Accurate colour profiling for all - from Monaco
Monaco Systems, a part of the X-Rite Inc. group of companies, continues to push through both the accuracy and price barriers when it comes to ICC profiling of devices.
Consider this: you can pay up to $5,000+ for a ‘graphics quality’ calibrated monitor/display, or you can keep the one you have and, for $450 + GST take complete control over its ICC profiling. Additionally, all the other monitors on which you view colour can be profiled.
“Costly factory-calibrated monitors are an uneccessary expense for the majority,” says David Mulligan, managing director of ColoRite Equipment, (pictured) exclusive Australia/New Zealand distributor for X-Rite Inc. “An original Apple cinema display, and most CRT monitors, are capable of 16.7 million colours, and the human eye can only perceive around 10 million at most. Offset printing is lucky if it renders 6,000 colours.
"Unless we are selling to aliens with extra-sensory colour perception beyond 400nm-700nm, what’s the point of pricey wide-gamut monitors? With the $450 +GST MonacoOPTIXXR monitor calibration package, virtually all monitors can be accurately ICC profiled, both inside and outside of the CMYK printing gamut. With the $630 + GST Pro version, two or more monitors can be matched to each other, ICC profiles can be edited for special applications such as Hexachrome or photographic output, and Delta E differentials can be compared to reference values for fine-tuning colour and recording display colour performance over time.”
“Furthermore,” adds Mulligan, “MonacoOPTIXXR profiling and calibration takes into account the effects of ambient room lighting, making colour viewed on-screen a true representation of the target hard copy output. Apple’s 23” LCD cinema display – diagonally 2” bigger than a standard 21” monitor - is probably Australia’s most widely-used screen for colour-critical graphics work. By using MonacoOPTIXXR to profile and calibrate this and other monitors, users can be assured of peak colour-matched performance.”
Mulligan emphasizes that all monitors, CRT and LCD can be profiled and calibrated with MonacoOPTIXXR.
ICC PROFILING MADE EASY
Aside from monitors, complete ICC profiling is now an affordable reality for all printers, designers and prepress departments, thanks to the partnering of Monaco Profiler with the X-Rite DTP41 strip-scanning spectrophotometer. The
good news is that the cost of these ‘Ensembles’ represents outstanding value – little more than a stand-alone DTP41. To add even more value – the MonacoOPTIXXR monitor profiling instrument is included in both the ‘PROOF’
(pure CMYK) and ‘PROFILER GOLD’ (management of six colours) versions.
Monaco Profiling Ensembles deliver complete ICC profiling for design, prepress and press customers. Only by profiling every peripheral in a workflow can total colour integrity be assured, and the Monaco PROOF and PROFILER GOLD
ensembles enable quick, easy profiling of monitors, scanners, digital cameras, printers, proofing devices and presses. Anywhere where colour is viewed or reproduced.
The inclusion of a relinearisation feature solves the problem of ‘device drift’ and rebuilds profiles affected by this common phenomenon. Profiles remain editable – an important feature for critical colour. The measuring instrument is the X-Rite DTP-41 series 2 Autoscan Spectrophotometer, a proven performer for fast scanning of colour control targets in strips. Because accurate profiling required the measuring of hundreds of colour patches, it can be very time-consuming with hand-held instruments.
The DTP-41 scans each strip in about 20 seconds, with 5 or 6 strips normally sufficient for the creation of a full ICC profile. It’s a tough and robust instrument widely used all over the world where precise colour management is valued.
Other Monaco products include low-cost software for basic profiling of scanners, printers and digital cameras from as little as $450 + GST. Monaco EZColor is ideal for graphic design studios wanting basic monitor-to-print output colour management and is available in bundles with the Optix measurement instrument.
Monaco DCColor is perfect for professional photographers who have made the transition to digital image capture.
“ICC profiling of each and every device in the production chain is the only way to ensure close colour management,” says Mulligan, “ and Monaco software, when combined with X-Rite spectrophotometers and densitometers, is a fantastic way to achieve accurate profiles at a very low investment cost.”
“Costly factory-calibrated monitors are an uneccessary expense for the majority,” says David Mulligan, managing director of ColoRite Equipment, (pictured) exclusive Australia/New Zealand distributor for X-Rite Inc. “An original Apple cinema display, and most CRT monitors, are capable of 16.7 million colours, and the human eye can only perceive around 10 million at most. Offset printing is lucky if it renders 6,000 colours. 
Mulligan emphasizes that all monitors, CRT and LCD can be profiled and calibrated with MonacoOPTIXXR.
The inclusion of a relinearisation feature solves the problem of ‘device drift’ and rebuilds profiles affected by this common phenomenon. Profiles remain editable – an important feature for critical colour. The measuring instrument is the X-Rite DTP-41 series 2 Autoscan Spectrophotometer, a proven performer for fast scanning of colour control targets in strips. Because accurate profiling required the measuring of hundreds of colour patches, it can be very time-consuming with hand-held instruments.