Is there some program I can buy that will calibrate my monitor and whatever else so that my printed pictures are at least close to what appears on the monitor? I've been reading posts here and everywhere about calibrating your monitor and Icc profiles. Still so confused. I calibrated my monitor using Adobe gamma and the images were so dark it was ridiculous. I can't get good prints on my canon ip8500 or from a digital print shop without so much trial and error. I have a small photo greeting card business-I'll create a card that looks great on my screen and in the email proof -then I end up wasting so much time, energy and paper trying to get prints to match that it's not really worth what I make on the cards.
Thank you!

I don't know much about Canon, however, my prints on my Epson are coming out closer to my monitor since I downloaded ICC profiles from my paper comany for the paper I products I use. You might try that.
~Nancy~

--------------------------------------

www.Pix2Portraits.com

I'd recommend a hardware calibrator. You can get them starting from $60.

G'day Charl, there is a thread on monitor calibration HERE (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/contests/10156-calibrate-your-monitor.html) that may be helpful to you.

Most of the time, the problem is NOT monitor calibration, especially if the colors and tones are far off. The issue is more often Color Management and the settings you choose in the print setup windows (Printer Color Management on vs off). All my printers are Epson - no experience with Canon but I would expect the fundamentals to be the same. Perhaps some Canon users will be able to provide more help with you specific printer.
Regards, Murray

Color management is one confusing beast because it involves BOTH monitor and printer calibrations. If your monitor is not properly calibrated, you will vainly adjust colors based on your monitor shift, and end up screwing up the print, and we haven't even gotten to the printer profiling yet.

The monitor calibration is performed by a device that reads colors from your screen, then creates a profile that adjusts your screen to compensate for whatever color shifts your monitor has. However, if you want good prints from a local lab, first you must ask them what temperature they calibrate THEIR monitors at. You must match their temperature before your screen will look like their screen. If a lab uses 6500 degree color temp, and you calibrate for 5500, guess what? Your prints will look blue to the lab. The lab I work in will rent our densitometer out to anyone who wants to give it a go.

OK, now you're monitor is calibrated. You can download printer profiles from manufacturers. If they are available for BOTH the paper you are using AND the printer you use, that's all you'll ever need. It's not just a paper issue. But, even the paper profiles do not take into consideration the printer model, they are still far better than no profile. However, with the same device you calibrate your monitor, you can create your own custom printer profiles with specific paper and your printer. Once that's done, you're golden for creating prints.

Once you can wrap your hands around all this, a whole new world opens up.