How to Calibrate the Colors on a Mac

To calibrate the colors on your Mac, click the Apple menu → click System Preferences → click Displays → click the Color tab → click Calibrate to start the color calibration tool. Follow the prompts to calibrate your display. Click the Apple...

Part 1 of 2:

Starting the Color Calibration Tool

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    Images 1 of How to Calibrate the Colors on a Mac
    Click the Apple menu. This can be found in the upper-left corner of the screen.
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    Images 2 of How to Calibrate the Colors on a Mac
    Click System Preferences.
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    Images 3 of How to Calibrate the Colors on a Mac
    Click the Displays option. If you don't see this, click the Show All button at the top of the screen.
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    Images 4 of How to Calibrate the Colors on a Mac
    Click the Color tab.
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    Images 5 of How to Calibrate the Colors on a Mac
    Hold the Opt key.
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    Images 6 of How to Calibrate the Colors on a Mac
    Click the Calibrate button. Make sure you're holding Opt when you click it.[1]
Part 2 of 2:

Calibrating Your Display

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    Images 7 of How to Calibrate the Colors on a Mac
    Click Continue if Expert mode is enabled. THis box will only appear if you held Opt when you clicked Calibrate.
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    Images 8 of How to Calibrate the Colors on a Mac
    Set your monitor's contrast to max. The process for this will vary depending on your display. You'll usually have buttons on the display that can open a menu. You may not be able to change the contrast on a MacBook.
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    Images 9 of How to Calibrate the Colors on a Mac
    Set your display's brightness to make the oval barely visible. The edge of the oval over the two gray patches should be barely visible.
    1. Brightness can typically be controlled with the F1 and F2 keys.
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    Images 10 of How to Calibrate the Colors on a Mac
    Click Continue.
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    Images 11 of How to Calibrate the Colors on a Mac
    Click and drag the Native Gamma sliders. Use the slider on the left to match the brightness of the apple with the background lines. Use the slider on the right to make the colors match as close as possible.
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    Images 12 of How to Calibrate the Colors on a Mac
    Click Continue.
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    Images 13 of How to Calibrate the Colors on a Mac
    Continue the Native Gamma process. You'll go through five windows with the same instructions but different shades of the Apple logo. Use the left and right sliders to match the brightness and color each time.[2]
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    Images 14 of How to Calibrate the Colors on a Mac
    Click and drag the Target Gamma slider. Unless you specifically are targeting a different gamma profile, it's recommended that you set the slider to 2.2. This is the target gamma used by both Mac and Windows, so colors in images will be more accurate between the two systems.
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    Images 15 of How to Calibrate the Colors on a Mac
    Click and drag the Target White Point slider. In most cases, you'll want to use either your native white point by checking the box, or set the slider to D65.
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    Images 16 of How to Calibrate the Colors on a Mac
    Check the box to allow others to use the profile. If you want other users on the computer to be able to access the profile you created, check the box on the Administrator options screen.
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    Images 17 of How to Calibrate the Colors on a Mac
    Type a name for the profile. This will help you identify it in the list of available profiles.
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    Images 18 of How to Calibrate the Colors on a Mac
    Click Done to set the profile. The newly-created profile will be your display's default color profile for your account.
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