大多数人在他们的新显示器上坚持默认设置，而不考虑色彩精度、亮度、伽马设置(gamma settings)等。但如果你是艺术家、摄影师，或者只是购买了超宽显示器(ultrawide monitor)的游戏玩家，你应该使用监视器校准工具。
显示器(Monitor)校准可以显着提高您从显示器获得的质量，因此在本文中，我们将探讨您可以使用的最佳工具。要校准您的显示器，您需要校准软件、特殊校准小工具或两者的组合。让我们回顾一下软件和硬件，为您的显示器找到理想的校准工具。
显示器校准软件
显示器(Monitor)校准软件对于在电脑屏幕前花费数小时工作或玩游戏的人很有帮助。疲劳和紧张的眼睛(strained eyes)会导致头痛并降低您的工作效率。
Windows 和 Mac 都有基本的内置显示器校准(basic built-in monitor calibration)工具，可以帮助您入门。但在大多数情况下，这些还不够，因为它们的功能有限，而且它们也不是那么准确。您需要专门为色彩校准而设计的软件才能体验真实的色彩。但是，显示器校准还涉及精确调整亮度、对比度、饱和度和其他功能，以生成更逼真的图像。
以下是可帮助您校准显示器并以新颜色体验数字世界的应用程序列表。
1.校准(Calibrize)
Calibrize是最流行的色彩校准应用程序之一，它适用于不同类型的显示器。它具有用户友好的用户界面，并提供有关提高屏幕性能的明确说明。
Calibre(Calibrize)读取显示器的颜色数据并创建ICC（国际色彩联盟(International Color Consortium)）配置文件。此配置文件为您的显示器确定最佳颜色并将调整后的值上传到显卡。使用Calibrize(Calibrize)校准后，您的显示器将让您享受丰富且正确渲染的色彩。
Calibrize完全免费，但仅适用于Windows PC(Windows PCs)。
2. Lagom液晶显示器(Lagom LCD monitor)
Lagom LCD(Lagom LCD)显示器是一种校准工具，您可以在线和离线使用。Lagom使用一系列测试图像来检查显示器的对比度、亮度、颜色范围和响应时间。
为获得最佳结果，您应该始终按照放置顺序浏览测试图像。例如，您需要设置正确的亮度、对比度和锐度，然后才能继续进行视角测试。
对于第一次校准显示器的人来说， Lagom工具似乎势不可挡，但每个测试图像都带有全面的解释。要离线使用测试图像，您可以免费将它们下载到您的计算机上。此外，您可以在购买前将它们保存在闪存驱动器上并在商店中测试显示器。
3.快速伽玛(QuickGamma)
另一个用于显示器校准的免费应用程序QuickGamma带有一个非常有用的帮助部分。因此，如果您对校准过程没有经验，您可能需要从QuickGamma开始。该软件是Windows PC(Windows PCs)独有的，但它是最古老的软件之一，可与Windows 7、10(Windows 7)甚至 11 一起使用。如果您有更旧版本的Windows，您可以导航到主屏幕上提供的链接并获取旧版本QuickGamma的版本。
QuickGamma校准工具通过将显示器的 Gamma 值校正为 2.2 来工作。如果您使用的是Windows ，这是推荐的 gamma 值（对于 macOS，它是 1.8）。校正显示器的伽马后，您可以继续调整亮度和信号。
4.周五合影(Photo Friday)
Photo Friday是一个简单的校准工具，可以帮助您调整显示器的对比度和亮度。事实上，这个工具是一个简单的图像，您可以使用它来调整显示器的对比度和亮度。您所要做的就是按照图像本身给出的说明进行操作。
Photo Friday 的校准图像不会优化您的颜色，因此您需要其他工具来进行全面校准。但如果你不是专业的摄影师或视觉设计师，这足以减轻你眼睛的压力，提升你的观影体验。
Photo Friday 网站上的显示器校准图像适用于纯黑和纯白，您应该能够看到色调立即比纯黑和纯白更暗的形状。您需要手动调整显示器的亮度和对比度，以便能够在真正的黑白中区分这些形状，而不会使它们中的任何一个变成灰色。就这么简单，它适用于Windows和Mac操作系统以及任何可能的显示器。
5. Windows 显示颜色校准(Windows Display Color Calibration)
如果您是普通 PC 用户，则无需使用专业工具将显示器校准至完美。Windows 10 和 11 具有内置校准工具，其中包含非常详细的设置说明。只需(Simply)在搜索栏中输入“校准显示颜色”或“颜色校准”，然后按照校准向导的说明进行操作。它可以让您优化显示器的伽玛、对比度、亮度和色彩平衡。
校准向导将引导您完成多项测试，并要求您使用滑块或显示器的控制按钮进行调整。一旦您对所有测试的结果感到满意，只需单击完成。
显示器校准设备
显示器(Monitor)校准设备对于专业的照片编辑、视频编辑和图形设计来说是必不可少的。如果您是数字艺术家，那么显示器上显示的颜色是否正确至关重要。校准(Calibration)软件有利于优化显示器，但它永远无法与校准硬件所能提供的相比。
为什么显示校准对数字创意如此重要？简单地(Simply)说，这是因为他们需要准确的颜色。尽管颜色在您的屏幕上可能看起来不错，但它们在打印或您客户的屏幕上很容易看起来不同。要获得准确的颜色，您需要校准显示器，而不仅仅是一次。监视器会随着时间的推移而恶化，并且它们的输出会波动。
