I have spent the past three years and many thousands of dollars trying to consistently match my print output to what I see on my monitor. I have a Mac G5 (it's old--1.6gHz), an NEC 2690 monitor, and an Epson 3800 printer. I have had a number of custom profiles made over the years, and sometimes rely on paper manufacturer profiles. Four years ago, I got amazingly good results using a Mitsubishi CRT with an Epson 2200. I have studied color management extensively and am confident that the practices and procedures I'm following are correct.

Before I pull the rest of my hair out, is there any chance that my video card (the original nVidia that came with my computer) affects the color I'm seeing on my monitor? Could it be skewing things? Or are all video cards alike when it comes to accurate color reproduction? Do cards cause color shifts over time as they age?

Any thoughts on this topic would be greatly appreciated.

If using HDMI or DVI it should be pretty consistent. (Software changes could change the output, I suppose.) If it is analog output (VGA connector) I would expect drift. But that should be taken care of when you calibrate/profile your monitor.

If your monitor card is dead or needs replacement then it would affect what you are seeing on screen, but it's doubtful. Happened to me once, but it was quite evident due to banding shadow areas on the monitor and the same file looked fine on another.

Maybe it's not possible for them to match *exactly*. Monitors show much more contrast range than printers and what paper you're printing on will have an effect, too. What about ambient lighting?

I bet the thing that has changed the most in the last 4 years is your perception of color.

I see posts a lot from people who received their calibration device today and now their prints match perfectly, but I wonder if they really do?

What are your white point, luminance and gamma targets?
What is your ambient viewing environment like?
What kind of lighting and how bright?
Are there windows?