Severe calibration issues. HELP!! Long post, sorry.

[Tight Knot]

Hi everyone,

I hope you're all having a great weekend.

I know I shouldn't be using a laptop to edit my images. However, this is what I have, and therefore this is what I have been using. I am currently using an ASUS N550JK w/windows 10 (about 2 1/2 years old), and until recently thought it was color calibrated perfectly. I use the x-rite I1 display to color calibrate and check my calibration monthly.

I did a real estate shoot a few weeks ago for a new realtor, and the client loved my images, but said her boss felt they were too yellow. I, of course told her that it was more than likely that her boss was looking at the images on a non-color calibrated monitor, and mine was perfectly calibrated.
She said fine, and we left it at that. I've never had this complaint before.
I just shot a family shoot last week, and after the client chose the images they wanted printed, I went to my local printer, whom I've never used before (as we've just moved to the State). I always try to give the work to people locally where possible.
Being the first time I went to them, I sat through the printing process with them, to make sure I was happy. The first image they opened on their computer looked terrible. Way too dark and saturated. They told me that they had never color corrected their monitors, and the prints always come out looking like the image on the monitor. Needless to say, I was very skeptical, but felt that I should still give them a chance.
Well, it turns out they were correct. The print looked just as bad as the image on their monitor.
So, I chose a few images to test, re-edited them in PS on their computer, and they printed out beautifully. Perfect color, exposure and sharpness.
Of course, I was very surprised to say the least (and humbled).
I went back and checked the color calibration on my monitor, and it came out exactly as it was set to prior to this new calibration. No change.
My next step was to print the images myself on my Canon Pixma Pro-100. They came out very dark and saturated, but not as bad as the local printer, and almost as sharp.
I then sent the files to WHCC to see how they would come out, and ordered 2 sets of identical prints, one set color corrected by WHCC, and the other exactly as I'd taken to the local printer.
I received the photos back on Friday and was mightily disappointed. The color corrected images printed out perfectly in color, vibrancy and saturation, but printed out VERY soft. Almost blurred. Even worse, the non-color corrected images printed out terribly, way too dark and saturated, AND VERY soft. Almost blurred. Proving to me that the calibration on my laptop was way off.

I then contacted Adobe, Asus, X-Rite and Canon, reset my calibration with each one and nothing helped.
I now believe that I will never get the calibration correct on this laptop, and have to get a new desktop to edit on, and a new laptop to show clients their images in the comfort of their own home.

I am hoping for a few answers from those who actually know.

1. Is their any way to get this laptop working correctly? Which is the preferred route, as money is very, very tight.
2. If not, what would you recommend for a good desktop AND monitor, to edit both stills and video in photoshop, premier pro etc and run other programs at the same time without overloading the system?
3. What laptop would you recommend to show my clients their images to create their orders? (I eventually want to get a good projector to show them their images lifesize, but that is not in the budget yet).
4. Considering how soft the images were from WHCC (even the color corrected images), should I expect a refund on those images? I was exceptionally disappointed in the quality.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[407370]

There are a gazzillion moving parts to the scenario you described and no simple answer to solving them but a few things will help establish a baseline by which problems can be identified and solved.

Pick a set of pics to use as a test. Edit the pics on the laptop in different conditions. Bear in mind that even the screen tilt has an effect on what you see as a finished product. Then print one from each scenario on the same printer (does not matter which printer as long as it is the same one using the same software for all the prints) and find the one you like best. This process will highlight a single workflow that will produce "best possible images" . When you have worked out the workflow work on various aspects like editing lighting, screen tilt, print driver settings, paper stock, and PP to optimise your system.

What you should end up with is multiple workflows for different types of pictures. Landscapes, portrait, group, dark, light etc might all benefit from tweaking the baseline workflow. A touch more / less sharpening, a touch more / less saturation, a touch more / less clarity etc can make a huge difference to an end product.

You start with admitting that a laptop is not the best way to go. You just have to adjust to accepting those limitations and working with them. I should know as I am still using my 5 year old super zoom FUJI and spend a lot of time working round those limitations.

Good Luck.

 

[Tim Tucker]

Have you checked the colour management settings through your workflow?

 

[astroNikon]

I use a laptop too
The panels can vary greatly so you need to check the specs of the video card and monitor panel. Then Make sure you look at the panel perpendicular as your view angle will throw it off.

But since this is revenue generating you should consider a high quality external monitor.

My last two computers have been laptops. Current one is 3 years old win8.1 but I've always researched the lcd panel (or whatever you get) as many cheap ones out there just aren't very good on the lower end.

 

[smoke665]

I would think you need to go back to square one.

• Is this the first time you've used the laptop to edit?
• Have you updated or installed any new software recently?
• Are your color management settings uniform across the board?
• Are you editing in different ambient light?

 

[pixmedic]

get a better monitor to edit on. you can connect it to the laptop and see if theres a difference between what you see on the monitor and what you see on the laptop.
you can get IPS monitors under $300 now.

 

[tirediron]

If it worked once,it will work again. The problem is simply figuring out why it isn't working at the moment. For portability reason, I often edit on a laptop; it's perfectly fine (other than the lack of real-estate) if you ensure you're set up correctly. In addition to calibration, I keep a zone-system strip chart on my desktop, and whenever I'm going to edit, I use that to ensure that the screen angle is optimal.

