Originally posted by camo Just out of curiosity. If I were to send a file to costco for print. Could I ask them to check the colors wre correct, seeing as I don't have a calibrated monitor?
How would they know?
Ok, ok, so photo labs have been doing "corrections" for years, but really it's just the technician's best guess at what is correct. Maybe the computer does it now, but it amounts to the same thing. They don't know what your original scene looked like, they don't know that the lens you were using that day renders the blues a little muted, they don't know your artistic intentions, they don't know which zone you want to be zone V. That's what color management is all about, taking control back from the printer.
Try the trick with a gray card, adjust your monitor so that when holding the card next to the monitor you have an accurate representation of hue and value. Maybe stop by a paint store and pick up some color swatches, they're free, and check those in the same manner. Photograph them using daylight white balance in the room where you have your computer, and then hold them next to the monitor. Does the image match what you see in real life? Get some bold colors, but also some subtle ones. Get some skintone colors too. You may need to adjust your contrast and saturation. That's kind of what a colorimiter does. It's not a complete fix, but it'll go a long way.