"Bodie Casino" by Jack Flesher

When Uwe asked me to share my experience with the Eye-One Photo profiling tool, I was reluctant since my approach to color management is somewhat un-conventional and probably not very scientific and moreover, I am certainly not an expert in color science.  My departure from convention comes from my feelings towards color in general: I am primarily a landscape photographer and in that venue the concept of accurate color is somewhat subjective; I don’t need color to be perfect. By contrast, as a photographic artist, I am usually trying to convey an impression or feeling through my images. This may require a purposeful under or over exposure, an increase or decrease of saturation, an increase or decrease of contrast or even an alteration of the overall hue and color temperature.  Any of these adjustments can alter how the viewer perceives color or relative colors, and regardless, different viewers will “see” the same color differently anyway. 

All this is to say that I don’t pay any particular attention to whether or not the green bush or red rock in one of my prints is the exact same color of green or red those objects are in real life. Rather, I place significance on whether or not the total compilation of colors is accurate enough to be pleasant and work together to enhance the expression of my personal vision.  Somebody interested in accurate color from capture through final print will likely have different requirements than mine.  So with that disclaimer out of the way, here are some comments on the Eye-One profiling tool and corresponding Eye-One Match software.

Eye-One Match software entry page

For those of you who have not looked at it lately, Eye-One match software itself has improved over the past couple of years.  While I always felt it was pretty good, the current version, 3.6.1, is quite easy to use and gives very good results.  I have the Eye-One “Photo” package from a few years back, and it allows for profiling monitors as well as RGB printers, my two primary needs. I use the tool to profile my monitors regularly (all LCD now) and feel I get very good results by running the “advanced” routine. This routine is easy to run as most steps are automated and takes maybe five or six minutes from start to finish. Not much more to be said on that topic other than I run it every few weeks since monitor colors drift, especially as the backlight ages.

Eye-One Match printer module

Making paper profiles with the Eye-One is a bit more involved.  I won’t go into all aspects of the process as they are documented in other areas on this site, but simply stated you carefully drag the tool across a target of colored patches using a clear plastic guide bar. The software uses those readings to build its profile. More important is the target choice and preparation for reading.  The software includes three basic targets for RGB printers: a very small “easy” target, a basic one page target and a (somewhat) advanced two page target that contains a total of 918 patches.  Personally, I have only ever used the 918 patch target set for profiling papers, so my comments are specific to it.

 
Mesuring the targets in Eye-One Match

I print the targets on my desired paper and let them dry down overnight.  This is an important step since colors can shift slightly as they dry.  Different printers will require different drying times, but overnight should be sufficient for all of them.  In preparation for the read, I carefully blow off the targets and tool with canned air to eliminate any accumulated dust that may affect the readings. Next, I place a neutral-gray mat beneath the prints to eliminate the possibility of desk or table color bleeding though the paper and compromising colors. (There are a variety of opinions as to what material should be used underneath the target when measuring it, but most essential is it should not be something that could alter the base white color of the paper we are reading. Since not all white is created equal, I have settled on a light, neutral gray mat.  Some folks will use several layers of the paper they are profiling itself, as it is the correct color. This is probably even a better choice than neutral gray, though gray has always worked exceptionally well for me.)

Once the target is read, I save the data in a location I can find and with a name that identifies the paper by name, printer settings and inkset used when the target was printed. The software then builds the profile automatically, which only takes a few minutes. Once generated, I save the profile, again with a descriptive name that leaves no confusion as to the paper, ink and printer settings.  The profile is then loaded into my profile folder and is ready for its initial test. Testing the profile is easy – I simply print our printer evaluation image and evaluate it per our discussion here.

Earlier, I mentioned that color was subjective – it is, but it needs to at least be close!  However by contrast, I feel neutrality of tone is not subjective and needs to be as accurate as possible. While I have not compared it directly to other tools, I can say the Eye-One delivers very appealing color – when I visually compare my onscreen image to the final print under my color-corrected viewing station, they look the same; I cannot ask for more.  Neutrality is one of the key attributes I look for in a good profile; I want gray to really be gray and not have any color casts.   I have always been very pleased with how well the Eye-One does in generating profiles that render accurate grays. I find them so good, I have abandoned using special drivers and routines for printing B&W images and simply print them as I do any color image using the Eye-One color profile. This makes my B&W printing life easier, as I now essentially have a WYSIWIG B&W printing routine that works just as it does with color.    

So there you have it. While I have not tested and compared the Eye-One to other tools directly, I find it performs quite adequately for my uses and thus have never looked at other solutions.

"Desert Geyser" by Jack Flesher