Anyway, on to your problem: Wipe out all the colour profiles on the computer (reload Windows?) and recalibrate. Then take a series of test images, including a grey card, X-Rite Passport (if you have one), as well as some other random odds & ends. Now, send the same files to all of the printers and see what happens.

 

[SquarePeg]

Had the same issue when printing and also when I viewed my Flickr on other systems everything was really dark and too warm. I think the screen angle was a huge part of the issue for me. I got this monitor and use it with a cheap laptop and the colormunki calibration equipment. Have not had any issues since.

Professional Video | B&H Photo

 

[Tight Knot]

There are a gazzillion moving parts to the scenario you described and no simple answer to solving them but a few things will help establish a baseline by which problems can be identified and solved.

Pick a set of pics to use as a test. Edit the pics on the laptop in different conditions. Bear in mind that even the screen tilt has an effect on what you see as a finished product. Then print one from each scenario on the same printer (does not matter which printer as long as it is the same one using the same software for all the prints) and find the one you like best. This process will highlight a single workflow that will produce "best possible images" . When you have worked out the workflow work on various aspects like editing lighting, screen tilt, print driver settings, paper stock, and PP to optimise your system.

What you should end up with is multiple workflows for different types of pictures. Landscapes, portrait, group, dark, light etc might all benefit from tweaking the baseline workflow. A touch more / less sharpening, a touch more / less saturation, a touch more / less clarity etc can make a huge difference to an end product.

You start with admitting that a laptop is not the best way to go. You just have to adjust to accepting those limitations and working with them. I should know as I am still using my 5 year old super zoom FUJI and spend a lot of time working round those limitations.

Good Luck.

Hi 407370,

Thanks so much for taking the time to write a detailed reply.
The problem with this method (although, if I have no choice, I'll have to make it work), is that I'll constantly be editing my images to look nothing like they're going to print. It's a craps shoot every time.

 

[Tight Knot]

Have you checked the colour management settings through your workflow?

Hi Tim Tucker,
Thanks for your reply.
Yup, I've checked the color management with Asus, Canon, x-rite and Adobe. No luck.

 

[Tight Knot]

I use a laptop too
The panels can vary greatly so you need to check the specs of the video card and monitor panel. Then Make sure you look at the panel perpendicular as your view angle will throw it off.

But since this is revenue generating you should consider a high quality external monitor.

My last two computers have been laptops. Current one is 3 years old win8.1 but I've always researched the lcd panel (or whatever you get) as many cheap ones out there just aren't very good on the lower end.

Hi astroNikon,

Thanks for your reply.
Which monitor would you suggest? And will I get a better image if I connect it up via hdmi?

 

[Tight Knot]

I would think you need to go back to square one.

• Is this the first time you've used the laptop to edit?
• Have you updated or installed any new software recently?
• Are your color management settings uniform across the board?
• Are you editing in different ambient light?

Hi smoke665,

All good questions.

• Is this the first time you've used the laptop to edit? Nope, I've been using it for 2 1/2 years, but I've always sent my portraits in to be printed with color correction, and therefore never realized I had such an issue. If I'm going to be sending realtors digital images, I have to be darn sure they're coming up perfectly on their monitors and the MLS.
  
• Have you updated or installed any new software recently? No. All is the same.
  
• Are your color management settings uniform across the board? Yes, and checked with Adobe, Canon, Asus and x-rite
  
• Are you editing in different ambient light? Nope, I always edit in +- the same ambient.

 

[Tight Knot]

If it worked once,it will work again. The problem is simply figuring out why it isn't working at the moment. For portability reason, I often edit on a laptop; it's perfectly fine (other than the lack of real-estate) if you ensure you're set up correctly. In addition to calibration, I keep a zone-system strip chart on my desktop, and whenever I'm going to edit, I use that to ensure that the screen angle is optimal.

Anyway, on to your problem: Wipe out all the colour profiles on the computer (reload Windows?) and recalibrate. Then take a series of test images, including a grey card, X-Rite Passport (if you have one), as well as some other random odds & ends. Now, send the same files to all of the printers and see what happens.

Hi tirediron,

The sad truth is, I'm not sure if it ever worked perfectly because I always sent in my images for printing with color corretion, and never knew I had this issue.
What is a zone-system strip chart?
Can I just remove the colour profiles from the folder in windows?
I don't have an x-rite colour passport. I'll look into getting one.
Sounds like a lot of work, but if that will help instead of having to purchase a new system, that's definitely better at this stage.

 

[Tight Knot]

Had the same issue when printing and also when I viewed my Flickr on other systems everything was really dark and too warm. I think the screen angle was a huge part of the issue for me. I got this monitor and use it with a cheap laptop and the colormunki calibration equipment. Have not had any issues since.

Professional Video | B&H Photo

Hi SquarePeg,
Thanks for your reply. Confounding and exceptionally irritating, no? Which monitor did you get, and are you happy with it?

 

[Don Kondra]

Acratech Viewing Angle Gauge (Silver) 6005S B&H Photo Video

In Color Management, delete all profiles except the one you created when you calibrated your screen.

Cheers, Don