huey

Inexpensive, easy-to-use monitor calibration system

Color management is important to understand and implement but remains elusive for many. Pantone and GretagMacbeth have collaborated to make a monitor calibration system that’s easy to use, works well, and is available to a consumer market. Its software requires no previous knowledge of color management. Derived from hue, the word for color, the name huey even sounds friendly.

The huey sensor is the shape and size of a large pen and attaches to your monitor via tiny suction cups that Pantone claims will not harm an LCD screen. For best results, let your monitor warm up for 30 minutes. The software program is short and simple. First, huey’s sensor reads the existing room light and then, while attached to your display, it measures a series of color and grayscale tones flashed on the screen. You’re then asked to choose one of nine predefined settings that control your monitor’s contrast and color balance. huey automatically names and saves your profile; however when recalibrating, huey overwrites the existing profile, and doesn’t allow you to save it. It did an excellent job on both a CRT and an LCD. When calibration is complete, you can place huey in the provided stand and let it monitor ambient room light and automatically adjust your settings.

huey’s Preferences are important because they allow you to tweak your profile; however, they’re confusing because the conventional place for Preferences listed within the program is inoperable due to a programming oversight. Instead, huey’s Preferences are accessed by clicking an icon placed on installation in your system’s Finder menu bar but, counterintuitively, they only open when you quit the huey software. (Note: huey was tested on Mac OS 10.4.5; a Windows version was not tested.) Despite this annoyance, huey does a great job inexpensively.—Steve Baczewski

PRICE $89
FROM Pantone, Inc.
PHONE 866-726-8663
WEB www.pantone.com
FOR Mac and Windows

LAYERS VERDICT
HOT Inexpensive
NOT Confusing Preferences
RATING 4.5