Can I use two monitor calibrations/profiles for everyday editing and soft proofing?
Asked 8/2/2016
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I have a Dell U2515H on Windows 10 and use Lightroom 6. I’d like two monitor setups: one around D65 / 160 cd/m² for normal use, and another around D50 / 100 cd/m² for soft proofing with my lab ICC profiles.
I’m calibrating with an i1Display, and the calibration process changes the monitor’s RGB and brightness settings. Does that mean I can’t just switch ICC profiles in Windows Color Management, since each profile only matches the monitor state it was created for?
If so, what’s the correct workflow for switching between two setups? Is disabling monitor adjustments during profiling a good workaround, and what are the drawbacks?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
10y ago
2 Answers
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My question now is this: Since during the profiling process the R/G/B and brightness values of the monitor are changed, I cannot simply switch profiles in Windows' color management, can I? If this is true, I would have to calibrate it every time I want to switch between the two. There must be a better way for this, right?
The process consists of two steps. First you set the display as close as possible to the desired state and then you measure it and create the profile. So the profile is describing the state of the display from the first step. If you change the display settings, the profile becomes incorrect.
Now, I could just turn off any alteration of the monitor's values during profiling. Is this the way to go? Are there drawbacks to this method?
Depending on the calibration software you have, you could, for example, leave the monitor at 6500K and 160cd/m2 and make the calibration for 5000K and 100cd/m2. In this case the corrections will be written to the profile and applied by the software to the image data. Since the data have limited precision and fineness (max 256 levels for 8bit video), they are sensitive to modifications and you are increasing your chance to get posterization, uneven gradients or some other undesired artifacts. I'd suggest getting the display hardware as close to the desired settings as possible.
Possibly the software you use would allow you to create the profiles with manual control over the brightness, contrast and RGB settings. You could write down what the setting was when you were prompted to change it during the first calibration step and change it manually when you switch between the profiles.
My suggestion would be to use just one profile and one setting. Unless this is really good display designed for color critical work, my personal preference would be around 6500K (closer to the native white point of the display, 120cd/m2 or so and native gamma.
Originally by user27944. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user27944
10y ago
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You generally can’t just swap ICC profiles in Windows if the monitor itself is left in a different calibrated state. Calibration and profiling are linked: first the display is set to a target state, then the profile describes that exact state. If you later change brightness/RGB, that profile is no longer accurate.
So yes—if your monitor settings change between D65/160 and D50/100, each setup needs its own matching monitor state and its own ICC profile.
The better workflow is to use separate monitor presets if your Dell supports them (for some Dell models, Cal1/Cal2 or similar can store different calibration states). Then:
- Switch the monitor to the matching preset.
- Switch Windows to the corresponding ICC profile.
If you disable monitor adjustments during profiling, the software can only describe the monitor as-is rather than bring it closer to the target first. That may be less accurate, especially for white point and luminance targets.
So the ideal solution is two stored monitor calibrations plus two matching ICC profiles; otherwise you’d need to recalibrate when changing targets.
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