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New Computer - Color Calibration


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Hi!

I have a hp Envy x360 15" touch screen. I have attached a photo of a print (that's really dark. Especially the greens.)  It's alot darker than the image on my computer. The image in photoshop and windows photo viewer are the exact same. The only thing thats different is the print. I don't like it dark like that. I shoot light and a bit "airy". I have looked all over the computer and can't find where to change the colour settings as you suggested in a post. I have contacted HP customer support but they were no help.

My Canon 7D is set to sRGB...the same since before using this new computer.

Photoshop sRGB IEC61966-2.1. Should it be Adobe 1998?

Lightroom color settings are attached.

I used whcc to print and never had any issues before my new computer. They recommended contacting you. Please help. I'm freaking out. I'm at a complete loss. 

Thank you,

Renee'

image1.jpeg

Lightroom color settings.jpg

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Hi @reneefoto, there's a whole lot going wrong here.  Let's try to break it down.

sRGB is the correct setting, but somehow your photo has lost that setting.  It's got no profile attached at all.  I don't know how that happened.  Do this check and you'll see what I mean.

Secondly, you're using Lightroom.  Lightroom is a steaming pile of shit.  PLEASE take the 30 day challenge.

Thirdly, your computer has a touch screen.  They are really really terrible for editing.  Is it too late to take the computer back?

Fourthly, you don't have a calibrator yet.  You must get one right away.

Also, possibly a fifth point, your room light might not be any good.  Please read this.

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Thank you for your quick response!!

Wow, I did the check, no profile. I have no idea how that happened. What now?

I'll do the 30 day challenge later tonight.

Oh no....it is too late to take it back. What now?

I had a color munki smile for my old computer and loved it. But it is a disc install. My new computer doesn't have a disc tray. Plus the calibrator is old.

I've been telling my husband the bulbs are too yellow! 

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I tested some older images in photoshop. They don't have profiles either. How do you think that is happening? That's really important, isn't it? How do I fix it to where all the images have a profile?

Renee'

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1 hour ago, reneefoto said:

Wow, I did the check, no profile. I have no idea how that happened. What now?

I don't know how it happened either.  I guess you'll need to open the file from Lightroom again and see if it has its profile this time.

1 hour ago, reneefoto said:

Oh no....it is too late to take it back. What now?

The best practice is to get a good desktop screen and plug it into your laptop.  (This is best practice for all laptops, whether they are touchscreens or not.)  Good desktop screens are very affordable nowadays.

Or maybe you've even already got a spare screen in your house that you could plug in?

Anyway, for now, let's just do our best with what you have.

1 hour ago, reneefoto said:

I had a color munki smile for my old computer and loved it. But it is a disc install. My new computer doesn't have a disc tray. Plus the calibrator is old.

No calibrators come with disks any more, for exactly the reason you stated.  The software all comes from download.  But yes, even if you could access the software for your Munki, it wouldn't work on the new touch screen technology of your new computer.  So a new calibrator is on the cards for you.

1 hour ago, reneefoto said:

I've been telling my husband the bulbs are too yellow! 

Great!  Keep on his case about that.  It's impossible for a photographer to work properly under dim and/or yellow lighting.

1 hour ago, reneefoto said:

I tested some older images in photoshop. They don't have profiles either. How do you think that is happening?

Hmmmm ... can you tell me which version of Photoshop you have?

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Ok, I"ll check lightroom for profile.

Ok, yes, I'll have to use what I have now. 

Ok, I'll get a calibrator. Which one would you recommend for my computer?

I use the latest version of ps from adobe. I lost my photoshop software with my old computer. It to was a disk install. So I use the one from adobe's website. 

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1 minute ago, reneefoto said:

Ok, I'll get a calibrator. Which one would you recommend for my computer?

As I said in this article, your choice of calibrator depends on how closely your prints match your screen before calibration.

But the trouble is, we can't know THAT until you have good light in your room.  Right now, it seems like your screen is a dreadful mismatch to your prints, but a lot of that is probably the lighting's fault.  Once you badger your husband into getting better lighting, you might find that the mismatch is nowhere near as b ad as you thought; in which case you only have to buy a cheaper calibrator, which would be great!

4 minutes ago, reneefoto said:

I use the latest version of ps from adobe. I lost my photoshop software with my old computer. It to was a disk install. So I use the one from adobe's website. 

Cool.  Can you quickly go to the Edit menu and choose "Color Settings", and take a screenshot of that window for me?

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See where it says "Custom" at the top?  That's bad.  Pull down that menu and put it back on "North America General Purpose 2" the way it should be.

However, that still doesn't explain all those untagged images.

Did you re-open one of the raw files from Lightroom to see what it says?

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