The ColorMunki Photo with Monitor Holder pouch and strap.
Photo Review encountered several problems with the supplied device before we could embark on a review. First, the device came without a software disk. This wasn't a major issue as the software was easy enough to download from the X-Rite website (www.xrite.com) because we already had an X-Rite account for the EyeOne Display 2 colorimeter we use on a regular basis. If you don't have an account, setting one up is easy enough as long as you have a serial number for the product.
However, this file is large - 320MB - which may stretch your downloading limits. Even with a fast internet connection it will take more than an hour to download. Note: be wary about electing to download updates when the Check for Updates reminder pops up on your screen as you will probably find yourself downloading the same sized file. (We can't help thinking there must be a better way to provide regular updates to owners of devices like the ColorMunki Photo.)
The size of the Update file is circled in red.
The second issue was more serious as it concerned the device itself, which arrived with a broken zipper on the pouch that is used to position the spectrophotometer against the monitor screen. The strap that suspends the pouch and device over the monitor was also missing. It took just over a week for the distributor, DES Pty Ltd, to supply the missing software and replacement pouch and strap.
The apparent lack of robustness of the pouch, which is absolutely critical to your ability to use the ColorMunki for monitor profiling and which you repeatedly remove and replace, has caused us to give this device a relatively low rating for build quality. Note: the device comes with a 12-month warranty that covers "defects in material and workmanship" and replacement Monitor Holder pouches are available at no cost.
In other respects, the device itself appeared to be quite solidly constructed. Intending purchasers should check that the following items have been included in the ColorMunki Photo package: the ColorMunki Instrument, Monitor Holder (with strap), USB Cable, Quick Start Guide and Application CD.
The final issue we encountered was with the Welcome screen that pops up automatically when you open the ColorMunki Photo software and also when we clicked on the Help (?) button at the top of the GUI screen. You might as well uncheck the Show this dialog on start-up box on the former and ignore the latter since the pages they link to are presented as black text on a dark grey background, which makes them unreadable. Even the hypertext links on the page (which are readable) link to pages that are similarly obscure. Clearly some further work is required by the developer to make these pages accessible.
The Welcome screen.
Clicking on any of the Welcome Screen's links (or any Help link) produces a black-on-dark grey display, as shown above.
Software
The first step in using the ColorMunki Photo is to install the software and then reboot your computer system. The supplied software suite contains dedicated applications for Printer, Display and Projector Profiling, along with DigitalPouch, Photo Colour Picker, Diagnostics and Operational Videos. The latter can be viewed by clicking on the "Click here for video instructions" button that appears on most interface screens.
The user interface is attractive and the wizard has been thoughtfully designed to allow even novice users to profile their equipment easily. However, you must follow the pre-set routines and go from step to step in an orderly fashion. When we couldn't 'persuade' the device to 'read' the colour patches on the printer profiling test charts we learned a valuable lesson: NEVER hit the Back button unless you really want to repeat the step you have just completed (e.g. re-print a test chart). Going by Photo Review's experience, you won't be able to move on to the next screen.
DigitalPouch is a convenient way to group a collection of images with their embedded profiles into a colour-managed viewing application. This self-executable program also checks for correct viewing conditions on the receiving end. Users simply drag the files they want to share onto the desktop and click on Create a Pouch. This produces a *.jar file, which is 'read' by the recipient's system and will cause the images to display with their original embedded input profile. It will also tell viewers whether their display is profiled.
DigitalPouch.
This application can be handy for professional photographers and anybody who sends digital images to publishers or printers. Note: most email clients and web browsers can only display images in the sRGB colour space so if your images are in a different colour space they probably won't look the way you intended. It's best to stick with the standard sRGB colour space for images that will be shared with others - unless you know they are using Adobe RGB or another colour space.
Photo Colour Picker provides a quick way to capture colours from any surface or image to build up colour palettes. Useful mainly to designers, it is compatible with popular professional applications like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign as well as QuarkXpress and industry standard ICC profiles. Photo ColorPicker can automatically show an association between colours with respect to colour harmony, colour variations and similarities.
The Photo ColorPicker user interface.
With Photo ColorPicker, users can check which colours are PrintSafe (i.e. will print correctly with standard ink sets) based on printer profiles. It's also possible to simulate the effects of different lighting conditions to check potential for metamerism. Photo ColorPicker also enables colour libraries based on particular images to be created for future reference.
Starting Up
When you plug in the ColorMunki hardware via the USB cable, a screen will appear telling you to Activate the software. This is done by clicking on a button on the lower edge of the screen. Although a nearby button allows you to register the device (and thereby gain access to additional benefits (such as a user account), registration is not required at this time.
