Color problem

Hi there,

I've encounter a color problem with my mac. First I saw it in photoshop when doing some tutorials and using quick time to play tutorial movies and working with included files simultaneously. What should be blue like 0 red 0 green 255 blue is actually violet on my mac. It was strange because I saw a nice blue sky on a quick time tutorial movie and the same sky on file I was working on it was actually violet instead of blue. It was so strange to me then I've started to look for the answer and i appears the when I choose 255 blue and o red and green in photoshop color picker it's violet instead of blue. I thought it was sth wrong with photoshop but when I run color sync utility and choose calculator (generic RGB profile) and put rgb values 0 red 0 green 1 blue its also violet.

Could any one tell me why this is happening and what's going on with my blue ???

Important thing I using Eye One Display 2 for screen calibration

below You can see some screenshots to visualize the problem:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22924199@N02/2818688737/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22924199@N02/2819391160/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22924199@N02/2818660833/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22924199@N02/2818545097/in/photostream/


I'm not an expert then it comes to color management and hove no idea about color sync utility. I'm just a young photographer, retoucher and designer who wants to have good accurate colors and spend whole his time on creative work not on fighting with some color management problems.

Please help.....

MacBook Pro 17" High Res, Mac OS X (10.5.4), 4 GB RAM, Screen calibrated with Eye One Display 2

Posted on Sep 1, 2008 3:34 PM

Reply
65 replies

Sep 2, 2008 3:33 AM in response to R_Leszczynski

You're right when I've changed profile it's ok. So now is a question: Why profiles mode with Eye One Mach 3 software and Eye One Display 2 colorimeter changes my blue into violet and what should I do to have good calibrated colors on my Macbook Pro (I thought that buying colorimeter and just simply using it we do the job but now I'm completely confused, what shell I do)????????

Sep 2, 2008 6:59 AM in response to R_Leszczynski

First of all thank God eventually someone who understands what I'm talking about. I'm fighting with this for some time plus have couple additional color problems in my workflow and no one was able to help me with them.

Ok back to to the issue:

I have Macbook Pro 17" with this high res option 1900x1200 pix resolution matte display. As far as I know there are no additional option to change display settings except brightness value that could be adjust using keyboard function keys or in preferences/display (I have this brought to max brightness and unchecked "automatically adjust brightness as ambient level change". As I said I use Eye One Display 2 for calibration. Maybe I'm should change some preferences in Eye One Match 3 or sth during calibration (there are 3 options when calibrating Laptop Display - white point, gamma, and luminance, what should I choose in there????) One more thing in Eye One Match preferences I've checked ICC specification version 4 and Large (LUT) (this options where recommended in Lynda Color Management Essential Training DVD). Maybe this is white point option problem??? I think i always choose 6500.... What shell I do?? How to set up Eye One Match and which option to choose during calibration????

Sep 2, 2008 1:42 PM in response to R_Leszczynski

I've tried everything. Run diagnostic. Then set Eye One match Preferences to default and run calibration in easy mode and then in advance mode. I even tried to use native white balance on the advanced mode because I found on x-rite site that 6500 k white point could caused magenta cast (indeed my dark gray osx desktop looks more green then magenta for the first look) Unfortunately when I change profile from default osx lcd to the one mede with eye one 255 blue patch changes to violet and calculator in color sync shows also violet instead of blue. When I open new document in photoshop in color space set in preferences (the one made in eye match and fill it with 255 blue it's blue but when I create document in for example adobe RGB sRGB or Prophoto RGB it's violet. What's going on maybe it's a normal result of calibration or there is something wrong with my macbook pro or eye one display. I have no idea what to do???

Sep 2, 2008 2:27 PM in response to R_Leszczynski

I even tried to use native white balance on the advanced mode because I found on x-rite site that 6500 k white point could caused magenta cast


Native white balance is just another way of saying, "Don't change the white point my monitor is set to now, whatever that may be."

6500K should not cause a magenta cast. It's a very bluish white that you see everywhere. Look at any television or Windows computer as it comes from the factory. They are all set to 6500/2.2.

(indeed my dark gray osx desktop looks more green then magenta for the first look)


If you aren't getting a neutral gray ramp from white to black after creating your profile, something is wrong. But then, it could be a case of surround color throwing off your perception of the screen color. Are you working in a light controlled room, or do you have non color corrected fluorescent lighting. Worse, incandescent lighting, or next to a window. For color work, you should be in a darkened room with no light (or as little other light as possible) other than what comes from your screen and a color corrected viewing booth, such as those from GTI.

Unfortunately when I change profile from default osx lcd to the one mede with eye one 255 blue patch changes to violet and calculator in color sync shows also violet instead of blue.


So any supplied profile works fine, but those you create don't. Correct?

When I open new document in photoshop in color space set in preferences (the one made in eye match and fill it with 255 blue it's blue but when I create document in for example adobe RGB sRGB or Prophoto RGB it's violet.


That's a bit confusing as it contradicts the previous statement. In Photoshop you get just the opposite result? Using your created profile as the RGB working space is fine, but if you switch to a canned profile, then blue turns violet?

