Mac OS X Leopard - ARCAism

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CHAPTER 4 SYSTEM PREFERENCES
NOTE Why calibrate your display? There are two reasons (and even if one doesn’t apply to
you, the other will). First, the generic color profiles that ship with Leopard are just that—
generic. They are a decent average, but in reality each display is slightly different, so it’s highly
unlikely that the generic profile will match reality. Also, the generic profiles don’t take into
account your ambient lighting situation, which can have a big impact on how colors appear on
your screen. The second reason to calibrate your monitor is to adjust the gamma of your display.
Gamma, which is normally represented by a numeric value, is a bit like contrast, although
a bit more complex (it’s actually more like a curve, in design terms). Macs are traditionally set
up with a gamma of 1.8, which is ideal for prepress designers whose final output will be on
paper. However, the Internet (as well as the rest of the computing universe) tends to operate
at a gamma of 2.2 (which seems a bit darker and has more contrast than 1.8). So, if you are a
causal user, web developer, or photographer; or if you use your Mac for anything but prepress
purposes, it’s likely that you’ll want to create and use a profile that utilizes a 2.2 gamma.
To create a basic profile, click the Calibrate button in the Color tab. This will open up the
Display Calibrator Assistant (Figure 4-18), which will walk you through the process of calibrating
your display.
Figure 4-18. The Display Calibrator Assistant
Once the Display Calibrator Assistant is open, you can start a basic calibration by clicking
the Continue button.
NOTE You may notice that an expert mode offering extra options is available. If you are calibrating
an older CRT, then the expert mode might work for you reasonably, but many of the
expert tests are extraordinarily difficult to get right if you are using a flat-panel display (since
color shifts as your angle of view changes). If accurate color matching is really important to
you, I’d recommend picking up a hardware device that will calibrate your monitor for you.
Something like the Pantone Huey will do an excellent job for less than $100.
Clicking the Continue button will take you to the screen where you select your target
gamma (Figure 4-19). There are only two options in basic mode: 1.8 Standard Gamma and 2.2
Television Gamma. As stated previously, I’d recommend the 2.2 gamma option here.