您需要在几个月内至少校准一次。这就是为什么专业人士应该投资这些校准工具之一。它将为您服务很长时间，并让您保持工作质量。
以下是您现在可以在亚马逊(Amazon)上找到的一些最佳校准设备的列表。
1. ColorChecker 显示(ColorChecker Display)(X-Rite i1Display Studio)
价格：169.00 美元
X-rite i1Display Studio，更名为ColorChecker Display，是一款经济实惠的显示器校准设备。它是一款易于使用的色彩校准工具，具有向导驱动的界面，适用于Windows和Mac计算机。ColorChecker 显示器(ColorChecker Display)的色度计设计为通过自己的电缆悬挂在显示器上，另一端有配重。它可以对您的所有显示器和投影仪进行色彩配置，并确保色彩准确性。
ColorChecker Display的速度不如Display Pro、Display Plus和Studio版本，但它适用于所有行业标准的显示器和投影仪。ColorChecker Display将花费大约 20 到 30 秒来测量对比度。然后您将被要求将显示器的亮度更改为推荐的级别。只有在此之后，色度计才会开始测量其颜色目标，最多可达 118 个。
色彩校准完成后，ColorChecker Display将允许您查看色彩再现的前后对比。它还将显示色域图和RGB校准曲线进行分析。
此外，ColorChecker在校准软件中集成了一个简洁的功能。您可以设置提醒以在特定时间重新校准显示器。
价格：279.00 美元
ColorChecker Display Pro以前称为 X-Rite i1Display Pro，是一款适用于所有专业人士的可靠校准设备。它不仅可以校准您的显示器，还可以通过分析配置文件质量和测试显示均匀性来检查其运行状况。此工具还可以让您保存和共享校准配置文件，如果您有多个相同类型的设备，这非常好。
ColorChecker Display Pro将满足您的大部分校准需求。但是，如果您拥有最新的 HDR 显示器，您将受益于它的表亲ColorChecker Pro Plus（前 i1Display Pro Plus），因为它可以测量高达 2000 尼特的显示器亮度。专业(Pro)版限制为 1000 尼特。不过，Pro版本适用于所有现代显示器。最好的部分是这个小设备经过光谱校准，这意味着它也可以与即将到来的技术一起使用。
您还可以使用ColorChecker Display Pro来校准您的投影仪。除了监视器配置文件和测量环境光的能力外，该设备还带有投影仪配置文件。该界面易于使用，并提供预定义选项以进行快速校准。对于需要针对其专业环境进行更复杂校准的更有经验的用户，还有一个高级界面。ColorChecker Display Pro配备与(ColorChecker Display Pro)Windows和Mac PC(Mac PCs)兼容的显示器色度计和配置软件。
价格：159.98 美元
称为SpyderX Pro的小型三角形塑料设备是另一种预算友好的显示校准技术。它还附带您必须使用设备序列号激活的软件，因此请不要丢失该序列号。一旦您开始校准过程，SpyderX Pro会询问您显示器的背光类型，并指导您如何检查它。然后您必须选择Gamma、White Point、Brightness和Room light 补偿的目标设置。
SpyderX Pro还带有一个集成的环境光传感器，可让您相应地更改显示器设置。它将让您在推荐设置和自定义设置之间进行选择。只要分辨率为 1280×768 或更高，此显示器校准设备将适用于所有显示器。
设置完成后，SpyderX Pro将非常快速地校准您的显示器，但确切的速度将取决于您的计算机，而不是校准设备本身。校准完成后，SpyderX Pro将允许您将新的ICC配置文件保存在 Windows 或(ICC)Mac PC的显示设置面板中。要测试校准，您可以选择使用SpyderX Proof选项。您将看到一系列测试照片，或者您可以上传自己的照片。
该软件将允许您在校准前后切换，以查看调整和不调整的差异。
价格：219.00 美元
Datacolor SpyderX Elite拥有比Pro版本更快、更准确的色彩校准。它还能够校准投影仪，并具有检查显示器质量的先进工具。使用SpiderX Elite(SpiderX Elite)重新校准的速度非常快，因此每周进行一次校准会轻而易举，以确保您的显示器始终处于最佳状态。
虽然SpiderX Elite版的软件进行了更新，并且有更多的敏感微调选项，但它在视觉上与 Pr (SpiderX Elite)o(Pro)版使用的向导驱动软件相同。高级功能包括运动工作的校准目标和软打样功能，可让您模拟图像的打印版本。它还可以精确调整并排显示。
Datacolor SpyderX Elite(Datacolor SpyderX Elite)适用于Windows（7 或更高版本）和Mac（Mac OS X 10.10及更高版本）操作系统，分辨率为 1280×768 或更高的所有类型的显示器。
