Calibrite

How I Calibrate My BenQ SW272U Display for Photography and Everyday Use

One of the questions I get asked most often is how to correctly calibrate a display for photo editing and printing. Getting a reliable screen-to-print match can save you a huge amount of time, paper, and frustration.

In this article, I’ll walk you through the calibration process I use on my BenQ SW272U display. I’ll share the exact settings I rely on for editing and printing, as well as a second calibration I use for everyday tasks like browsing the internet, emails, and watching videos.

The good news is that while I use BenQ’s Palette Master Ultimate software, the same principles apply no matter what brand or software you use.

Why Two Calibrations?

Your requirements are very different when you are editing images compared to when you are simply watching videos or scrolling through emails.

  • Photo and Print Calibration – designed for accuracy and consistency. A lower brightness, neutral white point, and subtle black levels that preserve shadow detail.

  • Everyday Use Calibration – designed for a punchier, brighter look. Strong contrast and deep blacks make general computing and video viewing more enjoyable.

With a hardware calibrated display, it is easy to switch between these profiles at the push of a button.

Tools I Use

  • BenQ SW272U Display (hardware calibration capable)

  • Calibrite Display Pro HL (connected via USB-C or USB adapter)

  • Palette Master Ultimate Software (BenQ’s calibration tool)

Calibration for Photo Editing and Printing

Step 1 – Connect and Configure

I plug my calibration device into the USB port on the monitor. On BenQ displays, make sure the USB setting is at 60 Hz in the on-screen menu, otherwise the device may not be recognised.

Step 2 – Start Palette Master Ultimate

Open the software, select your display, and choose the calibration device. Then go into Color Calibration and click Start.

Step 3 – Create a Custom Target

The default presets are not suitable for serious photography. They tend to be too bright, too cool, and overly contrasty. Instead, I set up my own target:

  • Luminance: 60 cd/m² (much lower than the default 120 cd/m², but it gives me the most accurate screen-to-print match in my workspace).

  • White Point: 6000K (to match the 6000K LED lighting in my studio).

  • Gamut: Adobe RGB.

  • Gamma: 2.2 (with Enhanced Gamma Calibration enabled for better black and white printing).

  • Black Point: 0.5 cd/m² (slightly lifted from pure black so shadow detail is visible).

I save this as a custom preset called Photo & Print and assign it to Calibration 1 on the monitor.

Step 4 – Run the Calibration

Place the sensor on the screen, tilt the display back slightly, and let the software run. The process takes about 7 minutes.

Step 5 – Check Results

The software generates a report showing how closely the calibration matched the targets. For example, my most recent run achieved:

  • Luminance: 58 (target 60)

  • White Point: 6040K (target 6000K)

  • Black Point: 0.51 (target 0.5)

These are excellent results. The key metric is Delta E, which measures accuracy. A value below 4 is considered good, below 2 is excellent. My calibration achieved an average of 0.53 with a maximum of 1.28.

This means my display is performing very accurately, giving me confidence in my editing and printing.

Calibration for Everyday Use

When I am not editing or printing, I want a brighter, more contrasty display for daily computer use. Instead of creating a custom target, I simply use the built-in Photography preset in Palette Master Ultimate, but assign it to Calibration 2.

This gives me:

  • Bright luminance for comfortable viewing

  • White Point at D65 (6500K), which is the standard for TVs, tablets, and smartphones

  • Absolute black point for deep contrast

The calibration process is the same: place the sensor, let the software measure, and save the profile.

Final Thoughts

By creating two calibrations and assigning them to different preset buttons, I can switch between Photo & Print and Everyday Use in seconds.

For editing and printing, I get a display that shows me accurate colors, controlled brightness, and detail in the darkest areas. For browsing, video, and general use, I enjoy a bright, punchy image that looks fantastic.

If you own a hardware calibrated display like the BenQ SW272U, I highly recommend setting up both profiles. It makes your editing workflow more accurate and your day-to-day computing more enjoyable.

DISPLAY 123 - Screen Calibration SIMPLIFIED but IT'S NOT FOR EVERYONE

The Display 123 from Calibrite removes the technicals from Screen Calibration making it possible for everyone with a simple 3 step process ... BUT it's not aimed at the Professional!

NOTE

The Display 123 is NOT suitable for the new LED technology Displays such as in the New Apple Macbook Pro M3 and Apple Pro Display XDR; for these a device like the Display Pro HL from Calibrite would be needed. The display 123 COULD prolfile these displays however only in sRGB. For all other displays using Backlit technology (which is currently the majority of displays on the market, the Display 123 will Calibrate the screen albeit without the additional parameters that more expensive / high end devices can. The display 123 is more aimed at the Consumer as opposed to the Professional.

For more information check out the Calbrite website ( LINK )

Calibrating my iPad Pro for Photography

One thing I always do when taking portraits is shoot tethered and that always used to be with my camera connected to my MacBook Pro or laptop BUT that has now changed to being my iPad because its way more portable and convenient.

I use the CaptureOne app for the tethering which works so incredibly well .. literally just open the app, plug in your camera (you can also use it wirelessly) and you’re up and running. You can even use it to tether to your iPhone … if you have one.

The only problem i find is that the screen on the iPad out of the box is too contrasty … its set up so that it gives the richest colours and the deepest blacks for when using apps, watching movies, playing games, looking at pictures which is great but not ideal for when using it when tethering.

However I have the 6th generation 12.9” iPad Pro running iOS 17.3.1 and this has Reference mode and this we can use to kind of calibrate the screen to something more suitable for photography.

NOTE:
Reference mode is actually available on 12” iPad Pro 5th generation or later and requires iOS 16 or later.

I'm now a Brand Ambassador for Calibrite

Proud to announce that I am now a Brand Ambassador for Calibrite

I've been using Calibrite (formerly X-Rite) calibration products for a number of years to make sure that what I see on my screen, and ultimately edit, is accurate with regards to colour, brightness and contrast, which then leads to the best possible print.

Very happy to have been approached because those that know me, know that I never approach a company; I've always believed that if you put the work in and are consisent then it's only a matter of time before good things happen.

HOW TO CALIBRATE your Display for PHOTOGRAPHY and PRINTING

I LOVE printing…but it wasn’t always the case.

I wasted a lot of time and money in the past because when I thought my monitor / display was calibrated correctly…it wasn’t!

So, in this video I show you the settings that DO WORK so you get the best from your display AND the best possible results when printing!

I’ll be using a BenQ Display, BenQ Software and an X-Rite i1 Display Pro Plus BUT all the settings I go through translate perfectly to other monitors, software and devices!

You can check out all this kit over on my GEAR PAGE

Oh and if you look in the description part of the video on YouTube, I’ve also added in Chapter Markers so if you want to, you can jump to a particular part in the video.

Enjoy!

🎬 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎

00:00 - Introduction
01:00 - Display, Software and Calibration Hardware
02:14 - PME Software
03:28 - Workflow
04:06 - Display Settings
09:58 - Measurement
12:45 - Validation
15:52 - Wrap Up