Why Calibrate Your Monitor?

Monitors drift from factory settings over time, and different monitors display the same image differently. Calibration ensures what you see on screen closely matches how images look when printed or viewed on other devices. Essential for photo and video editing, graphic design and colour-critical work. For general use, the built-in tools are sufficient.

Built-In Calibration — Windows

  1. 1

    Search for “Calibrate display colour”

    Press the Windows key and type “Calibrate display colour.” Open the Display Colour Calibration wizard.

  2. 2

    Follow the wizard — adjust gamma, brightness, contrast, colour

    The wizard guides you through four adjustments with reference images: Gamma (mid-tone brightness), Brightness (black levels), Contrast (white levels), Colour balance (neutrals). Make each adjustment until your screen matches the reference image shown. Click Finish to save.

Built-In Calibration — Mac

  1. 3

    System Settings → Displays → Colour Profile → Calibrate

    Open System Settings → Displays. Click the Colour Profile tab. Click Calibrate… to open the Display Calibrator Assistant. Follow the prompts to set white point and other targets. Save the new profile with a recognisable name.

Free Software Calibration — DisplayCAL

DisplayCAL (displaycal.net) is free, powerful calibration software. It works best with a hardware colorimeter (a device that physically measures what your monitor displays) such as the X-Rite i1Display or Datacolor Spyder. Without hardware, DisplayCAL can still apply visual calibration, but hardware measurement produces far more accurate results. For anyone doing colour-critical work professionally, a colorimeter ($80–200) is a worthwhile investment.

Monitor settings to check firstBefore calibrating in software, check the monitor’s own on-screen display (OSD) settings. Reset to factory defaults if the image looks very off. Set brightness to 100–120 cd/m² for typical indoor use (not maximum brightness which looks blown out). Ensure you are not using a Night Shift or blue light filter during calibration — these tint the display and will skew the calibration profile.

Frequently Asked Questions

For colour-critical professional work: every 2–4 weeks. For general photo editing: monthly. For casual use: every few months or when colours look visibly off. Monitor colour drift accelerates in the first few hundred hours of use and then slows. A brand-new monitor benefits from calibration after the initial burn-in period (50–100 hours of use).
Yes — colour temperature (measured in Kelvin) controls the warm/cool appearance. 6500K is the standard for digital work (neutral white). 5000K looks warmer (yellowish). 7000K+ looks cooler (bluish). Adjust this in your monitor’s OSD under colour temperature settings. Also check that Night Shift, Night Light (Windows) or f.lux is not active.