If so, it sounds like the OS, specifically ColorSync may be damaged. I'd try reinstalling the OS. Use the Archive and Install method, making sure to choose the option to preserve your settings and preferences.

Sep 2, 2008 2:39 PM in response to R_Leszczynski

So Your suggestion is to reinstall OSX. How it could happen that color sync is damaged? I'll be back home on Friday so I'll install everything from a scratch and try ones again. Another thing I could do is to try creating profile with Eye One on my old HP laptop and check how photoshop will render blue color there. If there will be the same problem with HP thats probably sth wrong with Eye One. BTW I wish I knew anybody els with Macbook Pro so I could compare it with main. It would be also nice to find someone who has The same Macbook Pro as main and uses Eye One for calibration.

Sep 2, 2008 2:55 PM in response to R_Leszczynski

So Your suggestion is to reinstall OSX. How it could happen that color sync is damaged?


It's a guess since it seems to be tied to the profiles somehow. Though it's also entirely possible that the Eye-One software is having a problem with the graphics hardware. I suggested a reinstall of the OS to eliminate an OS issue as the problem. If at all possible, make a clone of your hard drive first to an external drive.

Sep 2, 2008 3:31 PM in response to R_Leszczynski

Reinstalling the OS is not likely to accomplish anything whatsoever. Few profiling packages cope with laptops well, and I've found the latest offerings from X-Rite to be particularly inept at achieving anything marginally approaching neutrality. Try the demo versions of basICColor Display and ColorEyes with your puck and see if either of them fares any better. If not, and if the cast is truly severe, then your colorimeter and/or display hardware could be suspect.

Do also note that you are never going to achieve truly accurate color on any currently shipping laptop display no matter what anyone promises you. They simply aren't made for soft proofing, and in some tragically recent cases, actually resort to dithering.

Sep 2, 2008 4:45 PM in response to orangekay

Reinstalling the OS is not likely to accomplish anything whatsoever.


So if the OS were indeed damaged, reinstalling it would still accomplish nothing?

Few profiling packages cope with laptops well, and I've found the latest offerings from X-Rite to be particularly inept at achieving anything marginally approaching neutrality.


That's funny, I've profiled a fair number of laptops and gotten excellent results. And X-Rite is inept? I suppose you think that the Eye-One, designed and marketed by the former Gretag-MacBeth is then also inept? You must be doing something wrong.

If not, and if the cast is truly severe, then your colorimeter and/or display hardware could be suspect.


Possibly. I was starting with the OS instead of throwing every single possible problem at the OP at once.

Do also note that you are never going to achieve truly accurate color on any currently shipping laptop display no matter what anyone promises you.


That at least is true. They don't have a contrast control, making it impossible to properly calibrate the dislpay and soft proofing pretty shaky.

and in some tragically recent cases, actually resort to dithering.


Oh brother. Where did you hear that!? If you had the display set to 256 colors instead of millions it would. But how would you manage that otherwise?

Sep 3, 2008 1:27 AM in response to R_Leszczynski

Ok guys I've tried this software Color Eyes Display Pro. It's mostly the same result as with Eye One Match. Now another thing this situation happens in all apps that accept color management (like photoshop, nikon capture NX 2, safari) when I open the same image in OSX preview blue is mostly the same like with default LCD profile. What could be wrong? Maybe it's normal typical behavior that after calibration Macbook Pro display blue color changes into muted bluish-violet color in all apps that accept color management? But it's so ridicules... One more thing When I use soft proof in photoshop and choose to proof with created profile and check preserve RGB numbers colors look fine blue is blue on all profiles (one in easy mode and advanced mode with eye match and the one with color eyes display pro.BTW colors are better and much more saturated with color eyes profile.

Ok so do You have any ideas what's happening???? Of course I know it's just a laptop but it's the best laptop from apple brand and it costed lots of money. Maybe it's not EIZO LCD but blue should be blue....

Sep 3, 2008 6:26 AM in response to R_Leszczynski

Reinstalling OSX is not a problem. I could even bring it to completely factory setting (got everything backed up. If this want help I should try to use this other software You've suggested???


Reinstalling everything fresh on an erased drive is just to rule out corrupt software, whether it's the OS, Photoshop, Eye One Match or other. It's not a whole lot of fun to reinstall all of your software, but it's the only way to rule the software out as the problem. Make sure to apply all available updates for QuickTime, the OS, Photoshop, etc.

Maybe it's normal typical behavior that after calibration Macbook Pro display blue color changes into muted bluish-violet color in all apps that accept color management?


No, it shouldn't do that. If after reinstalling the software for your Macbook Pro you get the same results from profiles created with the Eye-One, it would have to lean towards a hardware problem. Either the graphics card (not as likely since blue it blue with a provided profile), or the colorimeter itself is bad.

When I use soft proof in photoshop and choose to proof with created profile and check preserve RGB numbers colors look fine blue is blue on all profiles


Soft proofing a display profile will produce kind of odd results. The intention of soft proofing is to choose an output profile. Like a profile for a color laser jet printer. Then Photoshop would attempt to show you how color would look on a printed piece from that device.

Ok so do You have any ideas what's happening????


Not exactly, or close enough yet. That's what erasing the drive and reinstalling will rule out for us.

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