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I have a Dell U2711 that I use for color critical work. I am wondering if anyone out there has tested multiple color correction devices and come up with a best use option for photoshop and working in the adobe rgb, prophoto and colormatch color spaces.

Currently I use a spyder3 though find the software archaic and inconsistent and much too stratified. Curious about color munki, i1, other xrite products.

As for suggestions of using EIZO or NEC monitors to solve my problems, the prices are a bigger differential than 1 or 2 % in adobergb coverage. I do understand that the way EIZO and NEC's work with LUT's is something that the dell isn't built to do.

Im looking for the best color correction device for this monitor and not a new monitor.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ It is not about coverage only. With a NEC Display you calibrate the monitor. With most other ones you calibrate the graphics card. This means that you can improve the average accuracy of colors and maybe get good coverage but you will introduce some banding artifacts if you do that at the graphics card level since the sample depth of the graphics signal is 8-bits per component and the calibration has to modulate that resulting in unused values. With a NEC display, an 8-bit per component signal is sent and translated using a 12 or 14-bit LUT. Much more accurate. \$\endgroup\$
    – Itai
    Jan 18, 2013 at 2:55
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    \$\begingroup\$ I dont want to be rude though I believe i acknoledged this in my initial post "I do understand that the way EIZO and NEC's work with LUT's is something that the dell just plainly wont emulate though." fully aware of how awesome NECs and EIZOs are. I am looking for a solution that costs $200-500 rather than $1500 - 2500 \$\endgroup\$
    – underarock
    Jan 18, 2013 at 3:32
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    \$\begingroup\$ Just wanted to make sure you understood the issue is more than color coverage which it can seem like in your question. I do know I did not answer your question which is why I left a comment instead of an answer. Sorry for the misunderstanding. \$\endgroup\$
    – Itai
    Jan 18, 2013 at 15:12
  • \$\begingroup\$ no worries, i think my question naturally draws the better monitor answer. I have plans to get an EIZO in the future though for now i want to work with this Dell and a better calibrator - it works and the EIZO would just be a luxury. It would cut out the part of my process where I ignore subtle green and magenta banding issues, knowing that they are artifacts and not representational of absolute values in a file. \$\endgroup\$
    – underarock
    Jan 18, 2013 at 16:55

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I have tested the ColorMunki and currently use the i1Pro2 to calibrate my displays. ColorMunki is a good cheap solution that works well. If your going to be ultra critical in your color workflow be aware it's not just about building a profile.

The real issue with displays is the fact that monitors are not prints, and have very different spectral characteristics than the D50, or D65 light sources we ask software to match for the white point. Every software, regardless of price, plays the "Get close" game and non can match the aims exactly. So monitor white points are metamerically matched, but may not match visually. Then there's the issues of color gamut mapping and how that works in a monitor when using a proof space as the aim for the monitor.

That's where monitors with software controls for color hue and saturation in primaries and secondary colors are far better than displays without them. The controls allow for those fine adjustments that devices just cant resolve and human vision excels at. Couldn't find if your display has those controls, If not and you also don't have color temperature for the white point, then it seriously won't matter what you buy, because without those tweaks, all you have is a numbers match, and most software/hardware combinations today do that well. So if that's your current situation, then for about 200USD a ColorMunki is a good buy.

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I use the X-Rite i1 Display 2, which has been replaced with the i1 Display Pro. it has worked very well for me on laptop, crt, and LCD screens. Even though it is older, it still works on my Win 8 machines.

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