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#1 2005-07-19 21:00:52

waldek_a
Member
From: Munich, Germany
Registered: 2005-04-19
Posts: 85

Color Mangement under Linux KDE

Hi!
I use KDE, I have Nvidia card and LG 795FT+ monitor. I've been working on my web site recently and found out that neither firefox nor konquerow display colors properly (gamma). I printed out my pictures a few times in a professional print shop and I know roughly how they should look like. In my oppinion on my pc under linux they are too dark when using ff and konqueror, same goes to gwenview. GIMP is fine - it looks the same as from windows, mac  and printouts. So I use GIMP.
I tried to correct it with gamma settings of the Control Center. It works but I had to set gamma to 1.6-1.7 and then desktop and GIMP were too bright. Desktop was unusable - maybe if I put my snowboarding goggles on then it would be fine ;-)
Do you have any experience in this matter?
Is anybody using linux for picture adjustment, DTP, graphics etc? Any tips are welcome.

cheers

waldek

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#2 2005-07-20 09:05:06

scarecrow
Member
From: Greece
Registered: 2004-11-18
Posts: 715

Re: Color Mangement under Linux KDE

If using the nvidia driver, color correction is as simple as alt+F2, then "nvidia-settings" and opening the "XServer Color Correction" section. It should work much better than KDE's Control Center.


Microshaft delenda est

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#3 2005-07-20 12:38:31

neri
Forum Fellow
From: Victoria, Canada
Registered: 2003-05-04
Posts: 553

Re: Color Mangement under Linux KDE

scarecrow wrote:

If using the nvidia driver, color correction is as simple as alt+F2, then "nvidia-settings" and opening the "XServer Color Correction" section. It should work much better than KDE's Control Center.

Well, it is not that easy, absolutely not that easy, cuz using nvidia-setting leaves you without any reference, so you can stay without it better.
One issues is overall important:
ALWAYS USE ONLY ONE TOOL FOR CALIBRATION. Otherwise you start calibratingyour calibrated settings -> bogus! What can be done:
1.Note to self: write a damn wiki about the ongoing' progress on the issue
2. Calibrate your monitor: There are only a view tools available. The only reliable in arch is monica. Whoever has calibrated a monitor should be comfortable with it. It writes a call of xgamma into .xinitrc. So it might be necessary to find a way to include the call into your X startup process. Remember, once you've done it NEVER touch KDE's settings!
3. Calibrate your input devices. Much needs to be done here. I will try to find some profiles for scanners. But people will be on their own for digicams. Sorry.
4. Calibrate your printer. This works in conjunction with your printing software.

Gimp has been rebuild with lcms support, so is cinepaint. Also Scribus comes with support for it. Just note that gimp as of 2.3(read: current devel) has a much better lcms support. I'm in discussion with a guy who is providing many profiles for usage with lcms. But all this at the very beginnings. I try to make a workflow possible out of the box as good as possible. But not much software supports color profiling currently.

-neri

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#4 2005-07-20 20:45:15

waldek_a
Member
From: Munich, Germany
Registered: 2005-04-19
Posts: 85

Re: Color Mangement under Linux KDE

thanks for the feedback for both of you scarecrow and neri. When I gave it second thought the subject "Color Mangement System" was a bit over the top. I don't need to calibrate my screen with scanner, image setter and printing plant because I don't use it professionally. What I found out was the pictures were too dark on linux and the difference among platforms and printout was big enough for me to notice.
I've downloaded and installed Monica today, followed the steps and it looks pretty good - I'll do it again on the weekend during the day to see how it looks like.
Good news is I'm not able to confirm my yesterdays findings about gamma difference between FF, Conqueror, GwenView and Gimp. It looks consistent - was too dark in all apps.
I've noticed lcms is installed on my pc but what I found out it is more a library than a tool I can use, anyway this package looks good too:
http://www.argyllcms.com/
but I think it is an overkill for most of the average users.
Wiki is a great idea at least basic steps and tools, of corse the more you can write the better. Maybe divide it into different sections based on audience.

cheers

w.

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