5. Wacom 颜色管理器(Wacom Color Manager)
价格：241.53 美元
此校准工具专为Cintiq系列显示器而设计，但其 X-Rite 供电技术使其与所有现代类型的显示器兼容。也就是说，Cintiq 27QHD系列显示器的用户将享受到(Cintiq 27QHD)Wacom 颜色管理器(Wacom Color Manager)的特定性能优势。Wacom 颜色管理器(Wacom Color Manager)还兼容Android和 iOS 设备，但您必须下载 X-Rite ColorTRUE应用程序才能在移动设备上使用它。
颜色管理器(Color Manager)将色度计与定制的Wacom配置软件相结合，为您的显示器提供最佳微调。此外，您将获得Pantone 颜色管理器(Pantone Color Manager)软件，该软件可让您访问Pantone颜色库。这些颜色库可导出到Lightroom和Photoshop等(Photoshop)Adobe Creative Suite程序。
软件与硬件
最重要的是，这里没有明确的赢家，因为一切都取决于您的需求。如果您是普通 PC 用户或游戏玩家，您可以使用Calibrize等免费软件获得足够准确的显示校准。
另一方面，如果您是专业人士，则应该投资具有一流校准设置的校准设备。您需要准确、真实的色彩，尤其是在打印方面。
10 Best Monitor Calibration Tools for Windows in 2022
Most people stick to default settіngs on their new monitor without thinking much about color accuracy, brightness, gamma settings, etc. But if you’re an artist, a photographer, or simply a gamer who bought a cool ultrawide monitor, you should use a monitor calibration tool.
Monitor calibration can significantly improve the quality you get from the display, so in this article, we will explore the best tools you can use. To calibrate your monitor, you’ll need calibration software, special calibration gadgets, or a combination of both. Let’s review software and hardware to find the ideal calibration tool for your monitor.
Monitor Calibration Software
Monitor calibration software is helpful for anyone who spends hours working or gaming in front of a computer screen. Tired and strained eyes can cause headaches and lower your productivity.
Both Windows and Mac have basic built-in monitor calibration tools that can get you started. But in most cases, these are not enough because they’re limited in what they can do, and they’re not all that accurate. You need software specifically designed for color calibration to experience true color. However, monitor calibration is also about accurately adjusting brightness, contrast, saturation, and other features to produce a more true-to-life image.
Here is a list of apps that can help you calibrate your monitor and experience the digital world in new colors.
Calibrize is one of the most popular color calibration apps, and it works for different kinds of monitors. It has a user-friendly UI and provides clear instructions on boosting your screen’s performance.
