Guidelines for creating an ICC monitor profile


    The following guidelines can help you create an accurate monitor profile.

    Tip icon You may find it helpful to have your monitor's user guide handy while using Adobe Gamma.

    • You don't need to calibrate your monitor if you've already done so using an ICC-compliant calibration tool such as Adobe Gamma and haven't changed your video card or monitor settings.
    • (Windows) If you have the Monitor Setup utility (included with PageMaker® 6.0) for Windows, remove it; it is obsolete. Use the latest Adobe Gamma utility instead.
    • (Mac OS) If you have the Mac OS Gamma control panel (included with Adobe Photoshop 4.0 and earlier), remove it; it is obsolete. Instead, use the calibrator from Apple that comes with the operating system. You can find this calibrator in the System Preferences/Display/Color tab.
    • Make sure your monitor has been turned on for at least a half hour. This gives it sufficient time to warm up and produce a more accurate color reading.
    • Make sure your monitor is displaying thousands of colors or more. Ideally, make sure it is displaying millions of colors or 24-bit or higher.
    • Remove colorful background patterns on your monitor desktop. Busy or bright patterns surrounding a document interfere with accurate color perception. Set your desktop to display neutral grays only, using RGB values of 128. For more information, see the manual for your operating system.
    • If your monitor has digital controls for choosing the white point of your monitor from a range of preset values, set those controls before starting Adobe Gamma. Later, in Adobe Gamma, you'll set the white point to match your monitor's current setting. Be sure to set the digital controls before you start Adobe Gamma. If you set them after you begin the calibration process in Adobe Gamma, you'll need to begin the process again.
    • Monitor performance changes and declines over time; recharacterize your monitor every month or so. If you find it difficult or impossible to calibrate your monitor to a standard, it may be too old and faded.