You need to have an Instrument - we strongly recommend X-Rite i1Pro or Konica-Minolta Myiro-1 - both can be used not only for display but also for another critical type of measurement - Lighting and Reflectance for specimens and prints. One Instrument can cover all tasks.

Once you have the spectrophotometer - use CC Display to calibrate and profile your display. That step should be repeated every time before critical works with the color - the process takes 10-15 minutes and is executed with a single click. The fast and easy procedure with evaluation at the end quantifies potential color issues - the user can define their own list of critical colors or use common industry standards ( e.g., GRaCOLL) or both in a single task)

There are a couple of display-related terms that are important to understand:

• Pre-Qualification
• Calibration 
• Profiling
• Verification 
• Evaluation

Color Champion should become familiar with some important topics that are in a dedicated document that explains some topics:

→ Understanding Computer Displays

• Human perception of display color versus actual color
• Understanding Calibration Process
• Understanding Calibration Modes
• Profiling vs. Calibration
• White Point correction for observer differences

The best way to start is to start with a free tryout to see how CC Display workflows work, then replicate them on your own account. It is also important to learn about the best calibration method for your Monitor's connectivity and technical parameters. 

Basic Implementation

In the beginning, the goal is to: 

1. Check in the existing Monitor is uniform - this is a condition that pre-qualifying the Monitor for any further steps. This step has to be done independently from others. If fails - no sense to continue with a given monitor, try another. Click here to learn how to measure Uniformity. Change from 3x3 to 3x5 or better 5x5.
   
   
2. Calibrate and profile Monitor - at this stage we propose to use the basic configuration 
   For printing it can be as follow:
   • Calibration mode:  Automatic
   • Tonal Response L*
   • White Point: D50
   • White Luminance: 160 cd/m2
     
      
3. Verify if can be confidently used with basic system requirements.

What does means basic System Requirements?

There are two sources of color samples that we should check:

1. Process CMYK or ECG production - which is represented by a related ICC Profile.
   A simple example of that kind of workflow is described here. Of course, the patch list can be different and the ICC profile should correspond to the production settings. 
   
   
2. Spot Color Library or Pallette that contains all key spot colors that are used in typical tasks.
   Learn here how to create a workflow that evaluates samples from Color Library here

Advanced workflows

Most of the advanced procedures are complex and require some experience and knowledge. It is possible to:

• Manage personal preferences - and adopt white points per Operator
• Integrate Display with Lighting Booth to create a Softproofing Station
• Test variants (different Tonal response curves, White Point, Black Point...)
• Compensate Instrument differences - that require selecting Master Instrument and using his one for compensation in all locations.

We recommend Basic Implementation at this stage and going deeper when experience is collected.