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i1 ColorSync Profile for 20" Aluminum iMacs

A

Alloye

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 11, 2007
657
0
Rocklin, CA
Attached is a ColorSync profile for the new 20" iMac. It was created with an i1 Display 2 hardware calibrator. The target was medium white (6500K) at gamma 2.2. It should be suitable for most purposes.

To use, unzip the attachment and place the resulting .icc file in /Library/ColorSync/Profiles. You should then have an "iMac-i1" entry on the Color tab of your Display preferences.

NOTE: Because all displays are slightly different, this profile may not be completely accurate on your system. It should get rid of the washed-out look of the factory profile, but you might notice a slight color cast if your display is much different from mine.
 

Attachments

  • iMac-i1.zip
    3.2 KB · Views: 2,528
I just realized this calibration also fixes some problems that might be mis-attributed to poor viewing angles.

For example, using the default profile, the alternating white/blue rows in the iTunes content list not only look very washed out, but changing your viewing angle relative to the display causes the color of the blue rows to fade in and out as your eyes scan up and down.

Switching to the calibrated profile, this problem goes away and the alternating white/blue lines appear as they should.

Whatever the reason, it's really too bad Apple keeps shipping computers with deficient profiles. The display in my MBP was also less than great out of the box. :(
 
The OP inspired me to do my own calibration and the results are attached if anyone wants to try it.
 

Attachments

  • Perfect-4271A80.icc.zip
    2.8 KB · Views: 1,737
Maybe it's just because I was using the default, but this makes everything look like it has a bluish tinge. It doesn't look as neutral as it did. I've also got my Dell 2007wfp (with S-IPS panel) next to the iMac and I prefer the more neutral look on that (it's using a color profile created for it by Apple). I'm not sure how else to describe it. Is this just something my eyes need to get used to? Does anyone else see the bluish tinge?
 
AlexisV said:
Thanks for the profile Alloye. Unfortunately it appears almost pink on my display! :eek: :)
Click to expand...

mrogers said:
Maybe it's just because I was using the default, but this makes everything look like it has a bluish tinge. It doesn't look as neutral as it did. I've also got my Dell 2007wfp (with S-IPS panel) next to the iMac and I prefer the more neutral look on that (it's using a color profile created for it by Apple). I'm not sure how else to describe it. Is this just something my eyes need to get used to? Does anyone else see the bluish tinge?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, these are probably due to slight variances between our respective panels. Here are some other suggestions to try:

1. At a bare minimum, calibrate in non-expert mode and choose 2.2 Television Gamma. This method won't alter the default colors but it will reduce the brightness of mid-tones a bit.

2. Calibrate in expert mode and really take your time to align all the sliders. It's fairly tedious, but I've achieved good results this way.

3. Give SuperCal a try.
 
Alloye said:
Attached is a ColorSync profile for the new 20" iMac. It was created with an i1 Display 2 hardware calibrator. The target was medium white (6500K) at gamma 2.2. It should be suitable for most purposes.

To use, unzip the attachment and place the resulting .icc file in /Library/ColorSync/Profiles. You should then have an "iMac-i1" entry on the Color tab of your Display preferences.

NOTE: Because all displays are slightly different, this profile may not be completely accurate on your system. It should get rid of the washed-out look of the factory profile, but you might notice a slight color cast if your display is much different from mine.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much! My 20" iMac is scheduled to arrive tomorrow and I downloaded your profile. This is why this forum is so great!:D
 
mrogers said:
Maybe it's just because I was using the default, but this makes everything look like it has a bluish tinge. It doesn't look as neutral as it did. I've also got my Dell 2007wfp (with S-IPS panel) next to the iMac and I prefer the more neutral look on that (it's using a color profile created for it by Apple). I'm not sure how else to describe it. Is this just something my eyes need to get used to? Does anyone else see the bluish tinge?
Click to expand...

The profile in the first post gave everything a bluish tinge on mine as well. The second one posted further down was much better in that respect and that's what I'm using currently.
 
Here's another one to try. This one contains the same display information and color data as the default profile but without the ridiculous gamma correction.
 

Attachments

  • iMac-Native-4271A80.zip
    1.7 KB · Views: 1,129
I just received my new 20" 2.4 iMac and the first thing I did was load the "Perfect-4271A80.icc.zip" profile. What a difference! It looked so much better that I went ahead and used SuperCal to create my own profile. The display image quality is stunning. Anyone buying a new iMac should at the very least switch to the "Perfect-4271A80.icc.zip" profile.
 
Trouble loading color profiles

I placed both the iMac-i1.zip and "Perfect" profiles in the proper location (Library/ColorSync/Profiles), but for some reason, only "iMac-i1" appears in the display preferences list.

I've tried everything, even running ColorSync first aid utility, but the "perfect" profile cannot be accessed. It shows up in the ColorSync utility list, but not in the display preferences list.

