Now you've calibrated everything: what lights do you use?

[3dogs]

I have them as ceiling mounted downlighters to give me a reasonable "viewing area". With this arrangement the print brightness is a near perfect match to my monitor brightness (120cd/m2). This is how it looks with an A2 prnt.
View attachment 2279

I like the print for starters, has a really nice classic"feel" to it.

Do you have this lighting set up to illuminte the entire room, or just one specific area?
Added : How far above? my ceilings are a nominal 2.8m approx

This is a terrific thread, as my "proofing" is at times somewhat drawn out. It has evolved over time and relies now on my calibration being spot on. I have thought, rather than sought, to resolve viewing/ lighting set up to get quicker results.

For me 12 hrs drying is cast in stone, as are the time of day i print. My workflow is driven by the need to get natural lighting at the same or similar levels to the prevailing lighting when i made the profiles. I have time to wait. But what if that is not the case and commercial needs drive a persons work flow .....so we get back to lighting.

 

[Roy Sletcher]

Daylight, or the light under which the image is to be viewed, if possible. Printing, proofing is done in the same llight condition as the profiling. Prints are not evaluated for 12 hrs minimum. Allowing ink to dry on the paper.

You can make your printer profiles specific to the lighting conditions under which the print will be viewed. Especially if indoor artificial light.

If my memory is correct Mikling has several different profiles for his IS PC42 inkset that vary by illumination. |Good start if you don't want to do it yourself.

As for my own setup I have a simple full spectrum Ottlite between my monitor and printer. With a little practice I have been able to evaluate the final LOOK of the print under daylight. Not scientific, but cheap and it works for me.

Final comment relates to 3dogs 12 hours comment, which I fully agree with. It seems to me the IS inks for the Pro 100 take a lot longer to stabilize than the inks I was used to on the 9000. Have been guilty of prematurely discarding prints that initially didn't seem right, and then surprisingly, the next day all was good and they looked completely different when I rescued them from the waste bin.



RS
All statements in my posts represent my interpretation of data, research, opinion, or viewpoints and are not necessarily based on reality or facts. They are subject to change without notice subject to my latest whim.

 

[Paul Verizzo]

I`m in Canada and was around -30 Celsius couple of days ago. Think the best light is midday in Florida.

RS

Roy, it's like Alaska here. Why, it got down to 40 F last night! The homeless are freaking out. Still trying to find a reason not to wear shorts, sandals, and a Hawaiian shirt.

 

[Paul Verizzo]

OP, I mentioned the cool white LED strip lights up above. (And that observation about not having any UV activating the brighetners was interesting!) After the sun went down and my B&W output had a decided brown cast when viewed under incandescent, I got out my cool white LED lights. As I move a print under the light, it perks right up to at least something close to natural light.

Not perfect, but pretty damned good. And for free.

 

[Emulator]

It rather depends on the LED. I have a LED UV torch which makes OBA papers glow bright light blue.

 

[RogerB]

I like the print for starters, has a really nice classic"feel" to it.

Do you have this lighting set up to illuminte the entire room, or just one specific area?
Added : How far above? my ceilings are a nominal 2.8m approx

This is a terrific thread, as my "proofing" is at times somewhat drawn out. It has evolved over time and relies now on my calibration being spot on. I have thought, rather than sought, to resolve viewing/ lighting set up to get quicker results.

For me 12 hrs drying is cast in stone, as are the time of day i print. My workflow is driven by the need to get natural lighting at the same or similar levels to the prevailing lighting when i made the profiles. I have time to wait. But what if that is not the case and commercial needs drive a persons work flow .....so we get back to lighting.

Yes, the print is very nice. Unfortunately it's not my work; it's by a very talented photographe called Pauline Fowler http://www.paulinefowlerphotography.com/ Wish I could do something nearly as good!

The lights are intended to illuminate just a relatively small area - about 600mm square. The ceiling is 2.5m high so the lamps are 1.6m above the work table. I run them from an electronic transformer that gives a bit less than 12V so the measured colour tempeature is 4400K rather than 4700K. Makes no difference in pratice.

 

[RogerB]

It rather depends on the LED. I have a LED UV torch which makes OBA papers glow bright light blue.

Yes I have one of those - about £2 on eBay if I remeber right. Very useful for inspecting the yellow in nozzle checks - makes the yellow look almost black. Mine has a peak output at about 390nm - just right for OBAs.

 

[Roy Sletcher]

Roy, it's like Alaska here. Why, it got down to 40 F last night! The homeless are freaking out. Still trying to find a reason not to wear shorts, sandals, and a Hawaiian shirt.

OMG! - The horror! The humanity! At 40°F how can you stand it. Next the fruit growers will be complaining they are going broke and need taxpayer dollars to survive.

Lucky me only had to chip half inch of ice off the windscreen before I could leave my driveway.

RS

 

[The Hat]

Lucky me only had to chip half inch of ice off the windscreen before I could leave my driveway. RS

And how many feet of snow first …

 

[stratman]

Lucky me only had to chip half inch of ice off the windscreen before I could leave my driveway.

Yeah, but it keeps the skunky beer cold, eh?