building a desktop viewer for prints

[denada]

hi. anyone know of online plans for one of these or have a few general pointers? i'd buy the one below but the price tag seems a little stupid.

GTI Desktop Print Viewer, PDV-1E - 11.7 x 16.3" PDV-1E B&H

i can find a d50 bulb in t8 size for $40. can i buy a t8 light fixture from a hardware store, build a box/apparatus, paint the inside white, and be good to go? or is there something i'm missing?

i did some googling before asking. lots of people say they are not necessary and view the prints in the light they will be displayed in. that's not an option for me; i print in a dark office and usually work at night.

thanks!

 

[chris]

That viewer looks as though it is for for tasks such as accurate colour matching of samples under a standard environment. Why not try a daylight bulb in a desk lamp or similar fitting or a craft lamp with daylight illumination (I believe that they are sold for needlework etc). Whatever you use you will have to try to reproduce the light under which they are to be viewed for the best results.

 

[denada]

^absurd price, right? yes, too expensive so i want to build one. original post explains why i need the light versus a window. it sounds like these d50 bulbs are the ones to use. so before ordering the bulb online and going to the hardware store for the rest of the parts, i want to make sure it's that simple. and also check if anyone knows of plans or has pointers for building the box before i create my own. given that it's so expensive for a florescent light box, i bet i'm not the first to make a diy model.

 

[denada]

i appreciate all the suggestions. that one booth looks really nice. it’s expensive because of that light system, but people on google rave about those lights.

i should mention that my primary concern is getting the brightness of my prints correct. that is giving me far more trouble than accurate color. whether it looks like i got it right varies by what light source i hold it under and how close to that source. so i’m after a consistent.

i’m hoping either a purchased or built desktop viewer will solve this problem. but if anyone with lots of print knowledge knows i’m not pursuing the right solution, i welcome suggested alternate direction.

chris, i am currently using a desk lamp. the problem with that is it does not evenly distribute light and i can’t determine how far i should hold the print from the lamp to replicate the brightness in which the print would be viewed on a gallery or home wall.

edit:
actually i can’t get the color right either. anyone know a good source, online or in print to help figure out printing? calibrating my monitor with colormunki display, and then picking your printer and paper in photoshop soft proof does not come even close to lining up my monitor and printer. would colormunki photo do it? or if i use a send away service to get a few custom profiles will my colormunki display cut it?

 

[denada]

With repsect, i feel your problems are rooted in over-analysis-paralysis.

without question. but i have a little more work to do before i can compromise and say the system is good enough.

could someone recommend a book or two on printing for me, please? i have limited internet so something i could get from library would be ideal.

 

[smoke665]

Just a thought, but have you looked at building something with recessed LED (can lights). They come in a wide range of color temperatures. Wouldn't be hard to wire a dimmer in to adjust the brightness, and there are several that have gimbals that allow you to aim the light.

 

[denada]

still haven't gotten around to this but i've improved my prints many fold by selecting, for printer profile, adobe rgb 1998 instead of epson's supplied paper profiles.

all the paper type i inform ps of is in the print settings > media quality > paper type. where you pick matte, glossy, semi-, etc.

wanted to share for anyone struggling to make the print look like the screen with epson printers. i have the p6000.

 

[smoke665]

I may have missed it but are you soft proofing to your selected profile before sending it to the printer? I've started using sRGB IEC 61966-2-1:1999, as my go to for general soft proofing. If I'm sending the images out for printing I use the labs profile to soft proof.

I have an older inkjet but I didn't really use it enough to keep the ink from drying up. However, its my understanding that if you have a photo with colors that fall outside the sRGB range that are important to render accurately, and you have an ink-jet printer that can render them, Adobe '98 is a better choice than sRGB and supposedly ProPhoto, is even better.

 

[denada]

i didn't get much out of soft proofing but i didn't fully look it in the eye. most of the time my response was "my print wouldn't look like that on a paper plate or piece of tinfoil."

i'll repeat, the biggest improvement for me has been forgetting about all those stupid paper profiles. instead pick "adobe rgb 1998." do NOT pick whatever paper you are using like "epson cold press bright." then pick the paper type in print settings > media quality > paper type. "matte" in this situation.

maybe someone much more experienced is gonna come by and read that and have a whatthefuck reaction, but it's made my prints look more like the screen, so.

 

[smoke665]

i'll repeat, the biggest improvement for me has been forgetting about all those stupid paper profiles. instead pick "adobe rgb 1998.

Actually that somewhat confirms what I said in the last sentence of my post above. You biggest issue might be in "how" you view prints vs how you view a screen image. Screen image are lit from behind while prints are dependent on reflected light. That's why paper type or texture makes such a difference. IE: viewing a print under incandescent lights, vs in shade with natural light vs daylight LED. All will affect how you perceive the print.