Okay Folks. Here's the deal. I'm really tired of seeing eight zillion different screen setups being used to post prints because when everyone has thier own wacky standard then *nobody* ends up producing art work the same way. So I'm taking the initiative and implementing a little standardization here.
Here's how my chart works: Simply use your monitor adjustments, wherever they are (on the monitor, from software within your computer for your video card, whatever) to change you CRT monitor (aka, NOT FLATSCREEN) so that the following things happen:
1. The middle bars, or Zone Steps, indicate the nine step transition from screen black (not TRUE BLACK) to pure white -1 (NOT SCREEN WHITE). The darkest bar or "I" should appear as black as your screen can go. The lightest bar, or "X" should appear SLIGHTLY LESS WHITE THAN THE SURROUNDING WHITE BACKGROUND. If the two appear completely the same, then there is a problem with your monitor calibation. I've included the means to fix it. Go to step two.
2. The lower left hand box is the black calibration box. You should adjust your monitor so that the gradient within it can be seen but only enough so that it appears to vanish into the surrounding blacks between 1/3 and 1/2 from the left to the middle of the box.
3. The lower right hand box is the white calibration box. You should adjust your monitor so that there is a difference between the two inner boxes and the outer one, but only enough so that they do not blend completely together. The middle box is SCREEN WHITE.
4. Make sure your monitor is set to millions/billions/trillions of colors or else every photo you look at will have a compressed colorspace. To check and see if yours is set to it's highest rez, look at the COLOR grad in the middle of the chart. If the upper one appears to have "banding" or doesn't look like a smooth transition from color to color (I provided an example of color stepping, which looks simiilar to banding), find your monitor's controls and change it to it's highest rez. If your monitor is old and crappy and can't display anything more than thousands of colors, buy a new one, they don't cost much, even a crappy millions+ monitor will be better than one that can't display a full RGB colorspace.
Once you've done this, go bounce around dA again and look at just how much freaking better (or worse) things look... it can be shocking. My goal is to keep people from MAKING poorly compressed work: under exposed or underprinted or flat work...
I'll do a whole explanation on this to anyone who wants to hear it.
(Technical Spec: bw grad at 11% intervals equiv. to 28.33/channel/step. Zone I @ 0 : 0 : 0 , Zone X @ 253 : 253 : 253. color grad at R : Y : G : C : B : M : R @ exactly (R : G : B) R= 255 : 0 : 0 , Y= 255 : 255 : 0 , G= 0 : 255 : 0 , C= 0 : 255 : 255 , B= 0 : 0 : 255 , M= 255 : 0 : 255 , R= 255 : 0 : 0 , ZoneI swatch @ L : a : b or H : S : B %'s 0 : 2 : 4 : 6 : 8 over 0, ZoneX+ swatch @ L : a : b or H : S : B %'s 95 : 97 : 100 with RGB center column grad equiv. to Zone X to Zone X+: 243/channel to 255/channel)
You're more than welcome to do just that. I think dA having something that resembles means of calibration would go a long way in helping everyone prep thier images. I included the technical spec at the bottom just in case it's needed. Feel free to post it anywhere you wish, so long as you link the image to me, or something like that. Cheers!
I already mentioned that I found your gallery interesting on your main page. You have a very exacting eye, interesting work and a clear vision.
i included the link to your chart in the journal now and it will stay there. so hopefully many people are going to use it and be much hapier with viewing picture then
Not a dumb question... I haven't made one yet. No one asked. Given that you want one, I'll do just that. Stay in contact with wherever you found this image, or just chekc my page or something.
thanks, i'm so computer retarded but once someone shows me something i usually remember it. [i think it comes from having a 60yr old home economics teacher for IT...]
lol, my real IT teacher had to retire due to heart problems, [way back in 1995!] and then i spent the next 3years learning to type[unsuccesfully- msn messenger did a better job] and for some reason doing blueprints of the school
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Comments
everything i ever did now looks dark and sad [my screen was too bright]
except for this -> [link] which still makes me laugh out loud ^_^
basically what i did was to drop my brightness from 100 to about 73 ..
cheers man
jaako
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~jaakobou, the ~photoshoptutors guru/despot.
In my 13 years, I've killed everyone. There might be some new ninjas coming up, but I am Shogun, loved by no one. Shaquille ONeal
in truth... i doubt it.
lol
~adoniram
sometimes people complained about photos being "too dark" and i had the suspicion that their moni was dejusted...
i'd like to put the calibration-chart somewhere on my DA-page if you don't mind.
--
Michael
The ultimate source of wisdom and happiness. :-]
I already mentioned that I found your gallery interesting on your main page. You have a very exacting eye, interesting work and a clear vision.
~adoniram
i included the link to your chart in the journal now and it will stay there. so hopefully many people are going to use it and be much hapier with viewing picture then
--
Michael
The ultimate source of wisdom and happiness. :-]
--
x
~adoniram
--
x
but then again, IT is the spawn of all things evil. I'm pretty sure winblowz 98 congealed in some corporate IT department...
~adoinram
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x
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