Once activation (which takes only a few seconds) is completed, a red ColorMunki icon is added to the right side of the top menu bar on Macintosh systems and the lower right section of the Taskbar on Windows systems. Clicking on this icon launches the profiling software. Initially the menu will indicate the display has not been profiled. Once profiling is completed the icon will turn green and remain so until re-profiling is required, when it turns red again.
The next step is to decide which device you wish to profile. Most people will start with their computer monitor. You must then select the correct operational mode from four marked positions on the device's side panel. These cover Ambient, Projector, Calibration and Display, Print and Spot modes. The ColorMunki's wizard-based software tells you when and shows you how to switch modes.
Shifting modes is fairly straightforward. Holding the ColorMunki with one hand, you turn the outer rim of the Rotary Disk Control with the thumb of the other hand. Raised ridges on the Disk are supposed to make it easy to grab but Photo Review found it impossible to turn the disk when the device was in the monitor holder pouch. It also required a fair bit of force to shift the disk once the pouch was removed. A blinking white indicator bar shows the device is active and indicates the mode position. Once the mode has been changed you must press down on the Trigger button in the centre of the dial to activate the measurement mode.
Shifting modes by rotating the Rotary Disk Control. The large central is the Trigger for activating the measurement mode.
Fitting the ColorMunki Photo into the pouch can be tricky as it requires correct orientation and the pouch is rather tight (which probably explains why the zip is easily broken). The strap is permanently attached to the zipper pull-loop and is partially filled with sand to counterbalance the weight of the device when it rests on the monitor screen. A fair amount of re-positioning was required before Photo Review had the device in the correct position to allow profiling to proceed.
No power cable is required as the device is powered via the USB cable, which attaches to the device at the zipper closure point. However, you must connect the ColorMunki Photo to a powered USB port that delivers enough power. This generally means a USB port on the computer itself as ports on keyboard and monitors are typically not powered (or don't provide enough power). Fortunately, it worked flawlessly with our USB hub. The supplied cable is roughly 1.8 metres long, providing plenty of scope for connectivity.
Monitor Profiling
The ColorMunki's start-up screen offers three profiling options: Match My Printer to My Display (which involves creating profiles for both monitor and printer), Profile my Display and Profile My Printer. Initially you should select the former as it will save you time in the long run to have both monitor and printer 'speaking the same language'. Below these selection buttons are links to the DigitalPouch and Photo Colour Picker applications.
If you've ever profiled a monitor, using the ColorMunki Photo is straightforward. Once you've loaded the software, a wizard-driven interface steps you through the profiling process (shown in screen grabs below). This interface is similar to other profiling devices we've reviewed and very straightforward to use. It offers the choice between easy and advanced modes. The wizard display for the Easy mode is shown in the illustrations below.
1. The Start screen.
2. Choosing the device to profile.
3. Setting display type and profiling mode.
4. Calibrating the device.
5. Positioning the device on the monitor screen.
6. Profile completion and reminder.
7. Before and after comparison screen.
The software displays a sequence of colour patches for the device to read. It then creates a profile of your monitor and allows you to see the before and after views of the default profile. If you're happy with what you see, this profile can be saved as the current setting. You can also set the frequency at which your display should be re-profiled (four settings are available covering between one and four week intervals).
It took one minute and 2.35 seconds to run through the profiling routine on our Windows XP-based computer. Unlike some colorimeters, the ColorMunki Photo can be used for profiling multiple monitor set-ups and the fast profiling time will make it worthwhile to do this. Note: the ColorMunki must be re-calibrated each time it is connected to your computer before you can start making measurements in any operational mode.
To measure the ambient illumination in your work area, you must use the ColorMunki Photo's Advanced profiling mode, which also provides whitepoint, ambient compensation, pre-calibration settings. Interestingly, you can't elect to simply measure ambient light levels (as you can with some other devices). A small white diffusion disc in the top of the device detects the colour temperature of the ambient light. This information is fed to the software, which corrects the profile created accordingly.
Ambient Lighting measurements can only be made in the Advanced profiling mode.
Measuring ambient lighting.
Printer Profiling
Printer profiling involves printing two test charts, each containing 50 colour patches arranged in five columns. The first chart is used to make initial measurements of how the printer reproduces a standard set of colours. The second is for fine-tuning.
It's important to have the printer set up for the type of paper you will print on and the appropriate resolution. You must also disable all automatic colour management settings (including colour management by the printer) in the printer driver. The same driver settings must be used for both test charts.
The wizard steps you through the following screens:
1. Set-up for printing first test chart.
2. Print first test chart.
3. Allow test chart to dry for 10 minutes, using the built-in timer. Note: this step is mandatory for dye-based printers but can usually be skipped - or reduced to five minutes - for pigment printers as pigment inks seldom change colour after printing.
