By DTG
Short answer
If you edit on an uncalibrated or consumer monitor, your prints will usually come out darker and more muted than the screen. A calibrated, profiled monitor, accurate printer and paper profiles, and soft proofing fix that. A monitor that matches your print saves editing time, gets you to a correct print sooner, and cuts paper and ink lost to reprints.
Have a question about color-accurate monitors? Talk to DTG or call 813.889.0660 (toll-free 800.681.0024).
Our most common in-bound tech support call is “why don’t my prints match my monitor?” “The print is darker than my screen.” “The colors look duller on paper.” It is the classic photographer’s complaint, and it is rarely the printer’s fault. The usual cause is the assumption that the monitor is right. Most monitors are set up to show pleasing color, not accurate color, and that gap becomes visible the moment you print.
Who are we talking about?
Our photo customers include professional photographers, photo labs, and portrait and wedding studios. We would also add fine art photographers: landscapes, beaches, mountains and architecture. The needs differ a little, as the color space section below shows, but the underlying problem is the same.
What goes wrong with an uncalibrated monitor?
A photo only looks right if you can trust the screen you edited it on. When you cannot, you end up fixing the wrong things:
- Dark, muted prints. A default-setting screen is brighter and more saturated than the print will be. You darken and adjust the image until it looks right on that screen, and on paper it is dark and flat.
- A color cast hides in plain sight. A screen that leans warm or cool pushes you to correct a cast that is not in the photo.
- Paper and ink are wasted. Each test print that misses costs both.
- Reprints and returns. If you sell prints, a mismatch can mean a reprint at your expense and an unhappy customer.
- Inconsistent results. Edit on a laptop one day and a desktop the next and the same file looks different.
Calibrate and profile: two jobs, both needed
Calibration sets the monitor to a known, repeatable state: white point, brightness and tone response. Profiling records how that monitor actually displays color and saves it as an ICC profile that your software reads. The calibration keeps the screen steady, and the profile tells your software what the screen is doing. A good routine does both, and repeats it regularly, not once.
Eizo’s ColorNavigator 7 runs both steps. See our calibration support guide (or our newer Eizo ColorEdge photo and fine-art print-proofing guide) for the walkthrough.
Where the calibrator lives. On an Eizo ColorEdge CG model, the calibrator is built in: a sensor in the front bezel swings out in front of the screen when it is needed, so there is no separate device to hang on the monitor, and it can recalibrate on a schedule you set. A ColorEdge CS model uses an external Eizo sensor that you attach to the screen when you calibrate, which we suggest doing every two to four weeks. Both do direct hardware calibration.
Why does the calibration method beat the spec sheet?
It is tempting to compare contrast ratio, dot pitch and brightness figures. For judging photo color, they are not where the answer lies. Look instead at how the monitor calibrates and how finely it can correct.
With direct hardware calibration, the sensor’s measurements go into the monitor’s own look-up table (LUT), rather than through the computer’s video card. That generally keeps tones smoother, so skies, skin and shadows do not show steps or banding. And the finer the table, the smoother the result. Eizo lists a 16-bit LUT on the CG2700S, CG2700X, CG2400S, CS2400S, CS2731 and CS2740. Our article on hardware vs software calibration goes deeper.
Should I use sRGB, Adobe RGB or ProPhoto RGB?
It depends on who the prints are for. Our guidance:
- sRGB stands for “Standard RGB,” and we call it the safe choice for general printing. Labs, portrait studios and wedding photographers mostly print pictures of people for the public. They generally do not need a wider space and stick with sRGB.
- Adobe RGB has a wider gamut. Commercial photographers, fine art photographers and some labs use it and appreciate the extra range.
- ProPhoto RGB is far wider than Adobe RGB. We push photographers toward it, but only if you have a very high-quality monitor and you are strict about your color-managed workflow.
A wide space only helps if you can see it, so the monitor matters. Eizo lists 99% Adobe RGB coverage for the CG and CS models in our guide, and 98% DCI-P3 on models like the CG2700S and CG2400S. Printers and monitors do not share a gamut, and soft proofing shows how your photo is adjusted to fit the paper.
How do I soft proof a photo before printing?
Your printer, paper and ink have a gamut and tone response of their own, described by an ICC profile. Soft proofing applies that profile to your calibrated screen so you preview the print before spending any paper. Our quick advice has three parts:
- You must have a good, calibrated monitor.
- You must have good, accurate printer and media profiles.
- Always soft proof the rendering intent. We recommend trying Perceptual and Relative Colorimetric, with Black Point Compensation. Every image behaves differently depending on the intent, which is why previewing is worth doing.
One rule matters just as much: whichever intent you settle on in the soft proof, use the same setting when you print. In Photoshop:
- Calibrate and profile the monitor first. Soft proofing on an uncalibrated screen only gives you a confident wrong answer.
- Make sure you have an ICC profile for the exact printer, paper or media, and ink you will use.
