The upside of a proper calibration is a (sometimes vastly) improved image with more accurately represented colours. A relatively slender selection of monitors also allow the LUT and gamma curves of the monitor itself to be directly calibrated in a similar way. ICC profiles essentially modify the graphics card’s Look Up Table (LUT) and gamma table so that the monitor displays different and ideally more correct colours than what it would natively. The most complete and accurate creation of such profiles (a procedure aptly named ‘profiling’) is done by a hardware calibration device such as a colorimeter. One way to overcome these limitations is to use International Colour Consortium (ICC) profiles.

Occasionally we come across models which simply don’t give a pleasing image no matter how much tweaking you do on the OSD. There is always some degree of variation between individual units of the same model but this can often provide a useful starting point. In our reviews we try to give users some suggestions for settings they can use on a monitor to give a rich and well-balanced image. Sometimes lowering the brightness a bit, having a little play with the RGB settings (colour channels) and perhaps switching gamma modes can make a world of difference. Realistically, though, the user will most likely fiddle with a few things on the monitor OSD (On Screen Display) to achieve the image they’re looking for. Ideally a user will turn a monitor on and feel the image is really just what they were after on any application they run – no tweaking necessary.

How to install icc profile calibration