When you have finished with your tweaks, the Display Color Calibration lets you compare your current settings with the previous calibration. For brightness and contrast, however, you will need to locate the controls sliders aren't supplied. For each, the tool will show you an example of what the ideal level should look like and then will provide a slider to make adjustments with a test image. It steps you through the following basic image settings: gamma, brightness and contrast, and color balance. On Windows, open the Control Panel and search for "calibrate." Under Display, click on "Calibrate display color."Ī window will open with the Display Color Calibration tool. The site will lead you through a series of test patterns, which you use to adjust your monitor using the OSD controls - the group of buttons located on the front or side of your display.īut what if you are using a laptop that doesn't have such buttons, you ask? Both Windows and Mac OS X feature utilities that step you through various calibration settings. A good resource for free test patterns is Lagom LCD monitor test pages. The quickest and easiest way to calibrate your display is to stare at a number of test patterns and use your monitor's onscreen display (OSD) controls to adjust the contrast, brightness, color levels, sharpness, color temperature, and so on. Make sure your monitor is running at its native resolution, which is the highest resolution it supports.Turn on your monitor and let it warm up for 30 minutes or so.
If you don't get your display as fine tuned as you might with a colorimeter, as long as the image looks good to you, then I would classify the mission as accomplished. Thankfully, it's easy to make adjustments by eye. If you haven't plunked down $100 or more on a colorimeter, then I'm also going to assume you don't have any immediate plans to purchase such a device and would like to go about calibrating your monitor by eye. If you have a colorimeter, then I'm going to assume you know how to use it and don't need to read a blog post on the topic. You can either calibrate your display by eye or by using a device called a color calibrator - or colorimeter - that you stick on the front of your display. If so, then it's time to calibrate your display. Please note: you need neither a lab nor David Katzmaier to calibrate your monitor.ĭoes your display look a little off? Not just too bright or too dim but perhaps some colors don't look as accurate as they should or the image tends to look a bit washed out at times.