COLOR ACCURACY & IMAGE QUALITY

We believe color accuracy and image reproduction are the #1 priority when it comes to being a professional fine art photo lab and see it being one of the biggest misunderstood elements of information in printing given to photographers today.

REASONS WHY YOU NEED A COLOR CALIBRATION DEVICE

Monitors display color differently and change over time – you need to regularly calibrate to ensure consistency at all times even on a brand new display. 

Your eyes aren’t perfect – you need a color measurement tool to ensure accuracy Image colors are not true to life on your display – you need to calibrate if your skin tones are off, whites aren’t pure or there is a color cast. 

Highlights and shadow details are lost – calibrating will bring back the details in your photographs. 
Grays and whites aren’t consistent causing shift in color hue – calibration produces neutral grays and whites. 

A calibrated monitor will reduce your photo editing time and you’ll consistently be able to match your prints to your monitor.

Suggested Calibration Devices

Setting Your Calibration Device 

Simply start the software wizard along with setting your target white point and gamma settings.
Suggested Settings:
Target White Point: D65 (6500k)
Gamma Settings: 2.2
Luminance Level: 120
 
Please be aware of the following:
During the calibration process the software may ask you to lower or raise your brightness levels manually. Once you have adjusted the display within the acceptable range let the system continue the calibration. You may find your screen seems dim based on the level range it has requested, this is however correct and not an error. Also do not adjust your screen brightness level at any point after this process as the entire calibration is based on the brightness that has been set. 

Setting The Embedded Color Profile

The other key element to ensuring accurate color is to make sure you're embedding a color profile within your file. If a color profile is missing from within your image the results can be drastically different due to how printing systems interpret files. We require all files submitted to be embedded with the sRGB color profile otherwise known as sRGB IEC61966-2.1

Adobe Photoshop Settings

  • Open Adobe Photoshop
  • Select Edit At The Top Of Your Screen
  • Select Color Settings
  • Within The Color Management Policies Area Select The RGB Drop Down Menu
  • Change To Working RGB (we also suggest unselecting the "Ask When Opening Option" within profile mismatches) 
  • Saving Your Edited Images For Print

Saving Your Edited Images For Print

The final key element in achieving accurate color is embedding the color profile within the image at the time of saving it. When the dialog box opens to save an image within photoshop or Lightroom you will need to make sure the "Embed Color Profile" checkbox is selected. Without this selected the image we print could be way off base from what you intended.

Matching Print Results With Your Monitor

When viewing print results it's important to know that your current lighting conditions can and will create visual color differences when matching a print with your monitor. In order to properly view prints near your display the standard lighting environment white balance is 5000k. Be sure to visit your local Home Depot or Lowes to find bulbs with the correct white balance.