LCD monitors are everywhere these days. Almost everyone is using one at home, in the office or at their home studio. However not many people, aside from professional artists, know much about LCD technology and how to get the best possible image. For instance, what use for a good picture quality might a general office worker need other than a clear screen with good brightness and contrast? They need to be able to read the text on the screen without undue eye strain and LCDs offer that in spades, even the very worse of them.

However, unlike professional artists, computer geeks like myself want a good overall image from their LCD monitors since their use is more about text legibility. Photos, video, games, all these are vastly more enjoyable with a good overall image quality and many of us try to get it. There are many ways to do it, some free (special image collections to tune the monitor), some inexpensive (like the Spyder 3 in all its versions – google link for it) or downright expensive.

I have never bought a calibrator for myself but I have over the years used many image collections to fine-tune the display. However I have recently come across an online collection that surpasses everything I have EVER seen.

Point your browsers to The Lagom LCD monitor test pages and be amazed at all that it can do for your LCD monitor. After having completed its tests I am amazed at how much better my display has become. Also don’t be afraid to fiddle with values that you think are wrong, for instance I have been using a 80 contrast, 55 brightness, 0 gamma for a very long time now, but after using this website I have gone to a 55 contrast, 60 brightness, -50 gamma. Simply amazing.

One case of warning; those tests will also point out some severe limitations of the LCD technology used in MANY monitors these days, specifically the inability of the TN monitors to provide uniform colour across the monitor. It is the price to pay for cheaper but faster TN technology over the pricier but slower IPS.