Display Mac colors as on PC using gamma correction

If you are a web designer, you probably noticed already that colors of your design differ on Macs and PCs. It’s mainly due to the fact that on Macs, the default gamma correction value for LCD displays is 1.8, while on PCs — it’s 2.2. As a result, PCs have deeper blacks, higher contrast and are less pale than Macs. Apple is going to change that in the next iteration of their OS X, but in fact, you could change that yourself, even way back in the Panther times. Here’s how you do it in current Leopard.

Firstly, got to your System Preferences and select Displays preference pane.

Then, choose the Color tab and select Calibrate.

This will display a configuration wizard. Just click through it, until the Target Gamma screen appears. There, select the 2.2 gamma correction, which is compatible to PCs — you will immediately notice a change in your display colors.

Finally, choose a name for your new color setting and finish the wizard.

And that’s all. Compare the result with some other Mac or PC to see the change.