gabrielgurley.com
Open-Licensed Instructional Guides for Learners
Lesson: Creating a Color Monitor Profile Using
the Mac OS X 10.5 Calibration Assistant Utility
Summary of Process
1 Locate the Mac OS X Display Calibrator Assistance Utility within the Display System Preferences.
2 Perform initial Set Up as presented on the screen (for CRT monitors only).
3 Use the Calibrator Assistant utility to determine the native gamma of the monitor being calibrated.
4 Following the determination of the native gamma, select your target gamma for the new profile being created.
5 Following the selection of the target gamma is selecting the target white point for the new profile being created.
6 Give the newly created profile a unique name and save it.
7 Confirm that the new profile is selected for use by double-checking the Displays System Preferences.
Before You Begin
Before beginning to create a custom monitor profile using the Mac OS X Display Calibrator Assistant Utility, review these instructions prior to logging onto the workstation and utilize them as a reference during the profile creation process.
Creating a Monitor Profile Using the Mac OS X Display Calibrator Assistant Utility
1 Click on the Apple menu and select the System Preferences menu option that appears.
2 When the System Preferences window appears, click on the Displays preference located under the section Hardware.
3 When the Displays preference window appears, click on the Color tab.
4 When you click on the Display tab, a list of monitor profiles are presented in the Display Profile selection area located on the left-hand side of the window. If you are using a workstation that has not had its monitor custom calibrated, the profiles listed are those that have been prepared by your monitor’s manufacturer, pre-loaded with your operating system and/or placed into the operating system when a graphics-related software application was installed.
For example, the Cinema HD profile is the default monitor profile that ships with all Apple high definition Cinema displays. The Adobe RGB 1998 profile is a wide-gamut profile developed by Adobe and is installed by default when performing an installation of Photoshop on a workstation. Some of the other profiles are included with the Mac OS X operating system, including the Apple RGB, CIE RGB, generic RGB and sRGB profiles. To see the differences in which colors are displays relative to a particular profile, single-click on the profile’s name within the selection area. You can select the monitor profile you wish to use at anytime by simply clicking on a particular profile within the list and closing out the Display system preference window.
5 To enter into the Calibrator Assistant built into the Mac OS X operating system, click on the CALIBRATE button located on the right-hand side of the Displays | Color tab system preference window.
6 After clicking the CALIBRATE button, you will enter into Display Calibrator Assistant utility. The introduction window will give a brief overview of the process when creating a custom monitor profile using this utility. The left-hand side of the window will display throughout the profile creation process the steps you will complete in order to successfully calibrate your monitor and, subsequently, create a profile for it. The blue dot indicates which step you are currently completing. Before proceeding, be sure to click the Expert Mode checkbox located in the utility window itself. Then click the CONTINUE button.
7 If the operating system detects you are using a cathod ray tube (CRT) monitor on your workstation, an initial Set Up step will be presented on the screen. If you do not properly setup your CRT monitor controls prior to completing the rest of the calibration process, your custom profile will not be created properly and your display colors will be inaccurate.
If your workstation has a LCD monitor, you will not be presented with a Set Up selection screen as those controls are determined by the monitor and/or operating system itself. Instead, you will be directed to the Native Gamma step within the Display Calibrator Assistant utility.
Complete the initial Set Up step of the Calibration Assistant (if applicable) by following the on-screen instructions. Then click the CONTINUE button.
8 After completing the Set Up phase (this process is only required when calibrating a CRT monitor), the first main step in creating a custom monitor profile using the Mac OS X Display Calibrator Assistant utility, we need to determine the native luminance response, or native gamma, for the monitor itself. This is particularly helpful when calibrating CRT monitors, where contrast and brightness controls on the monitor itself can determine the way the native gamma is displayed on the monitor.
If you are calibrating a CRT monitor, place your mouse pointer on the blue ball located in the left slider, displayed to the left of the Apple logo. Holding down the mouse button while the pointer is placed over the blue ball, slide it up or down until the grey Apple logo matches the background behind it. In addition, use the same technique to move the right slider all around the selection area provided until the Apple logo is blended in, or neutral, to the background. Then click the CONTINUE button.
