Included Monitor ICC Profile vs Custom Monitor Profile

[RegRoy]

Hi,
What is the limitation of using the manufacturer's ICC profile that comes with a monitor?

Does a hardware based solution simply act to do a much better job of creating a profile for your montior?

Thanks.

 

[usayit]

yes... use a calibration unit for your monitor. For accuracy, the profile is dependent on ambient light and can drift over time.

 

[Garbz]

The problem with manufacturer's ICC profiles is that even if they profile every monitor (they don't) it is not truly representative of what your screen displays. Displays drift, with time, temperature, brightness etc. Creating a custom profile for your monitor even with a cheap colourimeter is better than using the manufacturers. Mind you the provided ICC profiles have their place. If you have a wide gamut monitor and no colourimeter then the ICC profile at least gets you into the ballpark of correct colours which you would otherwise not be able to do.

The same does not apply for printers. Ink colours do not usually change, so if you use a manufacturer supplied ink, the recommended paper, and the driver selects the correct profile you get an almost perfect result. Start playing with other papers and other inks and you're back to square one.