4. Measure test chart. In this step you must push the ColorMunki Photo along each column of colour patches, starting and ending in the white areas of the paper. The Trigger button must be held in while measurements are being taken.
5. As you finish measuring each column, the yellow marquee will move to the next column if measurement has been successful. If it doesn't, you must repeat the process until all colour patches have been measured.
6. The software then generates the second test chart, which is used to fine-tune the colour profile. This process takes roughly a minute. The test chart is then displayed on the screen ready for printing, after which it is allowed to dry and the measurement process is repeated.
7. Once the profile has been built, you are given an opportunity to name it and save it.
8. You can also set the profile to be used automatically in Adobe's Creative Suite applications and in QuarkXPress.
We found it took approximately half an hour to create a printer profile. This included 20 minutes of drying time for the two test charts plus the process of measuring the colour patches - which was not entirely trouble free. It took several minutes to 'persuade' the ColorMunki Photo device to start measuring the first column and, at one stage where we had to pause for several minutes, re-starting the measurement process also met with some resistance. When the device is co-operative, it takes less than half a minute to scan each column of colour patches. And, once you have completed one column, you can usually proceed to the next without delay.
Other Features
Because the text explanations provided via the Welcome screen and in the Help files were unreadable, Photo Review can't report on any of the special features included with the ColorMunki Photo. We couldn't find any information about colour management nor about the gamma and colour temperature values the device is using - or the profiles themselves when they are created.
In fact, there's no real explanation of anything beyond the step-by-step directions the software provides during the calibration and profiling processes. This is frustrating for anyone with a modicum of knowledge about colour management and does nothing to educate novices who want to learn. On the plus side, profiling a second monitor was just as easy as profiling our main monitor screen (and you can't claim that for some other colorimeters we've looked at).
However, although you end up with a calibrated monitor, you're not told much about it and it's not stored with a date so you don't know how old it is. When you check the profile (Windows users can view it by right-clicking on the desktop then selecting Properties>Settings>Advanced>Colour Management), the only information provided is labels for Display 1 and 2 plus D65 (which simply denotes the white point to which the device is calibrated). In contrast, the EyeOne Display 2 adds dates of profiling to the profile name, making it easy to identify the most recent profiles and track previous profiles. This is certainly the system we prefer.
Monitor profiles. The top two profiles were created by the ColorMunki Photo, while the next two come from the EyeOne Display 2.
According to a brochure we downloaded from the company's website (www.colormunki.com/) you should be able to create CMYK profiles and carry out spot colour measurements. It should also be possible to optimise the profile by using an image of your choice. For example, if you shoot and print portraits or make lots of black and white prints, you should be able to use the software to analyse a sample image and generate another test chart for you to measure. This creates a profile that is tuned to that type of output.
However, without being able to read any instructions, Photo Review couldn't test these aspect of the device's performance. Nor were we able to test the projector profiling capabilities of the ColorMunki Photo because we don't have a digital projector.
Conclusion
The ability to profile both your monitor and your printer in a straightforward fashion is what makes the ColorMunki Photo so attractive to digital photographers and largely justifies its comparatively high price tag. We found the monitor profiles produced for Photo Review's testing system were as good as the profiles from our EyeOne Display 2 colorimeter, which has served us well for several years. (Currently, the EyeOne Display 2 is roughly $200 cheaper but it can't be used for printer profiling.) The printer and paper profiles were also very good and we found it useful to be able to produce profiles for the printing papers we use on a regular basis and integrate them into our digital workflow.
The bundled DigitalPouch and Photo Colour Picker will be invaluable for any photographer who shares images with others in a colour-critical environment. It will also be useful for designers, architects and anyone who requires consistent and repeatable colour throughout a digital workflow from capture to output.
However, the device alone is no guarantee of flawless capture to output. Users must still pay attention to capturing images with the correct camera settings and high enough resolution and select the correct profile in their image editor. They must also ensure the correct settings have been entered in the printer driver.
Although the ColorMunki Photo isn't cheap, it can turn a technical process that might otherwise be confusing and time-consuming into a simple exercise that is quickly accomplished with minimal fuss. Aside from some reservations about the robustness of the Monitor Holder and strap and the size of the software download, we have no qualms about recommending it to photographers who want to maintain a colour-managed workflow for producing prints of their digital photos.
Australian Re-sellers
The ColorMunki Photo can be purchased from the following re-sellers: Ted's Camera Stores, Australian Interactive Multimedia, Colourspec, Vanbar Imaging, Design Wyse, Image Science, Sun Studios Australia, Foto Riesel, Blueline Media, Photo Continental, Inkjet City, Twin City Camera House, Photographic Wholesalers, Total Photographics, PRA Imaging and Team Digital.