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Color Correction is a large part of being a photographer. It crosses over into many other fields as well (graphic design/graphic arts, gaming, etc.). I am a huge proponent of having everyone color correct their computer monitor for the best possible output and most color consistency across platforms (between computers no matter what the brand, make or model). It makes a big difference in the everyday use of your computer, a difference that is hardly noticeable until you start using the color correction profiles.
I am platform agnostic and really do not care whether you use a PC or an Apple MAC, both have their advantages. As the Adobe representative puts it… get which ever computer suits you best or you think sucks the least at the time. Most major software titles are written to have the same features and similar interface on both platforms.
The latest update in the field of color correction come at a time when consolidation of companies is the norm. Xrite announced a merger with GretagMacbeth in early 2006 and the two largest companies in the color correction field finalized everything in October 2006. A majority of the Xrite color correction solutions have been discontinued or phased out in favor of the GretagMacbeth products. Both brands are now sold under the Xrite label and are marketed by MAC (Mamiya America Corporation) or MAC Group US. MAC has a student/educator program that is arguably the best in the photographic industry. They provide incredible support for schools, students and educators as well as the professionals that buy their products.
That being said, there are other solutions you should also consider. Please take a look under the Links section under the Photography – Color Correction heading for more information and links to color correction information and product information web sites.
Correcting a monitor is fairly simple as far as the end-user process goes and the packages can be purchased for a reasonable price with a colorimeter hardware/software package. The solutions I recommend are for the amateur and professional alike. The cost ranges from $100 to approximately $400 for a monitor correction solution. The overall best monitor solution is Color Eyes by Integrated Color Corporation. A close runner-up at lower price point is the Xrite/GretagMacbeth Eye-One Display 2. The Eye-One Display LT is also a good choice, but is does not allow for dual monitors or some of the more robust features of the Display 2 unit. If you are a student or on a budget then the GretagMacbeth solutions are probably the best choice. Color Vision has a very good monitor correction solution in their Spyder2 series of products.
One caveat to doing monitor color correction is the quality of your video card and monitor. Every piece of hardware is slightly different so every profile will be different. However, some video cards and monitors and more adjustable than others. All MAC Pro and most iMac video cards support color correction (as they cater to the creative markets of photography, graphic design, etc.). All PC video cards do not support true hardware adjustments. Most upper level ATI/AMD and Nvidia video cards work well. At last look ATI (now AMD) and Nvidia supported native color correction in all their video cards over the $190 price mark. Most of the consumer level entry video cards will not do hardware level color correction. As far as monitors go, you have to be very careful when looking at the specifications. Make sure to get a minimum of 16.7 million colors supported (8-bit color level), good refresh rate of 75 or better at native resolution for LCD monitors (the resolution may vary for different sizes and different manufacturers), and the ability to adjust white point, brightness and contrast. If you have any questions or need pointing in the right direction on a video card, monitor or color correction package please feel free to contact me on the contact page of the site.
The settings most often used for color correcting monitors (now industry standards to keep everyone on the same page and make things as consistent as possible) are a color temperature of 6500 degrees kelvin and gamma of 2.2.
If you intend to do printer calibration then you have to step up to a different series of products. The only strong recommendation I can give is for the Xrite and GretagMacbeth series of products. Print calibration products require a spectrophotometer instead of a colorimeter. Print calibration requires many more mathematical algorithims and is overall a more time consuming process. It makes a huge difference in the print quality over a variety of media (papers, fabrics, etc.), but the entry price is usually around $1,000 for a mediocre solution up to $5,000+ for a top notch solution that allows control over more ink, paper and printing options.