SCREEN CALIBRATION

Digital images appear radically different on different computer systems, depending on the way they are set up and the brand and model of equipment used. Photos might appear washed out, too dark, desaturated in colour or distorted in some other way.

By following the instructions on this page, you should be able to set your equipment to the standards used by most digital artists. Follow these 5 easy steps to set your computer screen for optimum viewing results:

1. Make sure your graphics card is set for 24-bit colour. The second colour spectrum below shows some slight banding, while the first one should be perfect. If they look identical, or if the colours in the first one are not blending smoothly, your graphics card is at a setting of less than 24-bit colour:
2. Adjust the computer screen contrast all the way up to the maximum possible setting.
3. Adjust the computer screen brightness so that the four grey squares in the picture below are as dark as possible, while still being lighter than the four black squares, with the white rectangle remaining a bright white:
4. Verify your new settings. The grey square below that blends in bests with its surrounding represents the current gamma setting (the combination of brightness and contrast) for your computer. Typically it should be between 1.80 and 2.20, depending if you use a PC system or an Apple system and the combination of graphics card and computer monitor. If not, go back to step one. For many LCD screens it is unfortunately impossible to achieve a perfect setting. It may help to view the screen from further away, or to take your eye out of focus, to find the correct setting. If more than one square seem to be the same shade of grey, you will also have to return to step one.
   Please see here for more information.
5. Make sure your graphics card is set at 800 x 600 pixels or higher (this site was designed to be viewed at 1280 x 1024 or better), and that your browser is maximised.

   It should be possible to make the yellow box below fully visible by scrolling up or down. The box should also be perfectly square: