Monitor profile creation settings - Help...

[nospe7880]

I have just read the ambient light levels in my work room using the i1studio and it is 80 cdm2. . Am I correct in thinking that this is what I should set my target as when I calibrate the monitor as this is the light level that I will therefore be working in?

Cheers


Bernard

[Manfred M]

Something is not quite right in your measurement. The candela per square meter is the output of a light source, which is read on the surface of the emitter; for instance your computer screen. Ambient light readings would be in lux; a reading of the incident light level.

As a general rule the level of light in your work area should be a maximum of 70 lux. The output of your computer screen should be between 80 - 120 candela / square meter.

[nospe7880]

Thanks Manfred .. I think that I need to go back to the beginning and try to get a better understanding of what all the terms such as white point, luminance, cdm2 all mean and just how they join up ... I have got myself so confused it's unreal.

If you use the I1studio it gives you the default option of custom .. This has a default white point of CIE illuminant of D65 and a luminance of 120cdm2.

However if you wish to it then permits you to measure use a CUSTOM setting which has various cdm2 values ranging from 60 to 250.. It also has an option for native or "measure ambient light"
I take it that if I opt for the "measure ambient light" it will measure my setting and report it back to me in lux.. If this is the ambient light in my room how do I use this in setting up my monitor?

Sorry for being so thick about this but I am not as young as I used to be and things can take a while to sink in these days.


Thanks again


Bernard

[Manfred M]

I use the i1 Display, so the device is not quite as talented as yours (no printer profiles), but both use the same xRite software for calibrating and profiling the computer screen.

The D65 Illuminant is pretty standard in the photography side of things, so it would be the most appropriate one to use. The measure ambient light is an attempt by the software to compensate for different levels of ambient light. I am in a reasonably dimly lit room where virtually all the light I get is from constant, so I don't have to worry about the variability of my light. I don't use that functionality which requires that the i1 is always plugged in and measure the variability of the light.

When it comes to photo editing work, there are a number of considerations in setting up your workstation. I am someone who does a lot of printing, so that is my primary consideration in my setup. I want my screen brightness to reflect the print brightness. People that do not print will likely use a higher screen brightness setting than I do. The light falling on my workstation is about 40 Lux; which is okay. As a rule you should not have it brighter than 70 Lux. The main reason is to keep the contrast ratio high enough to let you properly evaluate the piece you are working on. The brighter the ambient light conditions, the lower the contrast ratio you have on your screen. Just think about how dull the screen on your phone is when you look at it outside in bright sunlight; that is essentially what I am writing about.

If you have an incident light meter, you should be able to measure the light intensity at your workstation. My Sekonic L-358 comes with a conversion chart that takes the light readings and converts them to Lux.

The other factor is screen brightness. You want this to be in a range of between 80 - 120 Candela per square meter. I run my screen at 80 cd/m^2 which gives me good results. I have based this on doing test prints. This is the setting I input when I ran the profiling software; but I don't use the i1 software. My computer screen (a Benq SW2700) ships with its own profiling software (which is based on the i1 product) and writes the results into an internal lookup table that resides on the screen. This is where I enter the 80 cd/m^2 value.

Hopefully this makes sense??

[nospe7880]

Hi Manfred... The i1studio has the facility to measure the ambient lighting in the room much as you do with your Sekonic L-358... It is used as a reference but it doesn't stay on and alter the monitor as you work as some models do.

I have measured and it gives me a reading of 60 lux for my work station.
My luminance is now set at 80cdm2 with a white point setting of D65 ... and a tone response curve of 2.2

The next thing is some test prints to see how they turn out..

[Manfred M]

I'm looking forward to hearing how your prints turn out.

My workflow still has a test print step in it, just like in the colour wet darkroom. The computer screen, even a high end one, can only emulate the reflected light, subtractive colour model, CMYK prints. Try to evaluate your prints under the light that you will be looking at them under. As well, remember that in theory, one should wait for 24 hours before "reading" the print to ensure that the ink / paper are dry. In practice, I find an hour or two of drying is usually sufficient for me.