Just connected an Apple Thunderbolt display to my 2012 Macbook Pro w/retina. I used a i1Display to calibrate the Thunderbolt display. The monitor now looks a bit dull and not as bright as the default sRGB color space. If I switch between sRGB and the calibrated profile I kinda like how punchy, bright and contrast the monitor looks with the sRGB profile. If I use LR 5 and PS CS5 and will only work with in sRGB color space for photo editing. Will my prints/colors be off if I leave the monitor in the sRGB color space as opposed what the i1Display recommends as a properly calibrated profile?
Where did you set the luminance? I found with my iMac if I go below 100 the display colors get muddy. So I have a curve which I tweak when going to print.
Hi esanchez - There are two parts in having your color monitor set up for proper color managements: calibration and then profiling
- Calibration is setting the controls on the monitor (or software equivalents). Apple displays typically only allow brightness control from System Preferences yet this is an important first step and often a regular part of the Xrite walk-through process
- Profiling: This builds the ICC file for your monitor which allows in incoming images with an embedded color space (e.g. sRGB, Adobe RGB, ProPhoto RGB) to have the images color numbers for the attached color space (which represents a specific absolute color) be translated to the color numbers which when applied to your monitor will represent the same absolute color (or as close as is possible given your monitors gamut and chosen rendering intent).
- If you decided to use anything other than the ICC profile creating from you i1Display then the translation will be off. That means when you try and do color correction you will not have the same level of accuracy in your edits and therefore lack of accuracy when either sharing this file with others or doing color managed prints.
Bottom line - If you want best matching from monitor to monitor or monitor to print, then use you i1 generated ICC profile for you monitor.
The above is just my opinion form my experience. Hope it helps.
The i1Display wizard does walk me through both the calibration and the profiling and I applied the ICC file created. It's when I switch between the ICC or the sRGB that I see the colors on the TB display look dull, flat and lacking contrast as opposed to the sRGB profile...To the eye the sRGB looks more pleasing, but don't know if the file created by the i1Display is accurate. I had a Dell 2209 and selecting the sRGB or ICC profile for 2209 was very minimal between the two. I was able to use either on my Dell system/w 2209 monitor and I was happy. This TB display the sRGB and ICC created by the i1 are different. Colors seem the same, but lacks brightness and contrast.
HI esanchez - It does sound as if there is an issue somewhere in the calibration path. It was not clear which version of MacBook Pro you have and thereore the graphics card in use. Is there any possibility that the graphics card needs its settings inspected as well. Sorry I could not be of more help.
Hard to say, maybe something went wrong with the calibration or the settings you chose for it or maybe you like the way wrong colors and tone response and all look. Hard to say which.
I got better calibration results on the Apple Thunderbolt display using ColorEyes Display Pro software with i1 then using software that was bundled with i1.
