Not all monitors are created equal. Not all are the same and some screens are significantly better than others. One thing to do to improve the display of your PC a bit is to calibrate the screen. We won’t talk about fine calibration with a Spyder-type probe, but know that it also exists.

PC screens are not always calibrated by default in the factory. By accurately calibrating your PC screen, you make sure it displays hues that are true to reality. So you won’t be surprised if a deep blue sky in a panoramic photo suddenly takes on a bland light blue hue on your PC screen. Use your PC’s software to calibrate your screen. I explain step by step how to calibrate the total appearance of your PC screen.

After purchasing a professional screen that can display close to natural colors, users must learn how to accurately calibrate the hue, contrast, brightness, and other settings of their display device. This step is necessary because, over time, the brightness of the monitor decreases, and the appearance they display tend to distort. This should not be taken lightly: if the problem is not corrected, it can have a negative impact on the accuracy and quality of photos and retouched images. Here is some useful information we want to share with you about monitor calibration, so you can get as accurate and consistent an appearance as possible with your device.

The following things must be understood before performing calibration.

How to display even colors across multiple devices

In a perfect world, the appearance of a photo should be rendered consistently, regardless of the device used to display (e.g., LED screens, mobile devices, etc.). Unfortunately, this is not the case. The hues of the same image may seem completely different depending on whether you’re looking at them on your personal computer monitor, desktop, or mobile devices, which is a real headache for many graphic artists and photographers. To deal with this issue, color management is the best solution. But how does this management work? In short, it is a conversion process with the goal  to make the colors displayed on the different devices “as close as possible.” If different digital devices do not display exactly the same hues, this may be due to two reasons: (1.) the first is that devices often use different modes, and, (2.) is that small differences between the components used in mass production influence how each model reproduces colors. How do you solve this type of problem? To do this, we need a standard color space that acts as an exchange platform allowing two devices to properly convert different spaces and color range so that both devices display a similar appearance as close as possible.

How does color management work

In general, color management is a process that must be done from start to finish, from capturing an image to printing it. Graphic artists must not only assign the same hue (such as Adobe RGB) to their camera, editing software, and printer, but they must also calibrate the display settings of each device they work with. Thanks to this, they can ensure that the apperance of the photos they edit or send are as accurate as possible. Screens, printers, scanners, and other devices all need to have a unique ICC profile (International Colour Chart). For example, the ICC profile of a photographer’s work screen is created once that monitor has been calibrated using calibrator software. After retouching an image using post-production software, the ICC profile must be incorporated into the image when it is saved so that the colors are as accurate as possible when printed or displayed on other screens.

Of course, following the steps described above is not enough to ensure accurate visual representation. Photo editing software (such as Adobe Photoshop/Lightroom) must also use the right color space to get the best accuracy. 

What is a 3D LUT?

Before explaining what a 3D LUT is, let’s first find out what LUT means. LUT is an acronym for “Look-Up Table.” Its main function is to interpret the color signal sent by the computer, then find the corresponding output value in the search table and, finally, display the result on the monitor. 

As you probably know, an image is composed of a multitude of dots (pixels) and each pixel contains information (the number of bits). With screens, the LUT performs the function of an index. The corresponding values are found in the LUT and then displayed. The advantage of the LUT is that it allows hues to be displayed more efficiently. The biggest difference between a 3D LUT and a conventional 1D LUT is that it identifies the corresponding values (R, G, and B) in three one-dimensional search tables R, G, and B, while with a 3D LUT, the corresponding values come from a three-dimensional chart. The main advantage of the 3D LUT is that it can display colors with greater accuracy.

What is the difference between calibrating hardware and software colors?

The calibration of a monitor is generally divided into two categories: “software” calibration and “hardware” calibration. Regardless of the calibration method used, software, or hardware, the calibration of a monitor requires the use of a colorimeter or spectrophotometer. The main difference between the two calibration methods is that software calibration requires calibration software (such as i1Profiler) and a calibrator to adjust the graphics card’s display settings, which can easily cause a discontinuity in visual transition. 

For hardware calibration, a calibrator is also used, but this time with the calibration software developed by the monitor manufacturer to calibrate this screen. The calibration data is recorded directly in the screen’s 3D LUT. Its main strength is to be able to display more accurately while maintaining the highest depth of hue that the screen can display, allowing for homogeneous color gradations without discontinuity.

How to actually calibrate your monitor

In general, the steps to calibrate the monitor are:

1. Turn on the monitor for a period of time to warm up (approximately 30 minutes).

2. Open the color management software and colorimeter or spectrophotometer, and follow the instructions from the software to perform calibration.

3. After completing all the calibration steps, the color management software will analyze the measured data and save related information in the LUT of the monitor, and save the related ICC file in the system OS. 

4. Afterward, every time the system turns on, it will automatically apply the ICC profile to match the LUT output of the monitor.