and it has worked great. It even reminds you to recalibrate your monitor every few weeks. I am one of those people who need reminders... However, this is a cautionary tale of what happens when you ignore your calibrator.The last couple of weeks my Pantone has been nagging me to calibrate (you can turn this feature off) but like my kids asking for chocolate before breakfast, I just ignored it...
After all, I don't think you really have to calibrate every few weeks anyway, that is overkill, right?
I have noticed the last few weeks that my Photoshop Elements gray background was really dark. So dark I have had issues seeing the top toolbar. I had convinced myself that I accidentally hit something and changed the background color. And once I left the computer I promptly forgot all about it.
I also noticed that photos I had edited a few weeks ago looked a bit dark on my monitor. Most people with an IQ over 20 would start connecting the dots at this point, right? Then I printed out some newly edited photos on my printer and they were really blown out. More obvious clues, but I blamed my printer.
See, I work on the computer during the kid's nap or late at night, so when I am tapping away I am usually exhausted. I sometimes try to get a few things done while the kids are up and running around, and then you can imagine the distractions. So, like all moms, I have so much going on with the kids and life that sometimes I miss the blatantly obvious.
So two days ago I came into the den where my elaborate home office (a built-in desk) is located and I saw Imp using my little Pantone Huey as a gun. Yes, he was "shooting" his brother with it, while doing a finger dance on my computer keyboard. When he saw me he immediately tried to shove the little calibrator back into its holder.
I suddenly had one of those "ah ha" moments. After telling Imp not to mess with Mommy's computer I calibrated my monitor.
OH MY! Suddenly it was bright. I opened up Photoshop Elements and it looked normal and I could actually see my brushes. I flipped through some edits and noticed they looked properly exposed. I then came onto my blog and checked out the photos on the latest posts and surprise, they were too light...
So this cautionary tale ends. If you decide to invest in a calibrator (and you should), it might not hurt to actually use it. :-)