If you are using a LCD monitor, it is not necessary to determine the native gamma of the monitor due to the monitor’s backlighting actually controlling its brightness. Therefore, you can skip the native luminance determination process by clicking on the CONTINUE button and proceed straight to the Target Gamma phase of the calibration process (Step #10). (NOTE: You can click the CONTINUE button for each step until a blue dot is indicated next to the Target Gamma step, located on the left-hand side of the Display Calibration Assistant window.)
9 You will perform four more steps related to determining the native gamma of the monitor. Following the same process as in Step #8, complete these next four steps by following the on-screen instructions. Again, if you are calibrating a LCD monitor, you can simply click the CONTINUE button without making any adjustments to skip through this process.
10 After completing the five steps related to determining the native luminance response, the next phase of the calibration process is to select the target gamma for your calibration. The standard gamma for the Macintosh operating system is 1.8, so for purposes where you are working in a Mac-only environment and exchanging files with Mac users only, the 1.8 gamma is generally satisfactory.
However, if you have special needs related to display contrast or will be working in a heterogeneous platform environment where file exchange with users of Microsoft Windows or Linux-based operating systems, you may select a target gamma of 2.2 (the Windows and Linux-based standard) or another custom gamma target. Moreover, you click the checkbox provided in the selection window that set the target gamma as the same as the active gamma determined in Steps #8 and 9.
You may also want to take into consideration the gamma of the working space profile you will typically use when editing your images. For example, the most popular working space profile when working in Adobe Photoshop is the Adobe RGB (1998) profile. The Adobe RGB profile, as well as the standard sRGB profile utilized by many point-and-shoot digital cameras, has a gamma of 2.2.
Select the appropriate target gamma using the selection slider provided and click the CONTINUE button.
11 In the third phase of the calibration process, you are to select a target white point for the profile you are creating. The white point you select, in essence, adjusts the overall color tint of the display.
Of the three primary phases of performing a monitor calibration, this is often the trickiest for users. Your goal here is to select a target white point that closely resembles the lighting environment you will be viewing your printed images in. This enables the colors of the images your print to look very close to the way they look on the screen. For example, if you will be viewing your final print images in natural daylight, you will want to select a target white point of approximately 6500K, or D65. If you will be viewing your final print images underneath a D50 light booth, then you will want to select a target white point of approximately 5004K, or D50.
You may also select a target white point that matches the ambient light of the room in which you will be viewing your final printed images. Using the Mac OS X calibrator Assistant utility, you do not have a precise way of measuring the ambient light of room like you would if you were using a spectrophotometer. However, you can get fairly close by simply checking the light bulbs that are giving off light in the room. Many light bulbs have marked on them the white point, or color temperature, they emit. If you cannot find this information on the light bulb itself, try looking on the package the light bulbs came in for this value. Use the selection slider to set the target white point as close as you can to that value.
Once you have determined which target white point you wish to use for your calibration, use the selection slider provided in the window to set the target white point. Uncheck the Native White Point selection to enable the use of the selection slider, if necessary. Then click the CONTINUE button.
12 Now that you have completed the three primary phases of calibrating your monitor, now its time to create a profile based upon the variables you selected. In the field provided in the Display Calibrator Assistant window, enter a unique name you wish to give for your profile. Be sure its descriptive enough so that you can determine which profile you wish to select when you’re browsing through your list of profiles within the Display system preferences. For this example, the profile is named photolab_display_profile. Once you have entered a name for the profile in the field provided, click the CONTINUE button.
13 At this point, a new calibrated profile has been created and has been set to be the current profile for your monitor. The Display Calibrator Assistant gives you a summary of the profile you just created. Information displayed in the summary for the profile includes the native and target gamma, native and target white point, as well as the phosphor readings for red, green and blue, respectively. To exit the Display Calibrator Assistant utility, click the DONE button.
14 To confirm that the new profile is selected as the current monitor profile for your workstation, return to the Colors tab within the Display system preferences (return to steps 1 through 3). The name of the profile you just created should be highlighted within the Display profile list. If for some reason it isn’t, simply locate the name of the profile within the list and single-click on it using your mouse. The profile is now activated and is ready for use.
