The camera sees one thing, the monitor shows another and the printer produces something else altogether. It can be a nightmare trying to get all devises agreeing on what the picture should look like.

Most monitors, straight out of the box, are not properly adjusted for photographic editing. Adobe Photoshop automatically installs an application for adjusting the monitor -- it is called Adobe Gamma and once it is installed runs in the background. Adjusting Adobe Gamma to optimise a monitor requires making several subjective judgements about what is black, what is mid grey and which colour blocks match. It is a process that leaves most people uneasy.

Pantone promises to take some of the guesswork out of monitor adjustment with a range of devices that read generated colours and greys directly from the screen and adjust the monitor profile automatically. The most economical of these devices (relatively speaking) is the Pantone Colorvision Colorplus.

The user sets the black and white levels of the monitor, attaches the sensor to the screen with three suction cups, runs the software and the device cycles through red, green, blue, black, white and grey patches on-screen, reads them, analyses them and creates a monitor profile. The sensor connects to the computer via a USB connection and takes its power through that link.

Like this: Having a machine measure light and colour rather than making difficult, subjective choices on-screen gives a user more confidence in the outcome.

Dislike that: Getting the black level right requires some fiddling with contrast and brightness and making subjective judgements about the results. dpexpert found it hard to get a black black without cheating on the adjustments.

Parting shot: The high cost of the Pantone calibration device will be a deterrent for most people. It may be possible for a group to buy a unit jointly as there is no activation required but the registration of the essential software may prove a problem.

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