Lately I’ve been noticing discrepancies between all our monitors and devices, I couldn’t tell which was the “right” one any more. I tried using the on screen monitor calibration images I had been using for years with no luck, things were still not looking right, I seriously couldn’t see a range of grey! That’s a problem when you’re designing websites for a world wide audience. So it was time to buy my first monitor calibration tool. After a bit of research I decided on the X-Rite ColorMunki Smile, it’s an entry level tool, priced at around $130 AUD. I decided against the more expensive tools for now as my work is all for on screen and I don’t do any high-end print work. The ColorMunki Smile works with Dual monitors too so I was able to calibrate my screens to be the same!

It’s super easy to use, you install the software, plug in the USB tool, hang it over your monitor so it’s sitting flush on the screen and follow the instructions; it just runs itself. At the end you will be shown a before & after to see how much the settings have changed. My screen was too way too blue according to the ColorMunki, which would explain my grey problems.

I am very happy with the result and have since designed a light grey website with full confidence that what I was seeing on screen was correct!

“A tip I did read before using the tool is let your monitor warm up for 30 minutes before running the calibration. Also it’s worth running the calibration again once a month as monitors age and change over time.”