Summary of Process
1 Locate the Mac OS X Display Calibrator Assistance Utility within the Display System Preferences.
2 Perform initial Set Up as presented on the screen (for CRT monitors only).
3 Use the Calibrator Assistant utility to determine the native gamma of the monitor being calibrated.
4 Following the determination of the native gamma, select your target gamma for the new profile being created.
5 Following the selection of the target gamma is selecting the target white point for the new profile being created.
6 Give the newly created profile a unique name and save it.
7 Confirm that the new profile is selected for use by double-checking the Displays System Preferences.
Before You Begin
Before beginning to create a custom monitor profile using the Mac OS X Display Calibrator Assistant Utility, review these instructions prior to logging onto the workstation and utilize them as a reference during the profile creation process.
Creating a Monitor Profile Using the Mac OS X Display Calibrator Assistant Utility
1 Click on the Apple menu and select the System Preferences menu option that appears.
2 When the System Preferences window appears, click on the Displays preference located under the section Hardware.
3 When the Displays preference window appears, click on the Color tab.
4 When you click on the Display tab, a list of monitor profiles are presented in the Display Profile selection area located on the left-hand side of the window. If you are using a workstation that has not had its monitor custom calibrated, the profiles listed are those that have been prepared by your monitor’s manufacturer, pre-loaded with your operating system and/or placed into the operating system when a graphics-related software application was installed.
For example, the Cinema HD profile is the default monitor profile that ships with all Apple high definition Cinema displays. The Adobe RGB 1998 profile is a wide-gamut profile developed by Adobe and is installed by default when performing an installation of Photoshop on a workstation. Some of the other profiles are included with the Mac OS X operating system, including the Apple RGB, CIE RGB, generic RGB and sRGB profiles. To see the differences in which colors are displays relative to a particular profile, single-click on the profile’s name within the selection area. You can select the monitor profile you wish to use at anytime by simply clicking on a particular profile within the list and closing out the Display system preference window.
5 To enter into the Calibrator Assistant built into the Mac OS X operating system, click on the CALIBRATE button located on the right-hand side of the Displays | Color tab system preference window.
6 After clicking the CALIBRATE button, you will enter into Display Calibrator Assistant utility. The introduction window will give a brief overview of the process when creating a custom monitor profile using this utility. The left-hand side of the window will display throughout the profile creation process the steps you will complete in order to successfully calibrate your monitor and, subsequently, create a profile for it. The blue dot indicates which step you are currently completing. Before proceeding, be sure to click the Expert Mode checkbox located in the utility window itself. Then click the CONTINUE button.
7 If the operating system detects you are using a cathod ray tube (CRT) monitor on your workstation, an initial Set Up step will be presented on the screen. If you do not properly setup your CRT monitor controls prior to completing the rest of the calibration process, your custom profile will not be created properly and your display colors will be inaccurate.
If your workstation has a LCD monitor, you will not be presented with a Set Up selection screen as those controls are determined by the monitor and/or operating system itself. Instead, you will be directed to the Native Gamma step within the Display Calibrator Assistant utility.
Complete the initial Set Up step of the Calibration Assistant (if applicable) by following the on-screen instructions. Then click the CONTINUE button.
8 After completing the Set Up phase (this process is only required when calibrating a CRT monitor), the first main step in creating a custom monitor profile using the Mac OS X Display Calibrator Assistant utility, we need to determine the native luminance response, or native gamma, for the monitor itself. This is particularly helpful when calibrating CRT monitors, where contrast and brightness controls on the monitor itself can determine the way the native gamma is displayed on the monitor.
If you are calibrating a CRT monitor, place your mouse pointer on the blue ball located in the left slider, displayed to the left of the Apple logo. Holding down the mouse button while the pointer is placed over the blue ball, slide it up or down until the grey Apple logo matches the background behind it. In addition, use the same technique to move the right slider all around the selection area provided until the Apple logo is blended in, or neutral, to the background. Then click the CONTINUE button.
