Color profiles on monitor 1

[Hyperlord]

My monitor grossly mispresents colors from screen to print. I input PMS colors all over the spectrum and complare the colors on screen to my color book. they aren't even close!

Anyone know of a utility out there that can make the monitor at least close to the actual colors to print?

Or do I need to tweak the monitor endlessly...

I just bought a spankin new samsung 17" flat-screen - - if that helps... Maybe bad color representation is an LCD thing?? Knowledge enormous makes a God of me.

 

[askIllustrator]

Bad color is more of a "monitor" problem in general. I once had access to a brand new sony trinitron monitor and one of those fancy colormetric thingys that look like a camera with a suction cup around the lense that sticks to your monitor. I am an extremly savvy person and I spent no less than 40 hours trying to get it to work. You need a degree in color theory just to use the damn thing.
The big hurtle is that monitors are basically big square light bulbs that display color by heating phosphors at one of three different temperatures to create red green or blue. Print, on the other hand, is a combonation of cyan, magenta, yellow and black and is printed on dull paper. So there really is no sure fire way to match color other than lots of calibration. The adobe gamma wizard will get you pretty close but there will always be a little guess work.
First make a document with four squares on it. Make each square 100% Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black respectivly. Then you have to play with the RGB settings in your color profile till whats on your screen matches the print. From here you can start matching spot colors. Or, if you have a PMS book you can just hold certain colors against the screen and tweek accordingly. Look away for a second before you start tweeking it. BEHOLD! As Steve Jobs introduces us the latest in desk-lamp technology!

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