Users of the i1Display2 and the i1 Spectrophotometer will notice that they have two options for creating monitor profiles.
One is labeled Easy, and the other is labeled Advanced.

The common belief is that anyone who cares enough to profile their monitor for color accuracy will want to use the Advanced mode. Ultimately that might be correct, but we recommend that you first use the Easy mode to learn the native state of the monitor, and to identify any unintentional settings at the monitor that might affect your profile.

Here's the essential difference between the Easy mode and the Advanced mode (not including the option of having more choices in Advanced mode).

The Easy mode will take whatever color temperature, gamma and luminance settings that are currently set by the monitor's physical controls, and build an ICC color profile to give you the largest color gamut while maintaining neutrality, (if possible). The profile that is created is not adjusting the color temperature of the monitor, but it will adjust the relationship between the color channels in building the profile.

The Advanced mode will create a profile to move the color temperature, and gamma results to your selections in the program's settings, as well as report the luminance result (in a unit of measurement) for your monitor's current brightness settings. For LCD monitors, we recommend settings of 6500K for color temperature, 2.2 for gamma, and 120 cd/m2 (cd/m2 is also called Candela or Lux in some circles) for luminance. We recommend those settings for LCD monitors, regardless of the operating system of the computer.

Now, if you're going to change the color response of the monitor, it's a good idea to know your starting point, and that's what the Easy mode's summary screen will tell you.

We recommend that you do the following for best results in profiling your monitor.

1: Reset the monitor to its factory defaults, using the buttons and menus on the monitor itself. (Please keep in mind, you will need to understand your monitor's controls and menus. There's just too many different monitors out there for X-Rite support staff to know your monitor works.)

2: Check the manual for your monitor to learn what "factory default settings" represent for your monitor. (Again, we won't be able to tell you about your monitor.)

3: If you are a Windows User, go to your Control Panel for the Video card, and reset any changes you have made here, back to factory defaults. We highly recommend only using the buttons on the monitor to make changes in the response of the monitor. Doubling up, by using the Control Panel as well as the monitor's buttons will often be very confusing, and could give unusual results.

4: If you are a Mac User, make sure that you check out the System Preferences/Universal Access window, and have ensured that the slider at the bottom of this screen is set to the far left side (Normal). Some users have mistakenly made a change here, in an attempt to control contrast. This is not designed for this purpose, and even a small adjustment here will mess up your colors.

5: Run i1Match in the Easy mode, selecting your correct monitor type. Make sure the device is resting flat against the monitor, and if the weight on the cable isn't sufficient, tilt your monitor back and let gravity assist you. Please don't hold the device against the screen, as LCD monitors will give a "rainbow" effect if you press on the surface. (Not a good thing for accuracy when measuring colors.)

6: At the end of the Measurement process, you'll get a beep, and a Summary screen. Move the measurement device off the screen and write down the current color temperature, the current gamma and the current luminance results. These values will tell you if the monitor will have a small change or a big change when you use the Advanced settings listed above. You can quit the program without saving the profile, as we only used this method for educational purposes.

NOW, you can use that Advanced mode you've been wanting to use, armed with valuable information about the native state of your monitor.

If you run into any issues or questions when using the Advanced mode for creating your monitor profiles, the Easy mode results will be required to better diagnose your results.