If you are using a LCD monitor, it is not necessary to determine the native gamma of the monitor due to the monitor’s backlighting actually controlling its brightness. Therefore, you can skip the native luminance determination process by clicking on the CONTINUE button and proceed straight to the Target Gamma phase of the calibration process (Step #10). (NOTE: You can click the CONTINUE button for each step until a blue dot is indicated next to the Target Gamma step, located on the left-hand side of the Display Calibration Assistant window.)
9 You will perform four more steps related to determining the native gamma of the monitor. Following the same process as in Step #8, complete these next four steps by following the on-screen instructions. Again, if you are calibrating a LCD monitor, you can simply click the CONTINUE button without making any adjustments to skip through this process.
10 After completing the five steps related to determining the native luminance response, the next phase of the calibration process is to select the target gamma for your calibration. The standard gamma for the Macintosh operating system is 1.8, so for purposes where you are working in a Mac-only environment and exchanging files with Mac users only, the 1.8 gamma is generally satisfactory.
However, if you have special needs related to display contrast or will be working in a heterogeneous platform environment where file exchange with users of Microsoft Windows or Linux-based operating systems, you may select a target gamma of 2.2 (the Windows and Linux-based standard) or another custom gamma target. Moreover, you click the checkbox provided in the selection window that set the target gamma as the same as the active gamma determined in Steps #8 and 9.
You may also want to take into consideration the gamma of the working space profile you will typically use when editing your images. For example, the most popular working space profile when working in Adobe Photoshop is the Adobe RGB (1998) profile. The Adobe RGB profile, as well as the standard sRGB profile utilized by many point-and-shoot digital cameras, has a gamma of 2.2.
Select the appropriate target gamma using the selection slider provided and click the CONTINUE button.
11 In the third phase of the calibration process, you are to select a target white point for the profile you are creating. The white point you select, in essence, adjusts the overall color tint of the display.
Of the three primary phases of performing a monitor calibration, this is often the trickiest for users. Your goal here is to select a target white point that closely resembles the lighting environment you will be viewing your printed images in. This enables the colors of the images your print to look very close to the way they look on the screen. For example, if you will be viewing your final print images in natural daylight, you will want to select a target white point of approximately 6500K, or D65. If you will be viewing your final print images underneath a D50 light booth, then you will want to select a target white point of approximately 5004K, or D50.
You may also select a target white point that matches the ambient light of the room in which you will be viewing your final printed images. Using the Mac OS X calibrator Assistant utility, you do not have a precise way of measuring the ambient light of room like you would if you were using a spectrophotometer. However, you can get fairly close by simply checking the light bulbs that are giving off light in the room. Many light bulbs have marked on them the white point, or color temperature, they emit. If you cannot find this information on the light bulb itself, try looking on the package the light bulbs came in for this value. Use the selection slider to set the target white point as close as you can to that value.
Once you have determined which target white point you wish to use for your calibration, use the selection slider provided in the window to set the target white point. Uncheck the Native White Point selection to enable the use of the selection slider, if necessary. Then click the CONTINUE button.
12 Now that you have completed the three primary phases of calibrating your monitor, now its time to create a profile based upon the variables you selected. In the field provided in the Display Calibrator Assistant window, enter a unique name you wish to give for your profile. Be sure its descriptive enough so that you can determine which profile you wish to select when you’re browsing through your list of profiles within the Display system preferences. For this example, the profile is named photolab_display_profile. Once you have entered a name for the profile in the field provided, click the CONTINUE button.
13 At this point, a new calibrated profile has been created and has been set to be the current profile for your monitor. The Display Calibrator Assistant gives you a summary of the profile you just created. Information displayed in the summary for the profile includes the native and target gamma, native and target white point, as well as the phosphor readings for red, green and blue, respectively. To exit the Display Calibrator Assistant utility, click the DONE button.
14 To confirm that the new profile is selected as the current monitor profile for your workstation, return to the Colors tab within the Display system preferences (return to steps 1 through 3). The name of the profile you just created should be highlighted within the Display profile list. If for some reason it isn’t, simply locate the name of the profile within the list and single-click on it using your mouse. The profile is now activated and is ready for use.