Brief notes on color calibration
Getting colors to look right is almost as hard as choosing colors. How do you check for color shift across various monitors?
The fastest way to preview a color scheme (or any image, including screen shots of web pages) is to create four variations, then view those four plus the original on a variety of monitors. Use Photoshop’s Hue/Saturation control (Image > Hue/Saturation) to slightly change the overall color in an image.
Try variations of an image
To the right I’ve created a colorful image that looks fine on my monitor. But elsewhere, it’s not so great. The four variations below were hue shifted +6, +12, -6 and -12°.
Make similar variations of your colors and try them on various screens at different times of day. The ambient light is important: Color near an incandescent lamp after hours will look different than lunchtime office fluorescents.
Make note of which color variations look best on different monitors. Then determine which work best overall. You’re looking for an average. Remember that the only way to please everyone is to use black & white.
The technique is similar to using a grey card in photography.
Find an average color
To get an average color of two colors, in this case two shades of blue-green, use Photoshop’s color palette. Click the options menu in the palette’s upper-right corner, then choose “current colors.” This makes the ramp, a bar of color at the bottom of the palette, use Photoshop’s foreground and background colors.
Referring to your notes, pick two variations of a color that worked on one monitor, but not another. Clicking in the middle of the ramp will choose an average that may satisfy both monitors.
The bottom line
- Create a few variations and test on different monitors under different lighting conditions.
- Mac monitors tend to be brighter than PCs. Try lightening your colors if you design on Windows; darkening them if you design on a Mac.
- Calibrate your monitor’s dark and light points.
- Learn how to check and adjust your computer’s gamma settings.
- Read about the basics of virtual color proofing on a Mac.
- Color Oracle simulates different types of color blindness.
Left: the original image. Below: Variations.
