Get that monitor calibrated with MonacoOPTIX !
ColoRite Equipment announces the release of the all-new MonacoOPTIXXR and MonacoOPTIXXR Pro monitor profiling and calibration tools. Under $700 buys you the best monitor colour calibration packages available.
The just-released MonacoOPTIXXR and MonacoOPTIXXR Pro version 2.0 are stand-alone applications used to create, evaluate and modify high quality ICC profiles for colour displays. The product provides users with a powerful yet easy-to-use answer for accurate colour output from CRTs and LCDs, the pivotal part of a colour-managed workflow as this is where the pages are first created.
The ergonomically-designed colorimeter is about the size of a mouse and, together with the software, can be learnt by a designer, printer or prepress operative in just minutes.
Award-winning.
After only 3 months in the US market, in competition with all of other products in the market, MonacoOPTIXXR has been awarded Photo Electronic Imaging (PEI) Magazine’s “Cool2” Award for its Color Management Hardware category, and recognized by PC World Magazine with a “Best Buy” nod for monitor calibration.
MonacoOPTIXXR is a robust profiling package for photographers, graphic artists, and creative professionals. The package includes Monaco’s software and the MonacoOPTIXXR colorimeter
MonacoOPTIXXR PRO edition is designed for the professional. It is ideal for workgroup situations and customers who demand expert levels of control, flexibility, and the highest quality profiles available. This package includes the MonacoOPTIXXR colorimeter and Monaco’s advanced profiling software with workgroup support and expert controls for the highest quality profiles available
MonacoOPTIXXR works with either table or matrix-based profiles. Table-based profiles are more accurate as they measure a larger number of colour patches – 99 vs 35 – and allow for using colormetric or perceptual gamut to better simulate the look and feel of printed output. Matrix profiles may look better on-screen, but might not be ideal for simulating most CMYK printing.
All ICC monitor profiling starts with the White Point. MonacoOPTIXXR offers both standard presets and customizable white-points with both colour temperature and CIE xy coordinates. However, one of the most common mistakes in monitor profiling is to assume that white point is everything. You need to take into account the ambient lighting conditions, as this affects how colours look on screen. MonacoOPTIXXR does this admirably and optimizes the balance between monitor and ambient lighting environment – or colour viewing booth by actually measuring the white point of the ambient lighting.
ICC profiles for multiple monitors connected to a single computer can be created and the software has an option which provides an on-screen reminder of when calibration is due. Perfect for Mac sweatshops!
The move towards LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), monitors, such as the Apple A3 landscape screen, has also presented challenges. LCDs are clusters of little RGB cells, rather than photon-emitting phosphorescent powder blasted by cathode rays in a CRT. Also, previous attempts at instruments for profiling and calibrating LCD monitors have used suction cups, designed for rigid glass CRT monitors. Suction cups should never be used as a means of positioning a colorimeter on an LCD monitor due to the flexibility of the front surfaces of such monitors, which are not as rigid as those of CRTs. Inaccurate readings and even damage to the LCD monitor can result. Only ever use a ‘suspension’ measuring device on an LCD.
Pro version for the professionals.
The Pro version, in addition to the above, provides three further options. The first enables users to check the accuracy of profiles by using the MonacoOPTIXXR colorimeter to measure a succession of screen reference colour patches. The measured values are then compared with known reference values to calculate the DeltaE differentials from the true values together with an average deviation calculated from all the measurements. This test also highlights any colours that are out of gamut on the monitor and there is provision for the operators to enter their own colours for this test.
Secondly, monitor profiles can be adjusted with the Pro version, by varying the gamma curves of the individual RGB channels or all three in combination. This ‘fine tuning’ can be priceless for the demanding studio.
Thirdly, two or more displays attached to a single computer can be matched to each other. This is critical in work-sharing environments. To do this, profiles are examined to identify white and black luminance values which can be matched by all the profiles and then adjusting the profiles to match these common values. It’s a similar process to linearising proofing printers – look for the common values and match everything to them.
Calibrate regularly.
Re-calibration of monitors at regular intervals is a must. Monitors are subject to drift, ageing and power fluctuations and, unlike a hard copy contract proof, will change colour with almost every shut-down and turn-on. Also, if a computer is moved from one part of a room to another, or elsewhere; chances are that the lighting will be different and re-calibration is necessary.The good news is that MonacoOPTIXXR makes re-calibration quick and easy. There is even a ‘trending’ function that allows you to track monitor fluctuations, store them and develop quality parameters from the legacy data.
The start-up menu displays a list of four options to create a profile, to evaluate a profile once created, to edit the calibration curves and to match profiles from multiple monitors connected to the same workstation. Whichever task is chosen, the software ‘Wizard’ takes the user through the process step-by-step and either Normal or Expert mode can be selected. Not quite ‘push-button colour’ but the closest thing you’ll find to it. Novices to colour management using ICC profiles will be pleased at the power in their grasp with MonacoOPTIXXR. It works with either Mac OS-X or in most Windows environments.
Great value.
You would expect an ICC colour profiling package of this caliber to cost thousands of dollars but the really pleasing part of X-Rite’s MonacoOPTIXXR version 2.0 is that the standard version is less than $500 and the Pro version less than $700. This includes the colorimeter instrument and the software – everything you need.
For more ambitious profiling of monitors, scanners and printers, ColoRite Equipment supplies X-Rite’s MonacoPROFILER ‘Gold’ and ‘Platinum’ ensembles, as well as the standard MonacoPROOF ensemble. These bundles offer excellent value indeed and include software, MonacoOPTIXXR monitor profiler and an X-Rite DTP-41 scanning spectrophotometer. The list price is only a few hundred dollars more than a stand-alone DTP-41.
MonacoPROOF is the standard CMYK proofing bundle whilst PROFILER ‘Gold’ provides more sophisticated colour editing tools for spot colour correction. Platinum’ has all facilities and can profile up to eight colour processes. Platinum should be seriously considered by anyone with a seven or eight-colour large format inkjet device as these often have extra red, green, blue or orange inks to extend the gamut. Even the top-of-the line bundle is under $8,000 and must represent the best colour management investment available in the graphic arts today.
X-Rite’s Monaco Platinum Ensemble, when added to a multi-colour inkjet printer such as Epson’s 7600/9600; Canon’s 8200 or HP 30, 130 and 5000 series, turns these machines into contract proofers for a much lower investment than most rival systems. The ability to make and manage your own ICC profiles removes the need for regular service technician call-outs when paper, ink or printer characteristics change. You bring all the expertise in-house and own the profiles you create.
ColoRite Equipment is committed to excellence in educating users to take control of their own colour management needs. The company offers a broad range of solutions, including the renowned X-Rite range of Spectrophotometers and Densitometers. Contact can be made via its website
www.colorite-equipment.com.au
ColoRite Equipment announces the release of the all-new MonacoOPTIXXR and MonacoOPTIXXR Pro monitor profiling and calibration tools. Under $700 buys you the best monitor colour calibration packages available.