Tech Tip – Monitor Color Calibration

At Sedonawolf we try hard to get the
 color and detail of our images right

We want you to accurately see the real color and details
 of everything you buy from us. 

To make that a reality, we both must have our monitors
 set correctly.  I must send you proper images and your
equipment must see them the way they are sent.

The first thing to do is click on <start>,
go to <settings> <control panel> and look for <adobe gamma>.
Have it??  Great, just follow the wizard.  Don’t forget the
 color quality settings described in the next paragraph.

Don’t have adobe gamma… ok.. try this.

Adjusting the Monitor Color Depth

Before proceeding be sure that your computer is set to display the maximum number of colors.
If the computer is not displaying the full range of colors and tones it will be impossible to properly display
 digital images.
 

Windows (all version)

1. Right click on the desktop and choose “Properties”

2. Click the “Settings” tab

3. In the Color Quality area choose “High 24 bit” or any setting labeled “True Color” (the higher “bit” the better)
   Names may be slightly different depending on exact OS version.

Mac OS 8.x-9.x

1. From the Apple Menu choose “Control Panels” and then “Monitors”

2. In the “Color Depth” section choose “Millions” if available, if not choose “Thousands”
   Names may be slightly different depending on exact OS version.

Mac OS X

1. From the Apple Menu choose “System Preferences” then click the “Displays” button

2. In the “Colors” pop-up choose “Millions” if available, if not choose “Thousands”

Adjusting the Brightness/Contrast

If your monitor is calibrated or you use a hardware device to
adjust your monitor do NOT follow these steps.

Now we need to adjust the physical brightness or contrast controls of the monitor. How to do this changes greatly depending on what hardware you have. Some computers (mainly laptops) have buttons on the keyboard to increase or decrease the settings. Some monitors have dials or switches on them. Consult the manual for you computer or monitor on how to make these adjustments.

 

The image above consists of 17 different blocks of grey. Step “1” is pure white (255 RGB) and step 17 (and the surrounding area) is pure black (0 RGB). Adjust the monitor brightness and contrast (and, if available, the monitors R, G and B color controls) until you can see as many steps as possible and the grey steps are a neutral grey color. With the proper settings you should be able to see a clear definition between each step. After making these adjustments well-exposed digital images will look good on the screen.

While your at it, our pages are designed
 to be viewed on a large monitor (17″ – 22″) set
 at 1024 x 768 pixels.

You’ll find tuning your monitor makes your viewing
 experience substantially better

Best wishes, Wolf

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