Color calibration tools - recommendations?

[qveda]

Hi,
I think its time to get a color calibration tool for my Dell monitor. I'm quite pleased with the color when I order prints, but they often don't come out with the same brightness which makes the color seem too dark or light.

Will the Spyder2 (less expensive) work about as well as the Eye-One (seems more popular) ?

At home I'm using an HP printer/scanner that cost about $150. I just use it for rough work, not final prints. Not sure this device, or the HP photo paper, can be 'profiled'. I don't understand how that part works.

But I feel I at least should calibrate my monitors.

Given that I hope to upgrade my monitor to a 24" or 30" IPS, what calibration tool do you recommend ?

 

[northernmunky]

Theres literally just been a discussion on colour calibrators here (along with some thoroughly useless idle banter!):
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/600229/

('Colour' - which is probably why a forum search didn't show the thread!)

 

[Cliff3]

The majority of that thread seems to be useless banter...

Someone asked about colorimeters in this forum the other day - https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/655022/

In terms of profiling your printer, HP probably supplies ICC profiles for their printers using specific HP papers - check the download area of their site for those. You can create your own with the right software, a color target, and a scanner, but that costs more money (~$500 for Xrite's which I have - Data Color probably has something similar).