Monitor Calibration

I'm using a dual computer monitor set up so any hints on calibrating the screen colour. If I open a photo file on one monitor (to me) it looks a bit washed out but on the other monitor it looks a lot better. Haven't printed anything out yet to see what the photo looks like printed. Monitors are Samsung Syncmaster 2243BW (on the digital output) and Samsung Syncmaster 2243 (no other letters etc on the analogue output) Grphics card NVIDIA 9800gt

Hi your best solution would be to use a Monitor Profiler such as ColorMunki Photo.

Colormunki is also for printers and therefore quite expensive if you only want and need to calibrate the monitor there are also other solutions out their like the Spyder3, huey or eyeone for example.

You might want to experiment with a software only solution first, to see if that does enough for you. Many links from google, here's a couple: http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/viewing.html and http://quickgamma.de/indexen.html.

[ It's actually possible to calibrate a monitor and printer setup using software only - if in the right hands. The tricky bit is you really need to train your eye, and for that you might need a hardware set up first. Catch-22! ]

I don't use a dual monitor set-up, but I do use a Spyder 3 pro on a single monitor. I am far from an expert on calibration and colour matching but since using the Spyder I can now print based on what I see on the screen, previously I could waste time, paper and ink on making several adjustments to an image before getting the printed result I wanted.

I wish I had bought the Spyder much earlier