Does anyone have a clue what the problem is?

Thanks,
John
 
johng123 said:
I placed both the iMac-i1.zip and "Perfect" profiles in the proper location (Library/ColorSync/Profiles), but for some reason, only "iMac-i1" appears in the display preferences list.

I've tried everything, even running ColorSync first aid utility, but the "perfect" profile cannot be accessed. It shows up in the ColorSync utility list, but not in the display preferences list.

Does anyone have a clue what the problem is?

Thanks,
John
Click to expand...

Are you sure you put it in the right place i.e Macintosh HD/Library/Colorsync/Profiles/Displays

?
 
I did indeed place the file in the correct location you specified, yet it does not appear in the display preferences list with the other profiles.

I did have some success opening up the ColorSync Utility, clicking on "Devices: iMac" then clicking on the little arrow next to "Other..." I was able to manually select the "perfect" profile and have the screen calibration change instantly.

I then went into System Preferences / Displays / Color and say "Perfect" highlighted in the list.

BUT HERE IS THE PECULIAR PART>>>
I selected another profile in the list, and then "Perfect" simply disappeared from the list. Very strange.

I even did an erase and clean install of Tiger, and the same peculiar behavior still occurs.

I've tried downloading other profiles online and the same problem occurs.
Strangely, the other profile in the forum (iMac-i1) appears in the list perfectly after placing it in the proper Profiles folder.

I've searched continually online, but cannot find a solution or reason behind this. I'd appreciate any ideas or feedback from you.

Thanks,
John
 
johng123 said:
I did indeed place the file in the correct location you specified, yet it does not appear in the display preferences list with the other profiles.

I did have some success opening up the ColorSync Utility, clicking on "Devices: iMac" then clicking on the little arrow next to "Other..." I was able to manually select the "perfect" profile and have the screen calibration change instantly.

I then went into System Preferences / Displays / Color and say "Perfect" highlighted in the list.

BUT HERE IS THE PECULIAR PART>>>
I selected another profile in the list, and then "Perfect" simply disappeared from the list. Very strange.

I even did an erase and clean install of Tiger, and the same peculiar behavior still occurs.

I've tried downloading other profiles online and the same problem occurs.
Strangely, the other profile in the forum (iMac-i1) appears in the list perfectly after placing it in the proper Profiles folder.

I've searched continually online, but cannot find a solution or reason behind this. I'd appreciate any ideas or feedback from you.

Thanks,
John
Click to expand...

Hmmm that is strange, maybe try renaming the file to iMac-2 or Calibrated or something. See if that helps. Also check/uncheck show profiles for this display only and see what happens
 
johng123 said:
I did indeed place the file in the correct location you specified, yet it does not appear in the display preferences list with the other profiles.

I did have some success opening up the ColorSync Utility, clicking on "Devices: iMac" then clicking on the little arrow next to "Other..." I was able to manually select the "perfect" profile and have the screen calibration change instantly.

I then went into System Preferences / Displays / Color and say "Perfect" highlighted in the list.

BUT HERE IS THE PECULIAR PART>>>
I selected another profile in the list, and then "Perfect" simply disappeared from the list. Very strange.

I even did an erase and clean install of Tiger, and the same peculiar behavior still occurs.

I've tried downloading other profiles online and the same problem occurs.
Strangely, the other profile in the forum (iMac-i1) appears in the list perfectly after placing it in the proper Profiles folder.

I've searched continually online, but cannot find a solution or reason behind this. I'd appreciate any ideas or feedback from you.

Thanks,
John
Click to expand...

Have a look in /Library/ColorSync/Profiles/Displays. You should have a file named iMac-4271A80.icc in there. If you the number after iMac- is different, then we may have a situation where Apple is sourcing the 20" display from multiple vendors. This is known as a panel lottery, which is somewhat common in the industry.

Anyway, the Perfect-4271A80 and iMac-Native-4271A80 profiles posted in this thread have display data embedded in them that tie them to a particular panel. The iMac-i1 profile does not. That may explain the behavior you're seeing.
 
Thanks for the reply. I changed the file name with no avail. Just changing the file name probably has no effect on the file properties.

It possible for me to edit the profiles to "un-embed" a panel. I viewed them all in ColorSync Utility and they all appear nearly identical in their properties. However, I noticed the "iMac-i1" profile is version 2.4 while the others are 2.0.

Is it possible for others on this forum to re-save their profiles in a different way so I can test them.

I appreciate the help in getting to the bottom of it.
 
johng123 said:
Here is the name of my default profile:
iMac-4271AC0.icc
Click to expand...

That explains why the profiles here don't work for you. Even if they did, they probably wouldn't produce satisfactory results.

One more thing, if you open the iMac profile with ColorSync Utility, what model display do you have? You can find out by scrolling down and highlighting line 13 ('mmod').
 
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