Thread

I have just upgraded my Dell 20” monitor to the 2408WFP but am having problems getting the colours to look “right”.

I use a Macbook and a Sony Laptop, and whilst there have always been minor variations between the 3 screens this is quite different. The colours are much too vivid, especially reds and greens.

I have tried adjusting them using the monitor settings and also the calibration tool in Leopard, but I still can’t get close to the laptop screens. The question is which colour is “right”.

I know that colour in website design is an impossible thing to pin down due to all the different monitors and calibrations out there, but surely you need to start from the nearest to normal you can get.

Is the only solution an external calibration device and which one does anyone recommend?

Anyone using a Dell 2408WFP with a Macbook that would like to share the settings they use?

I know what you mean. though I’m using a PC. I have two 3007WFP side by side. I ended up using a high end nVidia video card because, unlike the ATI cards, the geforce have something called digital vibrance in the options. So you can tone down that saturation without losing the accuracy.

if you have a geforce you might look there. It’s going to be your video card that controls the color, not the monitor.

I know that the video card can control the colours but the default setting for the 20 & 24inch produce completely different colours. I have used the Apple calibration application but the colours still seem off.

There is an ICC profile for each, which I thought contained the unique monitor details and corrected any quirks.

The real problem is not knowing what is “normal”. You start to get used to the new vivid colours and then look at another screen and think “that looks dull”.

How do other developer/designers deal with this issue?

ugh, I’ve worked and studied this for years and still don’t have a clear understanding.  I work on a Mac.  If you are not careful in setting things up, there can be a huge color-shift when exporting from Photoshop.  It’s an unacceptable color-shift that can leave your colors looking dull, and in some cases, a matching background on one machine while seeing a noticeable ‘edge’ on another.  I’m not sure if this is something you’re worried about, but here are a few tips when creating web graphics…

- Set your monitor to sRGB IEC61966
- Set Photoshop up to sRGB IEC61966 work space
- Never embed a color profile in your graphics when saving (safari will render sRGB graphics accurately, IE and Firefox, I think, ignore it).

If this fails, read this article and if you can make any sense of it, please post back here with your new found knowledge :cheese:

http://www.gballard.net/psd/saveforwebshift.html

Also, I’ve read hardware color calibrators are only valuable for print design.  One might help you get consistent color across three monitors, but I don’t think it will help with the aforementioned PS Color-shift issue.

here is a different article on the web shift

http://www.viget.com/inspire/the-mysterious-save-for-web-color-shift/

The viget article that vinnyio linked to looks like a great reference. For calibrating, probably something like colormunki. I don’t have one yet, but have used calibration devices from both pantone and x-rite (who make colormunki). Secondly, making sure you leave out the color profiles from the file. Safari does use them, so it will look different than other browsers. Unfortunately, laptop monitors are pretty lame for color accuracy, and the video cards (if they are using dedicated video cards) are not geared towards color accuracy either except in Pro models.

here is a different article on the web shift

http://www.viget.com/inspire/the-mysterious-save-for-web-color-shift/

I was going to dig out the link on that one also.
Having been subscribed to the comments on that thread, it’s just mind boggling all of the questions, answers, advice and otherwise spin on the subject there is.

For a calibration device, maybe just go with a good pair of dice, and give those a roll every now and then, just kidding looks like good advices here so far.

The whole subject gets very scientific, it’s hard to narrow it down to a best practices guide.

It looks like I have opened a whole can of worms.

My initial problem didn’t have Photoshop involved anywhere. I was just having problems with CSS Hex code values looking very different.
But now I also realize why a separate problem I was having with an image edited in Photoshop happened.

I now just need to set aside several days to wade through the 2 links suggested above and the multiple pages linked to by them and…

I am amazed that the web manages to generally look OK in spite of the attempts by Adobe and Apple to throw spanners in the works at every opportunity. I’m sure Microsoft have done something wrong as well, but all the problems I have read about so far involve Apples Gamma and Adobe RGB settings.

Perhaps I should stop using Photoshop on a Mac and go back to my PC and the free image editor Irfanview!

I suppose it could be worse if you do print design and have to worry about pantone color palette picks and accurately representing those specifications. Thank goodness, that’s not in my usual workload.

I suppose it could be worse if you do print design and have to worry about pantone color palette picks and accurately representing those specifications. Thank goodness, that’s not in my usual workload.

😊 and add to that a printer calibration and you got a ‘chicken or the egg’ question to deal with…I hope I never have to print a thing again.

Here is a perspective from a photographer and a quick check tool.

Paul: Feel your pain.

On Photoshop settings, I use Adobe RGB (as I do a lot of print, so need this wider gamut) and keep embedded color space of ProPhoto RGB from Lightroom for photos> I have had no serious problems even when looking at sites on different monitors.

I usually keep from saving as sRGB, but when it comes to PNG it’s all a matter of preference. Sometimes it looks fine sometimes it’s not depending on the hue. I just keep clicking convert to sRGB on and off to see what’s happening.

I purchased ColorMunki Design a few weeks back as I was having serious colour issues. Had used xRite products before but I am very pleased with the Munki. I do think that it makes the display look very dark when calibrated though on a MAC even when using different white points and gamma.

Actually, when I think about it… ahhhhhhh to the whole thing.  I really think it can be the most frustrating subject. I don’t think there is any true ideal, but we can do our best.

Just profiled my printer and that’s a whole different subject!

Here is a perspective from a photographer and a quick check tool.

lebisol: That’s an interesting link, cheers.