Instead of telling me to buy a new device they sent me a link to new software for a related device that still works with my existing device & is better in High Sierra. My iMac Pro screen looks amazing! And the older Apple LED Cinema looks so much better! Im sold on Xrite! Heres a portion of their response:

Case Subject: Product Support

Product:

Dear Carol,

In an effort to resolve your support Case, the following comment has been added. Please review this comment, and respond as indicated.

Comment: Your Color Munki Photo should work fine with your new computer. I am however going to have you install our i1 Studio software which works much better with High Sierra versus the Color Munki Photo software. I will also include the link for our training videos for this software.

Excellent, glad it worked out.

I've been using an i1 on my 2015 5k iMac + old Apple 30" cinema display (matte screen). I've found using the largest number of 'patches' in the calibration process to be much more accurate than the default.

Even after calibration, I do find the old matte Apple Cinema display to be far more precise regarding the final print. This is primarily due to the contrast difference between the two screens. The new glossy displays 'pop' way too much.

Cheers,

Chris

Thanks Chris! Ill look into the option of using more color patches, right now I think its sampling around 143? give or take...

Yes, I too had (have) one of those Apple Cinema matte LCD screens. Not the 30 but smaller. Early in it developed a permanent pink cast which was a problem in many of those monitors. That along with dead pixels relegated it to be only my 2nd monitor in 2012. I used it next to the Apple LED Cinema I use now as my 2nd monitor. Yes, the matte is better sometimes. For me it was not. Surprisingly fior me, even though I didnt really like the glossy display, I found it was more accurate as far as judging brightness and saturation goes. I was always just a bit too saturated with the matte Cinema. With the glossy display I was able to judge editing better and my Epson prints and online prints were more accurate than with the matte Cinema Display. Of course that surprised me but possibly my matte LCD Cinema was always a little defective despite Xrite calibration?

So for the time being its working out, especially with the i1Studio calibration. I too dont like the glossy displays always but the iMacPro screen seems less overpowering to me? I suppose an Ezio monitor might be better but with newer Mac OSs getting so persnickety I feel more comfortable with Apple displays for now. There is that LaCie display Aople got them to make but I dont want to sink $$$$ into another 4/5k monitor now until scaling and viewing options get more standard and easier to read and view across the board.

Thanks Chris! Good luck with your 30 Cinema. These were impressive monitors! Carol

Calibration is not about how it looks to you on your screen, though it can help with that. It is about matching your screen to a standard so it looks as close as possible on your screen and any other calibrated screen. If you are printing you have a known standard to base it upon so that printer profiles will accurately match when you print.

As I understand it color calibration devices do wear out, my i1 pro suddenly made my screen look too magenta (I had not calibrated for a year or two) , the sudden change is what alerted me. If you look at the device you'll see 4 small holes and in each of these is a colour filter placed over a photo diode. It measures the apparent brightness through each filter to measure each colour patch. Older and cheaper devices use dye based filters which fade over time and if they have faded they are no longer accurate. It is also possible the photodiode sensitivity may drift which would cause a similar problem.

Newer and better quality devices use dichroic filters which are less susceptible to fading and should last longer. I now have the new i1 display which has these new filters so should last longer.

The issue with monitors not matching prints is an ongoing issue. It comes down to the fact the monitor is backlit and the paper is frontlt, the contrast range the monitor is capable of is much greater than the what any printed image is capable of. One solution suggested is to have different profiles you can load, one set with a lower contrast ratio like 200:1 and turn that on when you are soft proofing prior to printing: Here is a guide that explains this for monitors with direct hardware calibration: https://imagescience.com.au/knowledge/how-to-calibrate-an-nec-monitor-with-spectraview-2

This is likely the reason you are getting a better match with the glossy screen, the bold image it shows pushes you to pull back on the image before printing it.