Calibrize reads the color data of your monitor and creates an ICC (International Color Consortium) profile. This profile decides the optimal colors for your monitor and uploads the adjusted values to the graphics card. After the calibration with Calibrize, your display will allow you to enjoy rich and correctly rendered colors.
Calibrize is entirely free, but it is dedicated only to Windows PCs.
The Lagom LCD monitor is a calibration tool that you can use online and offline. Lagom uses a series of test images that checks the monitor’s contrast, brightness, color range, and response time.
For best results, you should always go through the test images in the order they are placed. For example, you need to set the correct brightness, contrast, and sharpness, and only then can you continue performing tests on the viewing angle.
The Lagom tool can seem overwhelming to those calibrating their monitors for the first time, but each test image comes with a comprehensive explanation. To use the test images offline, you can freely download them to your computer. Also, you can save them on a flash drive and test monitors in a store before buying.
Another free app for monitor calibration, QuickGamma, comes with a very informative help section. So if you’re not experienced with the calibration process, you might want to start with QuickGamma. This software is exclusive to Windows PCs but is one of the oldest and will work with Windows 7, 10, and even 11. If you have an even older version of Windows, you can navigate to the link provided on the home screen and acquire older versions of QuickGamma.
The QuickGamma calibration tool works by correcting the gamma value of your monitor to 2.2. This is the recommended gamma value if you’re using Windows (for macOS, it’s 1.8). Once your monitor’s gamma is corrected, you can continue adjusting luminance and signal.
Photo Friday is a simple calibration tool that can help you tweak your monitor’s contrast and brightness. In fact, this tool is a simple image that you can use to adjust your monitor’s contrast and brightness. All you have to do is follow the instructions given in the image itself.
Photo Friday’s calibration image won’t optimize your colors, so you’ll need other tools for a full calibration. But if you are not a professional photographer or visual designer, this is enough to reduce the stress on your eyes and improve your viewing experience.
The monitor calibration image on Photo Friday’s website works with true black and true white, and you should be able to see shapes that have tones immediately darker than true black and white. You need to manually adjust your monitor’s brightness and contrast to be able to differentiate these shapes within true black and white without either of them turning gray. It is as simple as that, and it works perfectly for both Windows and Mac operating systems and any possible monitor.
5. Windows Display Color Calibration
If you’re a casual PC user, there is no need to calibrate your monitor to perfection with professional tools. Windows 10 and 11 have a built-in calibration tool with very detailed set-up instructions. Simply type “calibrate display colors” or “color calibration” in the search bar and follow the instructions of the calibration wizard. It lets you optimize the gamma, contrast, brightness, and color balance of your monitor.
The calibration wizard will lead you through several tests and ask you to use sliders or your monitor’s control buttons to make adjustments. Once you are satisfied with the results of all the tests, simply click finish.
Monitor Calibration Devices
Monitor calibration devices are essential for professional photo editing, video editing, and graphic design. If you’re a digital artist, it’s vital that the colors displayed on your monitor are correct. Calibration software is good for optimizing monitors, but it will never compare to what calibration hardware can offer.
Why is display calibration so crucial for digital creatives? Simply put, it’s because they need to have accurate colors. Although the colors might look good on your screen, they can easily look different in print or your client’s screen. To have accurate colors, you need to calibrate your monitor and not just once. Monitors deteriorate over time, and their output fluctuates.
You will need to calibrate it at least once in several months. This is why professionals should invest in one of these calibration tools. It will serve you for a long time and allow you to maintain the quality of your work.
Here is the list of some of the best calibration devices that you can find on Amazon right now.
Price: $169.00
X-rite i1Display Studio, rebranded as ColorChecker Display, is a budget-friendly monitor calibration device. It’s an easy-to-use color calibration tool with a wizard-driven interface that works on both Windows and Mac computers. The colorimeter of the ColorChecker Display is designed to hang on your monitor by its own cable with a counterweight on the other end. It can color profile all your monitors and projectors and ensure color accuracy.
ColorChecker Display is not as fast as the Display Pro, Display Plus, and Studio versions, but it will work on all industry-standard monitors and projectors. ColorChecker Display will spend around 20 to 30 seconds measuring contrast. Then you will be asked to change the monitor’s brightness to the recommended level. Only after this will the colorimeter start measuring its color targets, up to 118 of them.
