To test/maximize my color balance consistency, I want a color checker chart like the Macbeth one to which I can match to my print. However they all seem to cost ~$60 which is rather ridiculous for a piece of plastic with some colors on it IMHO. Is it possible to acquire one for any cheaper or am I just stuck paying that much?
Qualities of test cards vary. You can make your own by buying coloured paper and assamble patches of it. Or even print a card out.
However, if you want certain spectral reflections, longevity etc. you'll probably have to buy something. Over here we even have a guru-of-the-grey who only makes test cards.
ebay. I got mine slightly used for $15 + shipping, or something close to that. It was a sleeper auction, and ended at 2:30 in the a.m. my time. So I got it for the opening bid.
The real thing is calibrated in a way that your inkjet can't be, and the inks/pigments in the ColorChecker are chosen for good metameric properties (look it up, you'll learn something) and resistance to fading and changing over time. I've had mine for about 30 years, and it's still in good useful shape. (It will deteriorate if you leave it out under bright light and sun for long periods of time.)
The patches are also chosen to approximate common real world colors, darker skin, lighter skin, blue sky, etc, and to show some colors that are particularly difficult to reproduce.
I also happen to use Picture Window Pro when editing scans. It has a function that allows you to lay a grid over a scan of a Color Checker and then automates a color correction curve. You can save that curve and apply it to any photo shot with the same film under the same lighting conditions as the photo of the Color Checker.
The Color Checker is a great tool, and an industry standard for decades. Mine has cost me about US$1 a year so far.
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