[photolady95]

I'm out looking for another monitor. I've read several threads on which monitor to buy. But, in each thread that others state they have an IPS monitor, the members are saying they are calibrated with which ever gadget they own.
I thought the reason for an IPS monitor was to not have to calibrate it.
So, my question is, what's in the title.

Also, are your monitors matte screen or shiny screen? Mine's matte and hard to keep clean, right now after cleaning it yesterday, it's still got streaks and makes for not clear images.

I have a 25" Samsung B2330 I bought for $75 from a family member.

[jatrax]

As I understand it IPS is just one type of monitor, another is TN. General recommendation is that if you are into gaming and need super fast screen refresh go with a TN monitor but color reproduction might not be as accurate. If you are photo editing then you would generally be better off with an IPS screen. However, this has nothing to do with calibration. Both types have adjustments and need to be calibrated in order to be as color accurate as that type can be.

Possibly one reason you see people saying an IPS screen does not need calibration is that for average use the color is so much better than TN that it works just fine out of the box, or at least much better than the older TN screen they replaced. But for photo editing we need color accuracy that is actually accurate, not just looks better. So IMHO you do need to calibrate your screen regardless of the technology behind it.

I have a pair of Dell U2713HM screens which I think have a shiny screen. There are more expensive ones out there but for my budget they have performed very well. YMMV

[reeftool]

I've heard that the color and brightness levels change in as little as 2 weeks but I only run my Spyder once a year or so. If you are a pro and sending your photos to a client of if you're doing a lot of printing, you want your color to be exact. If your photos are mostly going to Facebook, maybe it isn't important. I have multiple computers, tablets, and phones and I have viewed my photos on all of them. They should all look the same or at least close. If your edited shots look different on other computers or off (in a bad way) when you make prints, then you really should calibrate your monitor. It doesn't matter if it's IPS or TN. Both need calibrating from time to time.

Your shots right out of the camera should be pretty good as long as your white balance is reasonably close. But if you start doing adjustments in Lightroom or Photoshop and you monitor calibration is off, you could possibly be creating some odd looking results that you can't see on your monitor. The whole idea of monitor calibration is to have a standard so the color looks right on everything. If you go into a shop and look at a wall of monitors or HDTV's, you will see a difference and there's always a few that look just plain horrible. They probably don't sell and most likely, they only need some calibration or adjustments.

[BigMackCam]

My external HP 23xi is an IPS monitor. As far as I'm aware, it's just a different display technology that provides more (but not 100%) accurate colour reproduction and a wider range of viewing angles. As you've read, you still need to profile them like any other monitor, but they should be better straight out of the box...

[SpecialK]

But, in each thread that others state they have an IPS monitor, the members are saying they are calibrated with which ever gadget they own.
I thought the reason for an IPS monitor was to not have to calibrate it.

I have only ever used web-based monitor calibration test pages. This one below is good, I think.

5 Online Tools to Help Calibrate Your Monitor

My latest monitor is a new-but-discontinued "factory-calibrated" LG 34" 21:9 IPS with matte screen. I just turned down the brightness a fair amount.

[TonyW]

ALL monitors need calibrating to a known standard (not sRGB or Adobe RGB!) and the monitor profile produced should then accurately describe the monitor state even if it is outside of the chosen standards.

Your editing software (if colour managed) will then display your images accurately so that you will be able when soft proofing to get an accurate screen to print match. You will also know that others when viewing in a correctly colour managed environment will be seeing very close to what you are seeing on your monitor

[lightbox]

In my experience with Dell monitors at least (as those are what I use at home and at work), two copies of the identical model can come with different looking tones and white balance from the factory. So I don't trust the consistency of the factory calibration. It's very apparent when the monitors are set up side-by-side and you open a "white" background like a Word document or a blank browser tab and move it between the monitors.

I have IPS panels at home (matte screen) and use a Spyder 3 for calibration. Here's a rather poor cell phone capture of one of them comparing the "uncalibrated" and "calibrated" views. It's hard to see in these photos but in person there is a notable difference in the shadow detail and contrast.

[PDL]

Measuring color fidelity via your eye ball is doomed to fail.

Let me relate a story about color balance that I learned in the early to mid 70's, taking a workshop put on by Omega (remember them) for darkroom color printing.

The instructors were trying to make a point on color balancing a picture. Dark room (conference room with two slide projectors) two projectors displaying the same image. Projector on the left turned off for the discussion. The instructors asked the attendees to not look at the back of the room. So, being good little boys (there were no women at the workshop) we stared at the slide while the instructor blathered on. After about 5 minutes, he asked, “Is the color balance on the image good/bad?” Nearly all of us said “good”, then he said OK watch this and he turned the left projector on.

