The brightness and colour reproduction of any monitor will fluctuate over time, so to keep everything consistent you should repeat the calibration process once every few months.Brightness Controller is a simple app that lets you adjust external monitor brightness independently of your main display.īetter yet, the software dimmer also gives you a much greater control in how much you adjust the brightness.įor example, your laptop’s monitor brightness keys probably punch up or down in specific increments, e.g. Once the calibration is done, you're still not quite home and dry. The only downside is price, as spectrophotometers usually cost considerably more than a monitor-only calibrator. Spectrophotometers look identical and do the same job, but will also calibrate your printer, as they're capable of analysing both emitted light from monitors and also light reflected off printed colour swatches.
The calibrator then feeds the colour data back to the software so it can create a custom colour profile to apply to Windows or OS X.Ĭolorimeters aren't the only hardware you can use for monitor calibration. Simply hang it over the top of the screen so it rests in the middle, then corresponding software flashes various different colours over a period of several minutes for the all-seeing eye to detect. These nifty gadgets are usually about the size of a computer mouse and only require a USB connection. See our guide to the best monitor calibrators around or read on for our top two picks. There are plenty of optical illusions that highlight the eye's fallibility, so to get around the problem and calibrate your screen properly, there really is no alternative but to splash out on an electronic eye: a dedicated monitor calibrator, also known as a colorimeter.
When learning how to calibrate your monitor it's important to remember that even if you have perfect vision, the eye just isn't an objective judge of colour balance or consistency. No matter how closely you follow an online or operating system calibration process, there's always going to be a weak link in the process: the human eye. Buying a monitor calibrator: Things to consider It's one of the best online calibration tools out there, though some of the available options aren't of much use for creatives.
This selection of calibration web pages (opens in new tab) is very comprehensive and includes various images and charts to help you calibrate everything from black level to sharpness, along with the usual brightness, contrast and gamma options. On the Introduction screen of the Display Calibrator Assistant wizard, make sure you check the Expert Mode tickbox to ensure you get all available calibration options. From there, click the 'Color' tab, then hold down the Option key and click the 'Calibrate…' button. The Display Calibrator Assistant built into OS X is accessed via the Displays icon in the System Preferences menu. Learning how to calibrate your monitor on a Mac is slightly different. This stage of the Windows calibration utility is really only useful for correcting an obvious colour cast – creative professionals need better.
The human eye’s definition of 'grey' is far too vague, and your idea of 'correct' grey could well be slightly different to mine. However, while this is useful for correcting a strong colour cast, it's difficult – if not impossible – to accurately judge colour in this way. The next screen gives you individual RGB sliders so you can tweak the Windows colour output. Windows give you several greyscale charts, each with an obvious colour cast applied. The final step in learning how to calibrate your monitor, is knowing how to adjust colour accuracy. Want to save some money? See our roundup of the best cheap 4K monitor deals. This is a feature that's integrated into high-end premium-priced panels such as some of the models found on our list of the best 4K monitors you can buy right now. You may assume all monitors should be pre-calibrated to display at its best (so this guide to how to calibrate your monitor shouldn't be necessary) but this is actually only the case for monitors that boast 'factory colour calibration'. (To help further, check out our guide to screen resolution.) You may even be shocked when you see the before/after colour difference after you've performed the calibration process. This means you'll be tricked into presenting an inaccurate view of your digital creations. The danger is, it's easy to get used to an uncalibrated monitor, which displays everything with a slight colour cast or distortion.