Pantone and GretagMacbeth Announce Unrivaled Color Performance in Monitor Calibration Tools
Pantone, Inc., the global authority on color and provider of professional color standards for the design industries, today announced new capabilities for its professional monitor calibration tools, Eye–One Display LT and Eye–One Display 2, under the PANTONE/gretagmacbeth partnership. The products give creative professionals more control with a unique push–button calibration feature that eliminates many time–consuming manual steps associated with monitor calibration and profiling. Users can now create profiles for any ambient light condition for optimal viewing of color–critical work. Additionally, both products include support for Windows® XP Professional x64 Edition. Current Eye–One Display LT and Eye–One Display 2 users can download the upgraded software, free–of–charge, at www.pantone.com.
The push–button calibration feature included in both products automatically interacts with monitors to adjust RGB, brightness and contrast settings for optimal color clarity, and supports most popular professional monitors. Eye–One Display LT and Eye–One Display 2 incorporate gray balance optimization for more neutral and better–defined grays. Profile summary reports are provided for post profile analysis, as well as profile reminders to ensure users recalibrate their monitors as monitors may drift over time. In addition, a "before and after" feature allows users to easily see the effects of the calibration process on images.
"Calibrating your monitor is the first step to controlling color in the digital workflow," said Andy Hatkoff, vice president of electronic color systems for Pantone, Inc. "The ability to adjust for ambient lighting is an important feature for those who work in controlled lighting environments and is now available in both products. The push–button calibration feature automates as much of the calibration process as possible, without compromising color quality."
Eye–One Display LT
Eye–One Display LT is designed for creative professionals just getting started with color management. Users can select between 1.8 or 2.2 gamma settings, have ambient light measurement functionality and the push–button calibration feature. Eye–One Display LT shows target color temperature and luminance, and stores all the information in a profile – ideal for post–profile analysis. Eye–One Display LT can also calibrate multiple monitors connected to a single workstation. It is the ideal entry–point for the price sensitive creative professional and can be easily upgraded to the capabilities of the Eye–One Display 2 as users’ needs expand.
Eye–One Display 2
Eye–One Display 2 is designed for advanced professionals and includes all the features of Eye–One Display LT, as well as a virtually unlimited gamma selection from 1.0 to 3.0. The ambient light sensor on Eye–One Display 2 offers more precise, controlled viewing through measurement–based whitepoint targeting. Eye–One Display 2 defines calibration parameters by opening previously generated Eye–One Display profiles and matching multiple monitors for accurate viewing. Users can now monitor and track the performance of their display in terms of DeltaE, which allows for a deeper view of the capabilities and better monitor performance. Eye–One Display 2 also supports ICC4 profile specification for high quality softproofing.
A Complete Family of Monitor Calibration Solutions
Through its partnership with GretagMacbeth, Pantone offers a family of monitor calibration tools for users at every level. This includes Eye–One Display LT and Eye–One Display 2, as well as huey™, the newest device for consumers and photo hobbyists looking for absolute color and clarity. Unlike other professional monitor calibration tools, huey calibrates a user’s monitor and adjusts it based on their primary viewing activities such as editing photos, playing games, creating graphics or browsing the Web. At $89, huey affordably delivers quick, accurate onscreen color.
Pricing, Availability and System Requirements
Eye–One Display LT and Eye–One Display 2 are powered by Eye–One Match 3.6 software and the upgrade is available immediately. Eye–One Display LT and Eye–One Display 2 users can download the upgraded software at www.pantone.com. The upgrade software extends push–button calibration capabilities to the following monitors:
- Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 2070SB
- LaCie Electron 19b3
- LaCie Electron 19b4
- LaCie Electron 22b3
- LaCie Electron 22b4
- IBM P275
- NEC MultiSync® 2060NX
- NEC 2141SB
- NEC 930SB
- NEC FP13755X
- Eizo CG220
- Sony S205F/K
- HP p1230
huey, Eye–One Display LT and Eye–One Display 2 are available through Pantone at www.pantone.com and its resellers. Eye–One Display LT is priced at $169 and Eye–One Display 2 is priced at $249. Eye–One Display 2 is also available through GretagMacbeth and its resellers. All of the devices work with LCD, CRT and laptop monitors and are compatible with Mac OSX 10.3, Windows 2000 and Windows XP.
About Pantone, Inc.
Pantone, Inc., developer of the globally accepted PANTONE Color Systems, is the leading source of traditional and electronic products for the selection and accurate communication of color. With over 40 years of experience, Pantone is recognized as the worldwide market leader in color communication and color technology for the graphic design, printing, publishing, textile and plastics industries. Pantone is an ISO–9001:2000 certified company. More information is available at www.pantone.com.
About GretagMacbeth
GretagMacbeth is a worldwide technological leader of color management solutions for graphic arts, photography, digital imaging, paints, plastics, apparel, textiles and automotive, among other industries. The company, part of Amazys Holding AG headquartered in Regensdorf, Switzerland, maintains offices in the Americas, Europe and Asia. GretagMacbeth trains and supports customers worldwide and is an ISO–9001 certified company. More information is available at www.gretagmacbeth.com.
