Poor Results With ColorMunki Display On Mac

If a display profile produces poor results (color cast, low contrast, high contrast, oversaturated, undersaturated, low luminance, etc...), try reprofiling after making sure to check the following:

• Connect the measurement device to a properly powered USB port.  Typically, a tower will have rear ports that more reliably and consistently deliver the required power to the device.
• Avoid using USB ports on keyboards and monitors.  Also avoid unpowered USB hubs as well as USB extensions.
• An acceptable extension is the use of a powered USB hub.  Some laptop computers will require a powered USB hub to deliver the necessary power.
• PLACE THE MEASUREMENT DEVICE FLUSH ON THE SCREEN WHEN PROFILING!  This will more easily be accomplished tipping the display back and carefully place the device on the screen while viewing from the side.  An instrument that is not flush on the screen’s surface will result in bad measurement data and then poor results when using the profile.
• Consider turning off all anti-virus and/or firewall software when profiling.
• If profiling with a laptop, the laptop's power supply MUST be plugged in while profiling. 

Next, please do the following in exactly this order:

1. Go to the Apple icon in the menu bar > System Preferences > Accessibility. Check the “Reduce transparency”.
2. Go to System Preferences > Accessibility and select the “Display” option on the left. Make sure that the “Display contrast” slider is set all the way to the left at “Normal”.
3. Now go to the Applications folder and right-click (or control-click) on the ColorMunki Display icon and click on “Show Package Contents”
4. Navigate to Contents > MacOS > Profiles and then copy and paste the “XRite_LinearProfile.icc” profile to the Mac HD\Library\ColorSync\Profiles folder.  Close Finder.
5. Open “Displays”  in System Preferences and select the “Color” tab.  Uncheck the "Show profiles for this display only" check box.  Click on the profile named “DisplayProfile_Linear.icc” to reset your display’s RGB channels to a linear fashion.  The onscreen color should change and will likely look bad.
6. Close Displays and System Preferences.
7. Connect the CM Display and open the ColorMunki Display software application.

Profile your display using this workflow:

Turn off “ADC” and do not use the video LUTs to adjust brightness by opening the ColorMunki Display “Preferences” window with the ColorMunki plugged in.  Follow these instructions to turn these functions off:

1. Open ColorMunki Display with the Munki connected.  Go to “ColorMunki Display” in the menu bar and click on “Preferences”.
2. Uncheck “Achieve display luminance value using video LUTs” and uncheck “Enable ADC”. Select “White LED” for your Technology Type if it is an Apple display manufactured after 2009. If this is the new 4K 21.5" or 5K 27" Retina iMac manufactured in Late 2015 or later, select "GB-LED (RG Phosphor)" for the Technology Type. Click “OK” to save these settings and close the “Preferences” window.
3. Select “Profile My Display”.
4. When profiling, select the “Advanced” method and use D65 for the white point target and select the bottom radio button to choose a target luminance of 120 cd/m2.  If you have been using other target settings or your print lab recommends other settings, feel free to use them.
5. Uncheck both of the “Advanced Options” (Ambient Light Smart Control and Flare Correct) and click “Next”.
6. When saving the profile, use the default unique name (includes a year/date.time stamp before the “.icc”).  The profile name MUST end with “.icc”. 

The recommended display profiling settings of a D65 white point, 2.2 gamma, and 120cd/m2 has been set by the industry experts.  The photographers and graphic designers of the world have determined that a monitor profiled to these parameters will most closely match a print that is viewed in a 5000K light booth (Graphic arts standard).  The default gamma (aka; tone response) is set at 2.2 in ColorMunki’s Preference menu found in “File” > “Preferences” from the home screen.  We would recommend using the Advanced method and select the bottom option to set luminance to a specific level and then select “120”.  If your prints are darker than your display, feel free to try a lower display luminance setting of 100, 90, or even 80.  When adjusting brightness on an Apple display (iMac, MacBook, or Apple displays), you may need to open System Preferences > Displays to fine tune the brightness to more closely match the target. 

The following link will take you to our ColorMunki Display profiling training video: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA2XqWo-JfQ