X-Rite i1 Display Studio or x-Rite ColorMunki Photo

Since no one else has replied yet. I'm not super well versed in this area, but I don't think either of those will profile a printer. They would be used to profile the monitor only.

 

The ColorMunki Photo can do printers, but it limited to 50 patches.
I'd be looking more toward something in the i1Pro range if you value colour accuracy.

 

i1 Pro Publish

 

I have an older i1 and have been using it for many years, mainly us it to calibrate my dual monitors monthly, works great.

The Roland tech used it to set up my printer 10 years ago.

 

I own a Studio. Even though it is a fine instrument and quite capable, it is questionable whether it will work for you. It depends on your RIP and how its printer drivers function, your printer's ink set, and exactly what you are trying to accomplish.

Here's my understanding of the issues:
Studio is able to create an ICC Profile which your operating system uses to color correct a CMYK printer on a substrate which is already printing well. (Whether your RIP can access that profile is a separate issue.) If, however, you are trying to set up an all-new material from scratch, or if your printer has more than four colors (CMYK+), then it will likely be inadequate.

The included X-Rite Studio software is the primary limitation to what you can accomplish. The Studio's software will create an ICC Profile file and install it into your operating system for CMYK (and RGB) printers. It does so on a smaller patch set than a Pro and its inherent hardware accuracy is somewhat less than a Pro (but likely better than a munki). It will not profile a CMYK+ printer; again this is a limitation of the Studio's software. I'm not positive about this, but I believe the profile it creates may not be accessible by your particular RIP depending on its capabilities.

Fully "profiling" an inkjet includes setting ink limits and adjusting linearization inside the RIP, in addition to creating the ICC Profile file (either inside the RIP or in the color device's software, again, depending on the RIP). Unless a color measuring device, either colorimeter (munki) or spectrophotometer (Studio or Pro), is specifically supported by your RIP, that device will not work for the first two steps.

In my case, the Studio device is not recognized by Roland Versaworks (even though the i1Pro and i1Pro2 are supported), and my printer is 7-color, so the Studio's limitations make it inadequate for my wide format inkjet needs. For full capability I require an i1Pro Publish. "i1Pro" is the hardware portion, and "Publish" is the software license level.

I don't know your printer's inkset and you didn't mention your RIP. Hopefully the above along with some more research on the capabilities and requirements of your own setup will help you decide.

 

I just re-read your original post. I hadn't noticed you were referring to the "Display" version of Studio. I don't believe this will allow you to profile a printer. At a minimum you would need the ~$500 version to profile a printer - the one I have is the "i1 Studio Designer Edition" which includes both monitor and printer calibration. And, as mentioned above, the ICC Profile it creates may only work through the Windows printer driver, not through your RIP's internal drivers.

 

Neither.

The colorMunki photo is primarily for photographers who print at home. a cheap all in one package as most photographers etc who print at home.

The i1 display studio is pretty much for calibrating monitors only. (i have the i1 display pro) the difference is the studio uses the i1 studio software (which is a watered down version of i1 profiler)

what you need is this:
https://www.xrite.com/categories/calibration-profiling/i1publish-pro-3-plus

this will profile your monitors and printers RGB & CMYK profiles.
It's a lot more expensive than what you're looking at but it's the cheapest, most versatile and the most popular kit in the print industry.

You probably wont ever need to upgrade the software or device for a long time or ever.

 

If you can spend a fair amount of time studying color management for large format printing, starting with a local expert or even YouTube, you might realize the expensive devices and software is necessary. However, maybe you can hire someone who already has the knowledge and tools to setup your printer and workflow for you.

Good luck.

 

So you HAVE profiles for your RIP and the materials you are running on your printer, and you actually need to profile your monitor? <facepalm>

There are some great resources you can use to learn a little more about Color and the digital printing process before you start buying hardware which may not meet your needs. You might look into online courses such as Color Fundamentals webinar (https://www.idealliance.org/color-management-professional-fundamentals) or Color Management Bootcamp live/online course (https://www.sgia.org/education/workshops). There are also some books if that's how you prefer to learn, such as Real World Color Management (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/0321267222).

 

The accuracy of printer profiles would be the best if you profile them on your printer and on your media. Calibrating the monitor only will not lead to reliable color consistency between printer and display.

If you have FlexiSIGN & PRINT (or an older FlexiSIGN-PRO), you have color profiling software integrated, so you could use the cheapest pack with an i1 Pro-device to profile both. If you have Flexiprint or Flexiprint SE, it is not included.

 

I have an X Rite Eye One UV Cut and an X Rite i1 Pro that are not being used if anyone is interested.

 

If your RIP flex 17 or your production rip 7 can build icc profiles internally, then you can find buy the entry i1 basic 3 or even the 2. the software will allow you to calibrate your screens only.

Or if you're confident, you can just find a i1 pro2 on ebay and use free software like arcyll CMS. it's dos base (i've never used it). theres also software called "display cal" that will do your monitors which is free.

but you will soon to lean that ICC profile software isnt cheap. it can get pretty expensive.