I was wondering what some folks use to calibrate their monitors, what they like or don't like about the specific calibration tool/software they are using?


I'm going to demo a friend's Spyder2 in the near future, I want to start making prints at home more seriously via ink jet printer. But I don't want to invest in a higher end printer until I have a better foundation in the calibration area between it and my monitor.


This appears to be one of those topics where the internet is full of precedure to the Nth degree and I have to admit I'm not sure I want to spend what some sites would suggest are hours of my life I may never get back calibrating my monitor and printer profiles to the last spectrum of the known color gamut.


Quick and easy (or as can be reasonable) that will get my monitor 95% accurate to my printer prints most days might be OK for my level of serious. I'm running a MacBook Pro laptop (w/ Aperture) if that makes a difference to anyones suggestion. Proper skin tones and a reasonable match on over all light or darkness of my prints to my monitor are my main two concerns at this point.


Thanks.