The image on the right instantly had an obscene amount of Magenta making the color balance hideous to say the least. The instructor said – “Look at the back of the room at the projectors”, we dutifully did a saw a graduated Magenta filter in front of the projector on the right. The instructor said that while he was going on and on, he turned on a stepping motor that slowly rotated the graduated filter. Remember all of us did not see the color shift.

The reason for this is, the brain will compensate for color shifts by assuming trying to keep colors in line with what it “thinks” they should be. The eyeball is a very poor choice of color measurement. Now some will say --- but there are people who can discriminate the differences in Pearls, Paint – bla bla bla. My response is that they have trained their brain/eyes to meet those requirements and they use that skill all the time.

Bottom line: DO NOT rely on your eyeball to judge color fidelity. Get yourself a color calibration tool and us it. (I use a ColorMunki Photo and used to have a Huey Pro) I have used the calibration tool on my desktop, laptop and slate based PC’s. Works wonders. Color fidelity will vary due to monitor brand/model/age and your graphic card model/version/driver. Keeping your colors consistent is almost a black art, but it is simple to do when using an appropriate tool. Ask yourself, if the "factory" is using the same graphics card as you are, did they use the same graphics drivers on the same platform as yours? If not, build your own color profiles.

Update your profile on a regular basis (I use three weeks plus every time NVida updates their drivers - because I can) for consistency. Back in the film days we had to calibrate our color balance using the dichroic head on our enlarger each time we. Changed the light bulb (corrections printed on the side of the box), Paper (suggested filter levels on the side of the box), film (emulsion batch numbers - which is why I was purchasing 100 ft rolls of film and wound my own slide film) and chemistry (when opening a new box of chemistry). Controlling the variables will provide consistent results - the eye ball is not consistent.

[photolady95]

First my photos are never on facebook. And second yes, I have pro status. On calibration, I have Spyder4Pro. Datacolor keeps badgering me to upgrade and I keep balking.

Sorry for the late reply but I just got back from a trip across the state. Something I had not really wanted to do. Now I'm too tired to answer all your replies. May do that in the morning after I've had a good rest.

But thanks for you input.

[disconnekt]

IPS monitors proide a wider color range display that repoduces in the 90% (or more) of Adobe RGB color range. The monitor should be calibrated at least once a month, because there still color shifts that happen.

[eddaytona]

Back in the days of my first career I was a stage lighting designer.
It is well known to us that our brains will color correct to what our brains want "correct" colors to be. When I did beauty pageants I would pink up the stage lights slightly to make the ladies and their costumes more appealing and healthy looking than the warm/yellow color temps of the stage lighting without gel. Those coming into the room would see everything on stage in a nice rosy healthy glow. Those sitting in the room for any time would see flesh tones and costume colors "correctly" and not notice that I was I was "helping" out. Similarly at auto show events I would differentiate the spaces of the car models slightly. The manufacturers of course wanted their very expensive show displays accurate. Not a problem because anyone spending any time in each space would not notice the change. Only from afar looking at a space side by side would you notice a difference. I am sure an uncalibrated monitor, with nothing next to it to compare to, would seem correct to the viewer. So, I agree that even the best IPS monitor would need objective calibration.

[photolady95]

So in essence, a IPS monitor needs calibrating just like a TN monitor does. So, it doesn't matter which one I buy? I thank you all for the information that to me seemed like overkill. LOL

So what are your thoughts on the "matte screen vs. shiny screen" as I really am interested to know what you all think.

I've heard shiny screens can induce glare but my matte screen has permanent hazy streaks on it and I've not found a way to remove them.

[BigMackCam]

So in essence, a IPS monitor needs calibrating just like a TN monitor does. So, it doesn't matter which one I buy? I thank you all for the information that to me seemed like overkill. LOL

You asked for information... you didn't say how much

So what are your thoughts on the "matte screen vs. shiny screen" as I really am interested to know what you all think.

I've heard shiny screens can induce glare but my matte screen has permanent hazy streaks on it and I've not found a way to remove them.

Gloss vs. matte is a tricky one. On balance, I prefer matte due to the much-reduced reflections and slightly muted appearance. Both my laptop and external HP monitor have matte screens. And, when I view photos on a gloss screen TV, they look fine, so working with matte screens for editing doesn't appear to be a problem...

[Kerrowdown]

So what are your thoughts on the "matte screen vs. shiny screen"

I think of it as the same as gloss or matte prints... gloss IMHO always appears to be that tad bit sharper, but while I appreciate that may be just an illusion, it works for me.

Any undue reflections on a gloss monitor can easily be dealt with by correct monitor placement and or monitor hoods.

[BigMackCam]

gloss IMHO always appears to be that tad bit sharper, but while I appreciate that may be just an illusion, it works for me

Actually, I'd agree on that - and, like you, I'm not sure if it's an illusion or not... but it does appear a wee bit sharper