Once the color calibration is complete, ColorChecker Display will allow you to see the before and after comparison of color rendition. It will also display a color gamut graph and RGB calibration curves to analyze.
Also, ColorChecker has a neat feature integrated within the calibration software. You can set up a reminder to recalibrate your monitors at a specific time.
Price: $279.00
ColorChecker Display Pro, formerly known as X-Rite i1Display Pro, is a solid calibration device for all professionals. It won’t only calibrate your monitor but also check its health by analyzing the profile quality and testing display uniformity. This tool will also let you save and share the calibration profiles, which is excellent if you have multiple devices of the same type.
ColorChecker Display Pro will cover most of your calibration needs. However, if you have the latest HDR monitors, you will benefit more from its cousin, ColorChecker Pro Plus (ex i1Display Pro Plus) as it can measure the luminance of the monitors up to 2000 nits. The Pro version is limited to 1000 nits. Nevertheless, the Pro version works on all modern monitors. The best part is that this little device is spectrally calibrated, which means that it will work with upcoming technologies as well.
You can also use ColorChecker Display Pro to calibrate your projector. The device comes with projector profiling in addition to monitor profiling and the ability to measure ambient light. The interface is easy to use and will offer predefined options for quick calibration. There is also an advanced interface for more experienced users who need more sophisticated calibration for their professional environment. ColorChecker Display Pro comes with a display colorimeter and profiling software compatible with Windows and Mac PCs.
Price: $159.98
The small, triangular plastic device known as SpyderX Pro is another budget-friendly piece of display calibration technology. It also comes with software that you will have to activate with the serial number of your device, so don’t lose the number. Once you start the calibration process, the SpyderX Pro will ask you for the backlight type of your monitor and instruct you on how to check it. Then you will have to select target settings for Gamma, White Point, Brightness, and Room light compensation.
SpyderX Pro also comes with an integrated ambient light sensor that will allow you to change your monitor settings accordingly. It will offer you to choose between recommended settings and custom settings. This monitor calibration device will work on all monitors as long as their resolution is 1280×768 or greater.
Once the setup is complete, the SpyderX Pro will calibrate your monitor very fast, but the exact speed will depend on your computer and not the calibration device itself. Once calibration is complete, the SpyderX Pro will allow you to save the new ICC profile in the display settings panel of your Windows or Mac PC. To test the calibration, you can opt to use the SpyderX Proof option. You will see a series of test photos, or you can upload your own.
The software will allow you to switch between before and after calibration to see the difference with and without the adjustments.
Price: $219.00
The Datacolor SpyderX Elite boasts faster and more accurate color calibration than the Pro version. It is also capable of calibrating projectors and has advanced tools that will check the quality of your display. Re-calibration with the SpiderX Elite is incredibly fast, so it will be a breeze to do it once a week to ensure your monitor is always at its best.
Although the software of the SpiderX Elite version is updated and has more options for sensitive finetuning, it is visually the same wizard-driven software used with the Pro version. The advanced features include calibration targets for motion work and a soft-proofing function that will allow you to simulate the printed version of your image. It can also precisely tune side-by-side displays.
The Datacolor SpyderX Elite works with both Windows (7 or higher) and Mac (Mac OS X 10.10 and above) operating systems, all types of monitors with resolution 1280×768 or greater.
Price: $241.53
This calibration tool was designed for the Cintiq family of displays, but its X-Rite-powered technology makes it compatible with all modern types of monitors. That said, the users of the Cintiq 27QHD line of displays will enjoy the specific performance advantages of the Wacom Color Manager. The Wacom Color Manager is also compatible with Android and iOS devices, but you will have to download the X-Rite ColorTRUE app to use it on mobile devices.
The Color Manager combines the colorimeter with a custom Wacom profiling software to deliver the best fine-tuning for your display. Additionally, you’ll get the Pantone Color Manager software that will give you access to the Pantone color libraries. These color libraries are exportable to the Adobe Creative Suite programs like Lightroom and Photoshop.
Software vs. Hardware
The bottom line is there’s no clear winner here since everything depends on your needs. If you’re a casual PC user or a gamer, you can get an accurate enough display calibration with free software like Calibrize.
On the other hand, if you’re a professional, you should invest in calibration devices with top-notch calibration settings. You need accurate, true colors, especially for printing.
