Over time, the image quality on your computer monitor may start to look a bit pale or even too bright. Before you consider upgrading your entire system or getting a new monitor, there may be a much simpler, faster, and more economical solution — calibrate your monitor.
You could take your monitor to a professional to do this, but doing it yourself is relatively quick and hassle-free and will greatly improve the image quality. Manufacturers continue to pump screens with new technologies such as 4K UHD resolution, high dynamic range (HDR) and curved monitors, providing a real feast for the eyes – but only if they are correctly calibrated.
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Before you start
Step 1: Turn on your monitor at least half an hour before calibration so it can warm up to normal operating temperature and conditions.
Step 2: Set the monitor resolution to the native, default screen resolution.
Step 3: Make sure you are calibrating in a room with moderate ambient light. The room doesn’t have to be pitch black, but you don’t want harsh reflections and color casts that result from direct light.
Step 4: Familiarize yourself with your monitor’s display controls. They can be located on the monitor itself, on the keyboard or inside the control panel of the operating system.
Calibrate using built-in Windows and Mac tools
Both MacOS and Windows have built-in calibration tools to help guide you step-by-step through the process, which is especially useful if you’re just starting to keep track of calibration. These free tools should be your first stop if you’re just a casual image addict or working on a tight budget. But keep in mind that customizations will be limited by the type and model of the screen.
The various terms — gamma, white point, etc. — can seem a little intimidating at first, but each utility offers a relatively simple explanation of what they all mean. Realistically, you don’t need to know the ins and outs of jargon to calibrate your monitor.
Windows 10 Screen Calibration Tool
In the latest version of Windows 10, the easiest way to find the color calibration tool is through the Windows search bar.
Step 1: Type Color calibration in the window’s search bar and click on the appropriate result.
In older versions of Windows you can find Color calibration utility in Display section of Control panelwhich is listed under Appearance and personalization.
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Step 2: Now that you’re in the calibration tool, follow the on-screen instructions to select gamma, brightness, contrast, and color balance settings.
The image pattern you will match will follow many settings. Simply make adjustments to mimic the pattern as closely as possible.
Step 3: When the calibration wizard finishes, be sure to select Current calibrationor return to the previous calibration if you are not satisfied with the results. The new calibration will be stored as an .ics or color calibration file and will be displayed as a new International Color Consortium (ICC) profile in the Color Management Settings application.
Step 4: The easiest way to open this application is to type “color management” in the search box and select the first result. Once it opens, you can select your monitor from the list of devices and see what ICC profiles are available.
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Buying guides
MacOS calibration
Here are the steps to calibrate in MacOS:
Step 1: In MacOS, Display Calibrator Assistant located in system settings under Displays card, u Color section. If you have trouble finding it, try entering calibrate Reflector to scan various folders and files on your computer. The results should show an option to open the utility in System settings panel.
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Step 2: Step-by-step instructions for your Mac will guide you through the calibration process once you’ve found and opened the software utility. Just follow the instructions on the selection screen:
- White point: The white point should usually be a standard D50 or D65 point to avoid problems with strange hues.
- Color adjustments: White point is the default, but Apple will try to detect your display and offer a number of other color calibrations at this point … or it may skip the other adjustment options entirely. Original Apple displays are more likely to have fewer color calibrations at this point (because Apple has already calibrated them).
- Admin Access: Only important if you are concerned about others changing your specific color profile.
- Name: Give the profile a different name so you know it in the future.
Step 3: This will create a new color profile for your screen. If you couldn’t make the adjustments you wanted, select this new profile and select Open your profile. This will open a new window with all the tags associated with the color profile and their descriptions.
Step 4: You can select each tag to see more information about it. Some tags will just be basic color information, but other tags can be modified to change specific color factors for the display.
Step 5: If you have the original screen, search Apple display original information mark as a good place to start. As you can see, this can get technical quickly, so you’ll need to know your color data (phosphor values, response curves, etc.) to make accurate changes using this method.
Image used with permission of the copyright holder
Calibrate using the online tool
There are a handful of web-based calibration tools that help you manually adjust your monitor settings. They may provide a more precise or customized calibration than the built-in utilities.
W4zt Display Color Test: This simple website provides you with several color gradients and grayscale color boxes that you can use for quick comparisons, along with a simple gamma test that you can run. It’s nice to have so many tests on one page, making this solution great for a quick and dirty calibration so you can move on.
Lagom LCD Monitor Test Pages: Handy for online and offline use, the Lagom LCD Monitor Test Pages not only let you adjust various things like contrast and response time, but also allow you to download images as a 120KB zip file, so in store, you can check out any monitor you’re thinking of buying.
Calibrize 2.0: If you want a great tool that goes a little deeper than the original calibration options, we suggest you download Calibrize 2.0. It’s a great free wizard that carefully guides you through well-explained steps to help you calibrate your computer’s color, grayscale, gamma, and similar settings.
Image used with permission of the copyright holder
Calibrate using colorimeter hardware
While they’re better than a workaround, the built-in calibration utilities still have one major flaw: You. Because they rely on your specific color perception, what looks great to you might look downright bad to a friend.
The best way to avoid this problem and ensure proper monitor calibration is to purchase a calibration device. You’ll have to spend a decent amount of money for the best control and precision. However, there are affordable alternatives to help you achieve consistent color across all your monitors.
If you’re looking for a calibration tool, we recommend either the X-Rite ColorMunki Smile ($99) or the Spyder5Elite ($200). Both devices have a seven-color full-spectrum sensor that can accurately display a range of standard and widescreen displays. If you have a bigger budget, you can look for high-end calibrators that have even more advanced capabilities.
These devices are easy to use, involving a simple three-step process of attaching the device to the display, plugging it into a USB port, and opening the calibration software. Once the software starts, you just need to follow the setup process. It’s pretty intuitive, but if you’re having trouble, you can find tutorials online to walk you through it.
Starting at $180, X-Rite’s i1Display is another solid device. Just like the Spyder series, each of these three options is configured with auto-calibration software. The more money you spend, the more additional features and other benefits you will get from the device.
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Source: newstars.edu.vn