- Open the image in Photoshop and choose View > Proof Setup > Custom.
- In the dialog that opens, pick your printer and media profile as the device to simulate, and choose the rendering intent you plan to print with.
- Click OK and watch the image shift. That shift is the print’s likely color and tone range, shown on your screen. Toggle View > Proof Colors to flip between the proof and the original.
- Make your corrections while the proof is on, then print with the same rendering intent you proofed with.
Paper makers supply profiles you can try. A custom profile for your printer and paper is more accurate, and DTG offers a custom ICC printer profiling service. Our guide to matching an Eizo monitor to your printer and our soft-proofing support guide cover more. Menu names can vary between Photoshop versions.
How should I set brightness and room light?
A print is judged under light, so set the screen to suit that light. If you check prints in a viewing booth or under a fixed daylight-balanced lamp, calibrate the monitor’s white point and brightness to match it. A common starting point is somewhere around 80 to 120 cd/m², so the screen does not outshine the paper, but let a side-by-side proof guide the final choice.
A hood blocks stray light from lamps and windows. The CG models in our guide include one, and it is optional on CS models. We carry the Eizo CH2710 hood. Keep the room lighting steady and avoid colored walls near the screen.
Which ColorEdge for photo printing?
Our rule of thumb: if you are someone who has to have the best, choose the CG. But the CS is about 99% of the CG for display accuracy, consistency and color gamut, so it is a very sound monitor for color work. The CG adds two conveniences. One is the automatic calibrator built in, so no one has to hang an external sensor on the screen. The other is a near-instant warm-up: in our experience a CG shows accurate color and brightness within a couple of minutes, while a CS takes around 15 minutes.
- A CG monitor has the sensor built into the front bezel, so calibration needs no hands-on step. See the CG2700S, CG2400S or the 4K CG2700X.
- A CS monitor uses an external Eizo sensor, included in bundles such as the CS2731 and CS2740.
Read our CG vs CS guide or browse the Eizo ColorEdge range.
Can I just calibrate the monitor I already have?
Yes. Calibrating and profiling the monitor you already own is much better than leaving it uncalibrated, but it is not the same as an Eizo ColorEdge. A Calibrite calibrator measures your screen and builds a profile, and the correction is applied through the computer’s video card. What you see on screen is changed and brought in line with the calibration target, so colors are far more predictable. It is just not as accurate or as clean as hardware calibration, which writes the correction into the monitor’s own memory (its look-up table) and generally keeps tones smoother and color steadier. That is how Eizo ColorEdge monitors work. A calibrator improves the consistency and quality of what a monitor shows, but it can only do so much: if the monitor itself, such as a laptop screen, is lower quality, there is a limit to what calibration can fix. A Calibrite will not turn an average monitor into an Eizo ColorEdge.
Here is our honest ranking: no calibration, then a Calibrite on your existing monitor, then Eizo hardware calibration (a CG with the sensor built in, or a CS with an external Eizo sensor). DTG sells the Calibrite Display Pro HL and the entry-level Display 123; see all Calibrite calibrators. To compare the Eizo route, read our CG vs CS guide. Not sure which fits your screen? Ask DTG.
Questions we hear
Why is my print darker than my screen?
Most often the screen is uncalibrated, so it is brighter and more saturated than the print can be. Calibrate and profile it, lower the brightness to suit your viewing light, and use a profile for your paper.
Does a calibrated monitor guarantee a match?
It gets you most of the way, but a screen emits light and a print reflects it, so a perfect match is not possible. You also need printer and paper profiles, soft proofing and good light for judging the print.
Is a budget monitor good enough for photos?
If your customers only want pleasing color, such as portrait or consumer prints, it can be. If you print for professionals who expect accurate color, spend a bit more. It pays for itself in saved time and materials.
Should I use the paper maker’s profile or a custom one?
Start with the paper maker’s profile. A custom profile for your printer and paper is more accurate if you want the closest match.
What about prints from a lab?
Many labs publish profiles you can use for soft proofing. A calibrated monitor lets you use them with confidence.
Talk to DTG
If you print your own photos or send work to a lab, DTG is an authorized Eizo reseller in Tampa, FL. Tell us what you print and we will help you choose a monitor, a sensor and a workflow that fit your work. A DTG color specialist follows up personally.
Call us: 813.889.0660 or toll-free 800.681.0024.
You can also contact us online or browse the Eizo ColorEdge monitors we carry.
About the author: The author has been providing color management and printing solutions to the fine art reproduction, digital photography, sign making, proofing and digital textile markets since 1993, and has been writing, training and teaching on the subject for various publications and in many different forums over the years.
Keep reading
- Why doesn’t my print match my screen? (start here)
- Color-accurate monitors for fine art reproduction
- Color-accurate monitors for sign printing
- Color-accurate monitors for brand and commercial printing
- Eizo ColorEdge CG vs CS: which series to buy
- Match your Eizo monitor to your printer: soft proofing
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